Congress couldn’t get it together to vote even on the smallest of possible energy bills -- the renewable energy standard -- before the October recess. That doesn’t change the reality that our energy dependent society needs to find alternatives quickly. Changing up our approach to transportation, one of the biggest sources of energy consumption, is a good place to start.

If more Americans used bicycles as a primary mode of transportation, the country would be closer to getting its energy use under control. So how can we make biking safer, easier, more mainstream? Infrastructure, safety, and education are key. It also helps to replicate model behaviors.

Opposition to widened sidewalks or bike lanes is often based on the assumption that on-street parking is vital to business. Yet a new study showed that customers who arrived on foot, by transit or on bikes visited more often and reported spending more money than those who drove.

Last year, New York City had a 35 per cent increase in commuter cycling. Much of that increase was attributable to New York City’s Department of Transportation (NYCDOT), which has been experimenting with innovative bicycle facilities based on European models. In the last three years, they’ve added 200 new miles of bike lanes, giving New York City 600 miles of bike lanes, paths and trails.

The expansion allowed the city to tie the existing network together. Previously, the 400 miles of bike lanes weren’t linked, so the NYCDOT focused on making connections, thereby integrating the network. In the process, the NYCDOT was able to design 200 miles of streets for cyclists, drivers, buses and pedestrians.