Look how fast you go when the streets are cleared for you
I know we’ve discussed this before (read here) but I just had to share with you these memorising sights of bike lanes in the Netherlands and Copenhagan.
Compare what you see below to this morning’s news from The Guardian:
‘Councils are spreading grit more thinly today in a bid to eke out supplies while they wait for much-needed deliveries of rock salt to combat a second day of ice and snow in southern England.
‘Commuters have endured another morning of hazardous journeys to work, with roads left treacherous by icy conditions and rail services badly disrupted.
‘Harrow council in north-west London described the grit supply situation as “pretty outrageous”.
‘The local authority spread about 40 tonnes around the borough last night, leaving it with 510 tonnes – not enough for four days of full gritting…’
The pics shown here are of course taken from the trusty Copenhagen Cycle Chic blog, showing how the city’s well-dressed cyclists can enjoy a snow-free bike lane without risk of snow muddying their journey.
Below is a video made by David Hembrow, a Brit abroad in Assen, Holland who has contrasted his local bike lane in summer with what it looks like in winter. As you’ll see, he found that, with a council that cares about cyclists – there’s no difference!
I took a good picture today on my iPhone of the pavement with pedestrians slipping all over the place while cars go by on their happily gritted roads. It’s impossible to conceive how much priority cars get over pedestrians and cyclists
I bought a mountain bike just to cope with the roads. It’s too bad, as long as you avoid cycle paths and don’t mind cars not slowing down on narrower roads.
The cycle path in the video isn’t actually all that local to me. It’s about 5 km from my home and I rarely ride along it except on recreational rides such as the one I was on when I made that video.
However, it’s an essential link for people who live in villages and that’s why it’s cleared of snow. The same goes for all the cycle paths, of course. They’re all essential, so gritting is comprehensive.
The same goes for all the cycle paths. Work is 30 km away, my route is almost entirely on cycle paths, and all of them were clear for my commute in both directions this week.
On my route through islington to Fleet street the cars have thrown slush onto the cycle lanes which of course have not been salted; pedestrians are walking on the edges of the carriageway because the pavements are not gritted; and, the cars are routinely driving at or above the new local speed limit of 20mph right up behind the cyclists who are unable to use the cycle lanes then overtaking through the slush and covering both pedestrians and cyclists with slush. We are certainly not getting our fair share of resources. Where all the street sweepers and where are the grit bunkers? Same as it ever was eh! Good to see that Boris Bikes are still being used though.