Who besides rich boys can afford to ride their bikes to work?

i bike to work in no small part because i can’t afford to drive there

Single mothers getting their kids to elementary and middle schools?

in civilized countries, they can use a cargo bike (what the dutch call a bakfiets) to carry the kids. or the kids can ride their own bikes.

The elderly going to their doctors appointments?

many elderly people can still cycle. you may even see electric assist tricycles on the bike path in civilized countries. and of course elderly people also benefit from accessible and convenient public transit.

Working stiffs who can’t afford to live in downtown?

this is a real concern and i absolutely share your desire to build large-scale dense public housing developments in downtown around transit stations, as well as doing the same around more outlying transit stations such that taking public transit also becomes a viable option.

What do you think will happen to rents when is forced to get an apartment in one of the existing blocks?

wait, i thought you wanted to build public housing to address housing affordability? was that just me offering a solution, and not you? that’s weird