A lot of these problems are part of this long standing idea that everyone would be traveling by car, which leads to the creation of the cheapest and least thoughtful roads possible. These ideas seem to be gradually fading, even in the small town where I live there's a big project up to add bicycle lanes and improve sidewalks.[0]

[0]: http://www.masslive.com/news/index.ssf/2017/02/easthampton_t...