The car that broke the back of Seattle's bike craze

In the midst of an extensive history of the bicycle history of Seattle, we found a little gem concerning Tacoma. 

An ambitious 1897 plan in the early heyday of cycling would have constructed a tolled bike path all the way from Seattle to Tacoma. Would have...

Scroll down to the photo of two women cyclists to get the Tacoma story, or just enjoy the whole piece to get the larger context.

It's got us wondering; could a bicycle toll route work now?