Cities that have committed to cycling infrastructure investment — Copenhagen, Amsterdam, and Utrecht being the most cited examples — demonstrate convincingly that cycling can become the dominant mode of urban short-distance transport when the physical environment genuinely supports it. I strongly agree that city governments should prioritise this transition, both for the environmental benefits it delivers and for the profound improvements in public health and urban quality of life it produces. The environmental case is straightforward: cycling produces no direct emissions, requires a fraction of the road space demanded by private cars, and eliminates the parking infrastructure that consumes valuable urban land. In cities where the majority of car journeys are under five kilometres — a distance comfortably covered by bicycle — transitioning even a significant proportion of these trips to cycling would substantially reduce urban air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions. The public health benefit adds another dimension: populations that cycle regularly have measurably better cardiovascular health, lower rates of obesity, and reduced healthcare costs, representing a public health dividend that conventional transport planning entirely ignores. Critics argue that reallocating road space from cars to cycling infrastructure disadvantages drivers who have legitimate transport needs and live in areas not well served by cycling routes. This concern is most valid in low-density suburban and rural contexts, but in urban areas — which have the highest population density, shortest average journey distances, and worst congestion — it carries less weight. The experience of cities that have expanded cycling infrastructure shows that initial opposition from drivers frequently reverses as the broader benefits of reduced congestion, cleaner air, and safer streets become tangible. Cycling will never be appropriate for every urban journey or every urban resident, and it must be complemented by strong public transport. But as the primary mode for short urban distances, it offers a combination of individual, public health, and environmental benefits that no other transport option can match. This is a transition that city governments should pursue with commitment and speed.