Is Liikennematto too car-centric?

This morning I discovered that Liikennematto had, once again, been subject to criticism about its car-centric gameplay, this time via a cycling forum. Overall, the reception for Liikennematto has been very positive, and the car-centric gameplay is really the only substantial criticism I've received.  I'm here to discuss the game design of Liikennematto and how it relates to the criticism.

I don't personally have a driver's license. I use Helsinki's great public transport daily and often cycle during the temperate times of the year. I'm all for removing extra parking spots and adding bike lanes, and I enjoy the recent improvements to the cycling infrastructure in Helsinki.

The thing is, kids love cars. This, of course, stems from the car-centric culture they grow up in. I do my best to raise my child(ren) to be environmentally conscious and to keep them safe. Yet I understand their fascination with mechanical things, and cars are a masterclass of complex mechanics. Toy cars are the top thing my 4yo child wishes for, year after year. We also build them out of Legos. Cars carry things, they fit multiple people[1], and they are fun to play with. The fact that they are dangerously heavy and fast, and not climate-friendly, doesn't really transfer to the way we play with the toys.

Liikennematto is a toy, inspired by children's traffic mats. Its conservative aspects are incidental.

Liikennematto could have bicycles and bicycle paths. Some of the things I'd have to consider, though:

•  Should I allow collisions between cars and cyclists, or between cyclists? Bumper cars are playful; car and bicycle collisions are deadly.
• How do I fit bicycle lanes into the fundamentally two-lane mechanics of the game? Having all roads include a bicycle lane could make intersections chaotic and make the game visually hard to parse.
• The "you only build the roads" mechanic in its current form is incompatible with drawing bicycle paths inside blocks, so would it be boring if bicycles shared the paths with cars only?

With this in mind, I'd rather design a new toy that addresses bicycles from the very start and where the game design encourages you to avoid high car traffic. Same applies to light rail and other alternatives to cars.

Thanks for hearing me out.

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[1]  Tandem bikes, children's' seats and bike trailers do exist and broaden the functionality of a bike  :)