The following appeared in an editorial in a local newspaper."Commuters complain that increased rush-hour traffic on Blue Highway between the suburbs and the city center has doubled their commuting time. The favored proposal of the motorists' lobby is to w

The author of the statement above recommends that an additional bicycle lane on Blue Highway motivates people to use bicycles than bringing their cars into the highway which in turn results in a traffic jam. This conclusion is based on the assumption that many people in the pertaining city are keen bicyclists and would change the trend of commuting if the specific lane is allocated for them. There are several vital questions needed to be answered in order to illustrate the argument to further evaluate it.

First, the motorists’ lobby is in favor of widening the highway with adding a lane for the passage of all forms of vehicles. The author rules out this proposal by making a comparison between this highway and the nearby Green Highway, which doing the same strategy did not stand in good stead for the traffic jam. Here, the author needs to ask whether there are other possibilities that the traffic jam is worsened in the compared highway. It is possible that new roads have been introduced to Green Highway during the past year, bringing a heavier traffic to it. In that case the additional lane might work properly, but the other factor has overshadowed the efficiency of the additional lane. Moreover, Green Highway might be subjected to some reconstruction and fixations that resulted in the traffic jam. With all this alternative, we cannot conclude that an additional lane worsened the traffic in Green Highway.

Secondly, what are the factors rendering such a congestion on Blue Highway? There might be problems with the road itself. It is possible that the situation of the asphalt is not good. The road might have many potholes decreasing the speed of the drivers and causes the congestion. The check points might be so frequent in the highway that gives rise to the traffic jam. All these possible explanations can cast doubt on the author’s conclusion unless the alternative are ruled out by answering the illustrating questions.

Thirdly, is the lane itself enough to encourage people? There are several factors influencing the feasibility of commuting with bicycles. The length of the road, the temperature of the weather, the wind and the concentration of the exhaust gasses, and the sound pollution, all can make one to decide not to take his or her bicycle to go to the highway. The author needs to ascertain that everything is ready and by only providing a specific bicycle lane, lots of people will shift to ride their bicycle on Blue Highway. Otherwise, it is possible that with any inconvenience on the road people prefer to use their cars.

In short, as discussed, there are several vital questions left unaddressed in the argument. Lack of answers to them, makes it impossible to evaluate the author’s conclusion. In order to illustrate the argument, the author needs to answer the enumerated questions in the body paragraphs.