LOL. You are tied so tightly to your car that you don't see the point. I live in a walkable, bikeable, close-in neighborhood. My job changed several times over the years, but I've had several jobs when I was able to bike to work, with a commute of under two miles. At that range, biking is faster than driving when you figure in parking, and in rush hour it is often faster, period. (And it's free. Parking isn't, at least here.) The average bike commute in the U.S. is under five miles. Some take on longer distances, but the Spandex Ranger on the shoulder of your high-volume commuter sewer is the exception, not the rule.
(For the long distance crowd, the bike commute is their fitness program. I know, I know: suburbanites think you should drive to a gym to work out, but some folks prefer to integrate their exercise into their daily routine. Each to his own.)
We don't all live in walkable, bikeable neighborhoods in close proximity to jobs. Most suburbanites are stuck with their cars. But if walking or biking is a reasonable option, it's a great way to live. We should try to build more neighborhoods where this is possible. The point here isn't to force suburbanites out of their automobiles. The point is to build adequate pedestrian and bicycle infrastructure so that people have that option if it works for their jobs.
There are great neighborhoods all over the metro area. And there are many older, close-in neighborhoods that can become great as gentrification kicks in. Provision for pedestrian and bicycle traffic is great for kids, great for retirees, great for active young adults and families with children, and great for folks whose jobs are nearby. It's an easy, low-cost, high value-added way of anchoring neighborhoods. And done right, it can get a lot of people out of their cars, which simplifies life for the suburbanites who don't have any alternatives and must drive.
I'm retired now, but when I biked to work, a bike was as fast as driving over the ranges involved. Nowadays from time to time, I chat with folks on the trails. I have encountered a number of people biking down the Metropolitan Branch trail from Brookland, Mt. Ranier, Takoma Park, and West Hyattsville who swear that it's faster than driving. Having seen rush hour traffic on Rhode Island, North Capitol, Riggs Road, etc., I can readily believe it. Remember, a majority of bike commuters are going less than five miles, and very few are going more than ten. You are taking the long-distance commuter as the norm, but that's not the case.
“LOL. You are tied so tightly to your car that you don’t see the point. I live in a walkable, bikeable, close-in neighborhood.”
Yeah? So do I. I live where people are paying over the asking price of homes for sale by thousands because of that fact alone.
Guess what? Everyone else does not, and their businesses are not here either.
And unless you want to live on boutique food, craft beer, and coffee, you have to go to a real supermarket, and a bike is not how that is done.
And I used to actually bike to my job. The problem is that I’m on a hill, the job is in a valley, and it only is pleasant on one of those trips. It was not worth coming home exhausted and sweating like a pig.