Book Review: Before 'Park' Became a Verb

With so much to learn just by reading a Wall Street Journal book review of "Bike Battles: A History of Sharing the American Road" by James Longhurst, history professor at University of Wisconsin-La Crosse, imagine what's to learn by reading the book.

2 minute read

April 13, 2015, 2:00 PM PDT

By Irvin Dawid


Parking Sign

TFoxFoto / Shutterstock

"'Park' became a verb in the early 1900s when there were small greenways—parks—alongside roads, and motorists left their cars there while they shopped or walked, writes reviewer Grant Petersen, a bicycling author himself and bike mail order store owner in Walnut Creek, Calif.

Bike Battles: A History of Sharing the American Road by James LonghurstPublication Date: April 15, 2015.

Petersen reveals that the pre-auto days of bicycling were rampant with classism and racism.

Bikes were so expensive that only the rich rode—a virtue in the eyes of many, because it allowed showing off and kept out the riff raff. The League of American Wheelmen (now the League of American Bicyclists) wanted bikes to remain high-brow and, in 1894, banned black members...It was a bad start for cycling, and could explain why recreational bike riding among adults in the U.S. is still a mostly white affair.

What's incredible is how quickly the auto changed the American urbanscape. "In the first two decades of the 20th century, roads that had until then been shared by pedestrians, street vendors, cyclists and horse carriages were turned over to cars, making them dangerous for everybody else," writes Petersen. When World War II ended, "our unbridled, auto-obsessed country went nuts designing urban environments and roadways around cars."

However, the best part of the review is Petersen's description of the demographic aspects of bicycling—from a generational perspective—particularly applicable to baby boomers like myself. "After the war, only children rode bikes, so bikes became a symbol of childhood."

No wonder bike riders in the ’50s and ’60s turned to cars as soon as they were of driving age and didn’t look back. Car-favoring laws and road designs have had staying power, and 50 years of car domination have given us generations of motorists who have never known anything else and understandably consider the road their birthright.

That brings up the question of how other generations, such as millennials who are perhaps more comfortable on a bike or bus seat than they are behind the steering wheel of a vehicle they own, will shape roads and the urban landscape.

It was gratifying to find that Longhurst applies his knowledge of bicycling to making the University of Wisconsin campus more bike-friendly. Ditto for the city of La Crosse.

Sunday, April 12, 2015 in The Wall Street Journal

portrait of professional woman

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching. Mary G., Urban Planner

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching.

Mary G., Urban Planner

Cover CM Credits, Earn Certificates, Push Your Career Forward

Logo for Planetizen Federal Action Tracker with black and white image of U.S. Capitol with water ripple overlay.

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker

A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

July 16, 2025 - Diana Ionescu

Green vintage Chicago streetcar from the 1940s parked at the Illinois Railroad Museum in 1988.

Chicago’s Ghost Rails

Just beneath the surface of the modern city lie the remnants of its expansive early 20th-century streetcar system.

July 13, 2025 - WTTV

Blue and silver Amtrak train with vibrant green and yellow foliage in background.

Amtrak Cutting Jobs, Funding to High-Speed Rail

The agency plans to cut 10 percent of its workforce and has confirmed it will not fund new high-speed rail projects.

July 14, 2025 - Smart Cities Dive

Tunnel for pedestrians, bikes, and buses in Lyon, France lit up with purple lights.

The French Solution to Congested Tunnels: Make Them Car-Free

Bay Area transportation officials keep expanding car capacity. Lyon’s Croix Rousse Tunnel offers a different way.

6 hours ago - Streetsblog San Francisco

Missouri state Rep. Chris Brown speaking in government chamber.

Missouri Governor Reverses Anti-Discrimination Housing Policies

A new state law bars cities from prohibiting source-of-income discrimination against tenants using Section 8 housing vouchers.

7 hours ago - Missouri Independent

Pedestrians crossing a rainbow painted crosswalk in New York City.

USDOT Launches Unfunded 'SAFE ROADS' Program

The program targets “distractions” and “political messages or artwork,” and paves the way for autonomous vehicles.

7 hours ago - Urban Milwaukee