Critical Mass and Parking Lots

A post on the KC Critical Mass Listserve brought up this point:

"Reclaiming the streets?
One of your objectives (as a group-posted on several websites) is to
re-claim the streets. To reclaim something implies previous ownership
or possesion. Cyclists never owned the streets. If not for the horse
and buggy, followed by the automoblie there would be not streets.
Streets were not built for bikes. If they had been they would have
been more narrow and more bike friendly. I am all for bike lanes but
keep in mind that with out the autos, you would have no streets to
bike on."

Interesting and well thought out, but streets predate the horse and buggy, as well as the automobile, perhaps coinciding with the wheel. People own the streets. Streets were not invented to accomodate the automobile but for a place for commerce, public life, and other forms of interaction, etc.
Wikipedia

Horatio Earle is known as the "Father of Good Roads." Quoting from Earle's 1929 autobiography: "I often hear now-a-days, the automobile instigated good roads; that the automobile is the parent of good roads. Well, the truth is, the bicycle is the father of the good roads movement in this country." "The League fought for the privilege of building bicycle paths along the side of public highways." "The League fought for equal privileges with horse-drawn vehicles. All these battles were won and the bicyclist was accorded equal rights with other users of highways and streets."

"Horatio Earle is known as the "Father of Good Roads." Quoting from Earle's 1929 autobiography: "I often hear now-a-days, the automobile instigated good roads; that the automobile is the parent of good roads. Well, the truth is, the bicycle is the father of the good roads movement in this country." "The League fought for the privilege of building bicycle paths along the side of public highways." "The League fought for equal privileges with horse-drawn vehicles. All these battles were won and the bicyclist was accorded equal rights with other users of highways and streets."

Good Roads Movement
League of American Wheelman
Pedaling History

League of American Bicyclists


I would not claim to own the streets, nor would I want to, but I would observe, and I am not alone in this, that cheap energy has led to a gross misallocation of resources and a decline in civic life in America.

On another note, the Kansas City Star reported yesterday that "The city has reached an agreement — almost — with backers of the Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts on fulfilling its pledge to provide $47 million for a parking garage." This lot will include 1000 spaces. $47,000 per space. At the same time, the annual support for the ATA, the bus service used by many thousands of people is $48 million.

In no other area, do we provide so much public storage for private assets as in parking. It would be unthinkable to leave any other piece of property unattended in someone else's space.