Last week a bill was introduced by Sen. Carol Liu that if passed, would require cyclists of all ages to wear a helmet or face a $25 fine.

While Liu’s intentions are meant to make cycling safer for the people of California, she has missed the mark. The problem is not cyclists riding without helmets, the problem lies with cities not making bicycle-friendly roads.

The infamous “Share the Road” sign should stop being treated as a suggestion and become common practice to everyone; cyclists, motorists and city officials alike.

This is easily achievable with the incorporation of protected bicycle lanes.

Not only would putting money into making more bicycle lanes keep cyclists safer on the road, it would encourage people to have healthier, more active lifestyles while boosting local economies and saving tax dollars.

Here are five ways protected bicycle lanes improve communities:

1. It reduces the amount of direct interaction between cyclists and motorists.

By having protected bicycles lanes that are visible to everyone using the road, turning, lane changing and traffic weaving are greatly reduced. New York City has arguably the most traffic in the country. The city found that when bicycle traffic was controlled through protected bike lanes, injuries involving cyclists and motorists dropped dramatically; from 58 percent to 12 percent, according to the New York City Department of Transportation.

2. It holds everyone to the law.

It has been said time and time again that cyclists don’t follow traffic laws. In reality, it’s a grey area. When does a cyclist have pedestrian rights and when do they have motorist rights? The Chicago Department of Transportation saw that when the city added protected bicycle lanes, and bike specific traffic lights, traffic law compliance increase to 81 percent among cyclists.

3. It saves the city money.

Road construction is a bummer, and looks expensive but adding protected bicycle lanes to existing roadways is actually more affordable than people think. The San Francisco Bicycle Coalition discovered this when it found that a one-mile roadway planned to go through Golden Gate Park was 1,283 times more expensive than one-mile of bicycle lanes.

4. It boosts the local economy.

Sacramento has a growing local community that’s reflective in small businesses, farmers markets and community events. All these benefit from having protected bicycle lanes. When New York City finished research on the relationship between protected bike lanes and local economics, it was published on nyc.gov that when bike lanes were built parallel to local businesses on 9th avenue, those businesses experienced a 49 percent increase in sales.

5. It helps healthcare costs.

When you build it, they will ride. When they ride, healthcare costs go down. A study done by the Transportation Insight for Vibrant Communities showed that 65 percent of residents in Portland would ride a bicycle more if they felt protected by bike lanes. If cycling participation increased nationally by only 3 percent, it would decrease national health expenditures by $6 billion, according to the National Bureau of Economic Research.

It seems the answer for safer, happier and healthier roads for all who use them is not to pass a bill that only requires cyclists to take action. Lui’s goal should be focused on what will be best for all Californians who use the roads, and that goal is protected bicycle lanes.

Share the road, be seen and ride on.