While I agree with Morningsider that 'ideas' alone will not make much of a difference, I think the problem is more than just implementation (funding, design, construction, etc.).
Insto hints at it with talking about "the violence inherent in the system" though I take a broader interpretation than perhaps he intended (or maybe not). As well as the literal ecosystem metaphor (with drivers of motor vehicles as top-level predators?), the political system dispenses "symbolic violence" (Bourdieu) towards cycling: disapproval, disdainment or just disinterest. This reflects an inherent bias within our social system towards motorised transport as the norm.
Even when local government tries to improve matters (however modest the proposal) it comes up against defenders of the status quo. For instance, look at how the very timid plans to remove a few parking spaces on part of Leith Walk are being delayed and altered by organised objectors to the TRO. The complete disregard for any priority other than that of motor vehicle drivers weighs down upon our political ecosystem, strangling it like a parasitic organism whose tendrils permeate every area.
The seeming inability to address this systemic pressure is why cycling schemes, projects and infrastructure are endlessly compromised. Any proposed systems based solution which fails to take account of this factor will be similarly defeated.
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