I think you misunderstand what I meant by "long term". Think more in terms of centuries. Plural.
The Netherlands has the advantage that most of their city layouts were framed around a core that was built prior to the emergence of the automobile. Same applies to most of Europe, particularly the big cities. This is why the cities in the USA with the best mass transit tend to be on the East Coast, where they had the opportunity to build up big before the automobile, NYC in particular. Those cores simply aren't designed primarily for car traffic. The original street plan for Manhattan was established in 1811, for instance.The Netherlands started their policies towards public transport and bikes in the late 70s. They didn't start getting a reputation for cykling until the late 90s.
The first step is having a practically achievable goal you can campaign towards at the local level.But the first step needed is action on a local level.