Connected Routes, Deliberate Words

• ○A. A system of routes joined to provide travel connections
• ○B. A record of how many people bicycle each day
• ○C. A schedule for painting symbols on town streets
• ○D. A collection of streets reserved for recreation

A town can paint a bicycle symbol on a street in an afternoon.Building a useful route takes more thought.Towns should add bike lanes, but the goal should be a connected network rather than scattered strips of paint.A network is a set of linked routes that lets riders reach destinations without repeatedly losing their designated space.Connections to schools, shops, and recreation centers can make bicycling a more practical choice for everyday trips.

• ○A. Bicycles are an unwelcome addition to an already crowded space.
• ○B. Bicycles are a temporary solution while roads are being repaired.
• ○C. Bicycles are an expensive choice compared with other transportation.
• ○D. Bicycles are a familiar feature that the town has overlooked.

• ○A. It would make the decision sound more routine and unimportant.
• ○B. It would make the decision sound more unfair and threatening.
• ○C. It would make the decision sound more temporary and experimental.
• ○D. It would make the decision sound more technical and specialized.

• ○A. A traffic signal tells riders when to cross an intersection.
• ○B. A sign tells drivers where a bicycle route begins.
• ○C. A marked strip separates a bike lane from parked cars.
• ○D. A map shows the distance between two recreation centers.

• ○A. To emphasize an unfamiliar word that readers must memorize
• ○B. To question a label that may overstate what a design provides
• ○C. To show that a particular town official used that word
• ○D. To introduce a formal term for the width of a bike lane

• ○A. It suggests that bike routes should avoid streets with steep hills.
• ○B. It shows that gaps can limit the usefulness of completed sections.
• ○C. It shows that a short route is more useful than a long route.
• ○D. It suggests that building lanes requires skills used in building houses.

Disconnected lanes resemble a staircase with missing steps: the useful sections do not remove the difficulty of crossing the gaps.At a lane's end, a rider may have to merge into traffic or choose another street.Extending a lane through a difficult connection can therefore matter more than adding an isolated stretch elsewhere.Town planners should stitch routes together, treating intersections and gaps as essential parts of the project rather than leftover details.

• ○A. Repairing worn pavement before considering new destinations
• ○B. Decorating separate streets to give them a similar appearance
• ○C. Repeating one design without adapting it to different streets
• ○D. Joining separate pieces carefully to create a usable whole

• ○A. It associates the proposal with a competition between neighboring towns.
• ○B. It associates the proposal with a plan focused on physical exercise.
• ○C. It associates the proposal with an old-fashioned approach to travel.
• ○D. It associates the proposal with a challenge requiring exceptional effort.

• ○A. “The phrase makes the undertaking sound immense, perhaps beyond an ordinary town's reach.”
• ○B. “A staged approach makes room for learning as well as construction.”
• ○C. “Yet a town need not rebuild every road at once.”
• ○D. “It can identify useful connections, test changes, gather observations, and revise designs before expanding them.”

• ○A. It makes expansion sound like a technical problem needing more precise maps.
• ○B. It makes route planning sound like an artistic task needing better materials.
• ○C. It makes expansion for its own sake sound superficial rather than useful.
• ○D. It makes route planning sound like a public event needing more participants.