[habfanman]

Cities have to do more than simply paint lines on the side of the road and call it a bike lane. More often than not, they become convenient temporary parking for cabs, delivery trucks etc. Painted lines are fine for quiet residential neighbourhoods but for busy streets you need protected lanes or bollards.

In order to create a truly usable network, lanes have to go where people need to go, they have to be interconnected and they have to be cleared in the winter. Separted lanes encourage more people to bike (older people, kids, families) and create a demand for even more lanes. It's a win-win situation!