Referendums don't directly happen for issues like that, but they do happen indirectly through the parties we vote for. Say there was a party running for city council called the "Get Rid of the Bikes Party", where that was their main platform. Would you still encourage everyone to vote for what helps themselves personally?

If everyone voted for just the things that helped them and against everything else - whether in referendums, elections, whatever - minorities would pretty much always be repressed.