> Bikes can certainly share pedestrian areas, they just need to ride slower
That significantly reduces the utility of the bicycle in terms of transportation. If one can't ride at a pace that much faster than walking, then using a bicycle provides no advantage in terms of time. It's also more awkward to control a bicycle at slower speeds and you're more likely to fall and injure yourself compared to hist Ealing at the same speed.
I didn't make it clear, but I'm talking about metro areas. Longer distance commuting would be better catered for with separated bike paths. My city is almost there, with separated bike paths for commuting, but then it reverts to car-dominant in the city, which doesn't make any sense.
But you can totally ride faster than walking on footpaths provided they're big enough, and it's easy enough to get on and off the path when needed. Not commute speed, but fast enough for inner-city commutes.
> But you can totally ride faster than walking on footpaths provided they're big enough,
That really depends on how many pedestrians are using the foot path. Plus, why use the footpath when I can use the road and ride at commute speed? Similarly, when I drive my car, I prefer taking the highway/motorway since I can drive faster than I can using surface streets.
That significantly reduces the utility of the bicycle in terms of transportation. If one can't ride at a pace that much faster than walking, then using a bicycle provides no advantage in terms of time. It's also more awkward to control a bicycle at slower speeds and you're more likely to fall and injure yourself compared to hist Ealing at the same speed.