I don't see much talk about that self-evident fact. Asphalt sucks in so many ways. What would be a better alternative that needs not worry about cars but mostly bicycles?
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I don't know. It depends.
Asphalt spread out on very large surfaces sure sucks. Like parking lots and street parking. It contributes to flooding and heat island effect. It's also bad for runoff polluted water, filled with microplastics from tire shedding. Too much asphalt everywhere is bad.
But! Some major bike green ways and rail trails here have started to put asphalt on their bike paths, and they have good reasons for doing so. Those rail trails were covered with fine crushed rocks before, and the runoff was also pretty bad for the environment. The maintenance was higher because the gravel needs to be replaced. And the path couldn't be used for some weeks in the spring and fall because of thaw cycles. This article in French has a mayor saying they had this studied and it was better for the environment to have their part in asphalt. Plus, bikes are not heavy enough to damage the asphalt so it also needs much less maintenance for cycle routes.
I'm all for having asphalt on major bike roads and rail trails. But not on rural roads mainly for cars, and not to cover parking lots.
EDIT: Asphalt for bicycles, not cars. Like this.
It's still bad for the environment, you're essentially bisecting it. Animals can cross the road, but mycelial networks (which underpin pretty much everything in the forest) often can't. A ribbon of asphalt divides entire networks, isolating and perhaps even killing them, which leads to collapses in other areas. It also impacts drainage and encourages runoff.
This can be mitigated by using wood chips as a road surface instead of pavement. There are experimental mycelium-based road surfaces in development as well.
The holy Grail obviously is a flat, hard surface more similar to asphalt but without those issues, as I know wood chips and other rough surfaces can be both annoying to ride on and preclude certain vehicles/tires (i.e. road bikes) from riding on them at all.
Yeah, there's no perfect solution. Bicycles also produce microplastics and particles from tire shedding and brake pads. It's much much less than a car, but it still happens.
There is also a particular swampy area in a park with a paved bike path, where every year, there's a few dozen frogs flattened on the path. It's not common to other places where I ride, mostly just there. I was wondering if the heat of the asphalt might lure the frogs to bask on the path, and to their doom. However I've also ridden in the night and frogs sometimes just jump in your wheels. Maybe there's also just a bigger concentration there.
I've also seen terrapins lay their eggs in gravel paths. And I've never seen one dead, yet. In their case, asphalt might help a bit because they can't lay in the middle of the path, only the sides.
Plus, my point of view is also guided by the climate in my region, because asphalt can be plowed easily, and it also allows a cycling network to be open year round instead of just 6 months a year here. We can't cycle in mud or a metre of snow. Other regions might not have such extremes and can get away with well maintained dirt or gravel paths.
And I've never really ridden on wood chips for a long distance, only on decorative chips with soft beds. I'd be curious to try in some experimental spots. I would hope it's easier to roll on than grass. This also reminds me about some trails where they have multiple short wooden bridges to let nature cross in other ways.