Over the past decade, protected bike lanes have appeared in cities across America, from major metropolitan areas to smaller municipalities....
GMAT Information and Ideas : (Ideas) Questions
Over the past decade, protected bike lanes have appeared in cities across America, from major metropolitan areas to smaller municipalities. Initially concentrated in a few progressive cities like Portland and Minneapolis, these dedicated cycling corridors have now spread nationwide. What accounts for their rapid adoption? Unlike traditional bike lanes that share space with parked cars, protected lanes use physical barriers to separate cyclists from vehicle traffic. This design significantly reduces accident rates and encourages more people to cycle, making them appealing to city planners focused on both safety and transportation diversity.
Which question does the text most directly attempt to answer?
What accounts for their rapid adoption?
Which cities were the first to implement protected bike lanes in America?
How much do protected bike lanes cost compared to traditional bike infrastructure?
Are protected bike lanes used in countries outside of America?
Step 1: Decode and Map the Passage
Create Passage Analysis Table
| Text from Passage | Analysis |
|---|---|
| 'Over the past decade, protected bike lanes have appeared in cities across America, from major metropolitan areas to smaller municipalities.' |
|
| 'Initially concentrated in a few progressive cities like Portland and Minneapolis, these dedicated cycling corridors have now spread nationwide.' |
|
| 'What accounts for their rapid adoption?' |
|
| 'Unlike traditional bike lanes that share space with parked cars, protected lanes use physical barriers to separate cyclists from vehicle traffic.' |
|
| 'This design significantly reduces accident rates and encourages more people to cycle, making them appealing to city planners focused on both safety and transportation diversity.' |
|
Provide Passage Architecture & Core Elements
Main Point: The passage explains why protected bike lanes have spread rapidly across America by highlighting their safety advantages over traditional bike lanes.
Argument Flow: The passage establishes that protected bike lanes have become widespread, then poses a direct question about why this happened so quickly, and finally answers that question by explaining how their design creates safety and usage benefits that appeal to city planners.
Step 2: Interpret the Question Precisely
This is a fill-in-the-blank question asking us to choose the best logical connector. The answer must create the right relationship between what comes before and after the blank.
Step 3: Prethink the Answer
- The passage has a very clear structure—it describes a trend, then explicitly asks a question ('What accounts for their rapid adoption?'), then spends the rest of the passage answering that exact question
- The passage is literally organized around explaining why protected bike lanes spread so quickly
- The correct answer should be the question that appears directly in the text and that the entire second half of the passage is designed to answer
What accounts for their rapid adoption?
✓ Correct
- This question appears word-for-word in the passage
- The entire structure of the passage is built around answering this question
- After posing this question, the passage immediately explains the design differences and benefits that account for rapid adoption
Which cities were the first to implement protected bike lanes in America?
✗ Incorrect
- While the passage mentions Portland and Minneapolis as early adopters, this information is just background context
- The passage doesn't attempt to provide a comprehensive list or detailed analysis of first-implementing cities
How much do protected bike lanes cost compared to traditional bike infrastructure?
✗ Incorrect
- Cost comparison is never mentioned or addressed anywhere in the passage
- The passage focuses on design features and safety benefits, not financial considerations
Are protected bike lanes used in countries outside of America?
✗ Incorrect
- The passage is entirely focused on America and never discusses international examples
- This question is completely outside the scope of what the text addresses