I’ve covered the village idiot before, now we have the village nanny, here being demonstrated by Eldest Son.
All of the pedestrian-only crossings over the Ü-Bahn (Metro) look like this in Ostfildern: a chicane to get to the track, angled crossing, and then another chicane on the other side.
It’s slow and annoying and it causes congestion because you have to wait for oncoming cyclists and pedestrians to clear the entire crossing before you can meander over, and then it keeps you in the danger zone longer. (the pictures don’t do justice to the design. Click here to see the full effect on Google Maps)
I’m told the idea is that you look along the track before you cross to make it safer for pedestrians and cyclists, as a tram is a big and heavy thing, and can’t stop easily. Fair enough too. I’ve been around trains enough to know they are dangerous things if you don’t respect them.
So why aren’t the road crossings built the same way?
Meanwhile Cycling is good for you reports that over in Vienna the authorities are taking a similar approach on the congested Danube cycle path: cyclists are getting nannying leaflets telling them to be more careful and drive slowly (which leaves the field open to blame them for anything that happens). When will the motorists of Vienna will be sent similar literature?
On the other hand I was scooped by Karl over at ‘Do the right thing‘ earlier this week: apparently a 60 km section of Autobahn between Duisburg and Dortmund was closed recently and turned into a giant party venue under the slogan ‘Fordert die Straßen zurück!” (Give the streets back).
What an excellent idea. Hopefully our state will take notice.
6 comments
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July 24, 2010 at 8:42 pm
Triton-Mole
Hi Andy!
There is one reason, why bicyclists are treated like this: We are third-class participants in traffic!
What is the reason for this?
Very simple: We are faster than pedestrians and in the rushhour sometime even faster than cars. Our way of moving is efficient. (As Rob Hopkins said in the video, you nentioned yesterday: 1 liter of oil is equivalent to 5 weeks of work by one man! How much fuel does the avarege car-driver consume?) We keep ourselves fit and healthy! (If in Germany 30% of the cyclists stop cycling and use cars, the health insurance would have to spend 100 million Euro per year extra!) Bicycles don’t need much repair and it is cheap to repair. But the worse thing we do: We don’t consume gasoline!
CARS ARE BETTER FOR OUR ECONOMY AND THUS BETTER FOR THE BANKS!
That’s the mistake we make…..
Chears,
Stefan
July 26, 2010 at 11:18 am
Andy in Germany
Hi Stefan. You’ve hit on something that’s often been at the back of my mind. From manufacture to companies paid for cleaning up the mess cars make, and healthcare etc, that’s a lot of money sloshing about.
Added to this we must remember that one in four people works directly or indirectly for car companies in Germany, so every effort will be made to support them and discourage alternatives.
July 25, 2010 at 7:00 am
Zweiradler
I think you mean “Fordert die Straßen zurück!”
I read that there were about 3 million visitors at the event, quite impressive. The bike riders had their own traffic jam.
I grew up with a healthy respect for trains, too. The crossing shown above is a bit over the top, if you ask me, and it could indeed be more dangerous than safe.
Nico
July 26, 2010 at 11:21 am
Andy in Germany
That’s the one Nico. It looked like fun: I doubt BW will do anything similar though: just imagine the howls from Mercedes if they did it here…
I come from a railway family, and worked on a museum railway which was only Narrow gauge at 760mm, but when our train hit a car, the car came of a lot worse…
Crossing this on the Bakfiets can be tricky because the turning circle is wide so I have to be careful not to get the wheel stuck in the track.
The irony is that not far from this crossing, the cycleway drops you onto a busy road, which you have to figure how to cross yourself…
(German text corrected, thanks for pointing the mistake out)
July 27, 2010 at 7:14 am
Nick
It is, of course, well known that all cyclists are mentally deficient and therefore NEED careful nannying. Car drivers, by contrast – and particularly SUV drivers – are recognised worldwide as having superior mental faculties, thanks largely to the benefits of sitting inert in a metal box for long periods while inhaling regular doses of noxious gases. Silly you, you should have known that. But then again you’re a cyclist, so you couldn’t really be expected to, could you?
July 28, 2010 at 9:38 am
Andy in Germany
Hi Nick. That explains a lot: I often wondered what the attraction of SUV’s was, now I know it’s a selfless attempt on the driver’s part to increase their IQ. I guess that’s why they shuttle their children about as well: “I know it’s a foul, loathsome, dangerous and highly inconvenient way to travel the 37 metres to school Jeremy, but it’s for your own good!”
If only I’d known this earlier…