Thanks to all who share their views. I am frustrated and am a bit shocked to see how cities are developing in the same way in terms of automotive against human powered transport. I believe the energy goes into automotive transport yield 1% transport value and 99% pollution (air, noise, danger) while cycling yield 20% transport value and 80 % fitness for the rider. http://jz88.com/jz88-blog/?p=4 This argument is valid for me but obviously not for the majority. I have friends who earn much less and able to justify to use half of their income for buying a small car in Singapore. The "status symbol" and perceived utility factors are the driving force behind. I wish more high profile persona will help to raise the status of cyclist and pedestrian. I also wish more government agencies will see the connection between transport planning and the consequences in population health and living environment. Practically, I don't want my children to risk their life nor want to block them from developing a life long skill in cycling, they need a solution now. I will bring them out cycling on pavement and safer streets, highlight to them the potential danger in common places. Bit by bit, to built up their competent level and confident. Chu Wa chuwa <chuwasg@yahoo.com> wrote:<blockquote class="replbq" style="border-left: 2px solid rgb(16, 16, 255); margin-left: 5px; padding-left: 5px;"> - primary school pupils want to cycle to school on their own but parents' concerns are stopping them. - 90% of youngsters have bikes and more than 30% of them would like to cycle to school, only 1% actually do - parents who drive their children to school risk creating a habit of dependency that undermines children's confidence and self-reliance - It's a great shame children are being denied the opportunity to experience this (cyling) independence because parents are worried about their safety on the roads All above remarks from THE HERALD (UK) can be applied to Singapore directly. I am just wondering how many cities (developing or not) are facing similar problems? Chu Wa Commuter cyclist Father of two The full news: http://www.theherald.co.uk/news/news/display.var.1247222.0.0.php -------------------------------------------------------- IMPORTANT NOTE to everyone who gets sustran-discuss messages via YAHOOGROUPS. Please go to http://list.jca.apc.org/manage/listinfo/sustran-discuss to join the real sustran-discuss and get full membership rights. The yahoogroups version is only a mirror and 'members' there cannot post to the real sustran-discuss (even if the yahoogroups site makes it seem like you can). Apologies for the confusing arrangement. ================================================================ SUSTRAN-DISCUSS is a forum devoted to discussion of people-centred, equitable and sustainable transport with a focus on developing countries (the 'Global South'). </blockquote>