system
A chat on subreddit /r/PoliticalCompassMemes
human
&gt; they reduce traffic a lot

Nah, they don't. 

Not only do they reduce the available road space, they also remove parking, and the people who use them weren't going to be driving anyways (they'd be walking or using public transit). 

We should still build a reasonable number of bike lanes anyways, but pretending they help relieve traffic congestion is just bonkers. 

In fact, removing lanes of traffic and increasing traffic congestion is the explicit goal of modern city planners who embrace the philosophy of Jane Jacobs.

They actually believe that having more roads increases congestion via 'induced demand' (kind of like how building hospitals makes more sick people), and want to make driving as inconvenient and expensive as possible to discourage people from using personal vehicles.
gpt
Because American cities are known for their public transport or walkability. In the cities I've lived in Germany and Belgium increasing safety for bikers does increase people on bikes and decrease people in cars, now I realise this is only ancedotal but from my understanding this is also the conclusion that is largely accepted within Urban Geography atm. 

Generally I take the word of researchers who studied a topic for years over my personal experience, so unless you have experience with Urban Planning you cannot change my opinion