Easily the case for me around the NYC area. I biked recreationally both within the city and in Jersey on more country roads. The fear of getting hit in both scenarios eventually became to big for me, and I picked less dangerous forms of exercise. It's a shame as I never felt as free as when I was tooling around on my bike
That is one of the most frustrating things about bike advocacy in NYC. 90% of the people who would bike don't because they think it is dangerous, and then people at CB meetings say we don't need to build bike lanes because they don't see anyone biking. They think of it as a way to increase safety of existing bikers and not a way to draw in new bikers.
And because of fractured nature of how these decisions are made, and the vetocratic nature of how our political system gives everyone a way to say 'no', every bike lane is a painful fight. And in the end, even if a bike lane gets built, the city doesn't actually put physical barriers to stop people parking cars in them. Then you factor in the lack of traffic enforcement in this city and the situation is pretty dire.
That said, there has been very slow progress. Compared to 15 years ago it is quite a bit better, but good lord it is a very drawn out fight. I try to encourage folks to show up to local community board meetings to advocate for bike lanes because I do think it makes a difference.
Thinking about how much is within a 5-6 mile distance of you at any point in time in NYC, you can see the potential for NYC to be an incredible place to bike if we prioritized safety, pollution and efficiency when we allocate street space in the city.
A friend of mine was a bike messenger in early 2000s NYC over the summer, and quit before the summer was out because he'd been hit by cars twice. It's such a shame as NYC's density, weather ~9mo out of the year, and elevation change all lend themselves to extensive biking.
