T.A. Members Flag China's Bike Mistake

T.A. members penned four of the five letters to the editor in the New York Times in response to a November 3rd article on the banning of bicycles from Beijing's Xisidong Avenue. Beijing police acted "to improve traffic flow" despite the fact that "bikes remain the primary mode of transportation for the vast majority of Beijingers."

Noting the absurdity of not including the dominant transportation mode in the definition of "traffic," was T.A. member Hanna Borgeson; while William Yates compared Beijing's action with the Giuliani administration's sacrifice of the bike lane on the Queensboro Bridge to cars two years ago.

The push by the major car manufacturers to sell auto dependency is powerful; the Times article ends with the tired refrain, "cars are the future." T.A.'s Jeff Prant countered: "If it is China's destiny to replicate our mistakes, it is our destiny to create a better example."