Here's an Idea

Thank Loki I no longer work in a congested downtown core. From what I've heard it's gotten vastly worse since I took my leave. A new struggle has emerged, bicyclist versus motor vehicle - trucks, buses, cabs, cars, the lot.

Municipal governments like Vancouver's have struggled - and failed - to sort out the conflict. Already overtaxed roads are narrowed to accommodate bicycle lanes but still cyclists are being hit, sometimes killed.

They've tried deterring on street parking by commuters by upping the meters, I'm told, as high as $8 an hour. Oooh, that's steep. Yet that doesn't seem to have made cyclists much safer - or happier. Drivers aren't happy either but that probably goes without saying.

Here's an idea.  One of the big differences between cars and bicycles is weight. Motor vehicles weigh lots, bikes weigh little. Why not, then, elevated bicycle lanes running atop downtown sidewalks? A latticework of elevated cycle paths close enough so that cyclists would be able to get within two city blocks of their destination, walking their machines the final distance?

Cyclists could have unimpeded passage, probably with better views and some distance between their noses and offending tailpipes. Motor vehicles wouldn't have to dodge the odd careless cyclist or share their precious roadways. Ne'er the twain would meet.