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driving. Many families, realizing that gas prices and availability were not as stable as they believed, began investing in bikes, a cheaper and healthier alternative to cars. Soon local governments noticed this increasingly popular mode of transport and began to stripe bike lanes for the first time. Today the bike has become almost familiar to us as a mode of transportation. As we drive to work or school we often see cyclists weaving their way through traffic, and in many cities bike usage is fast closing in on car usage. The question remains, however, how we can continue this pattern of growth and make biking safer, efficient, and more appealing to the general public. With rising fears of climate change and increased congestion, people have started to realize that a perfectly viable solution is right under our noses. With the right infrastructure changes and the right incentives, we can begin the shift from a society centered on the car to a society focused on sustainability and efficiency, where bikes and buses are used for transport in the immediate area and trains and zip cars are used for longer distance. I can see a not so distant future where cars are relics of the past and the streets are filled with bicyclists young and old, making their way safely to wherever they wish to go. The transition to this society would no doubt be difficult, as our cities have been planned and built around cars and buses. There are often few accommodations for bicyclists, and little room remains for their implementation. While many local governments are now attempting to integrate bike lanes into major roads, officials are often forced to remove a lane of traffic or decrease the width of the sidewalk. Buildings cannot simply be moved back to allow for new construction; sacrifices must be made. As taking out a lane in the road can increase automobile traffic, it is not always an appealing solution. For example, on Telegraph Avenue in Berkeley, many store owners fear that if parking and extra lanes are replaced with bikeways there businesses will suffer. While there fears are unfounded as will be later explained, it is important to realize that installing even a short stretch of bike lane is not a simple matter. The problem of city planning is not a new one. Cities are constantly evolving and changing, but this change is not necessarily uniform. For example, when a city expands outward traffic will inevitably increase throughout the city. Yet, old buildings that are already in place cannot be knocked down with disregard to make room for new roads or modern structures. Furthermore, geography plays a key role in restricting or facilitating