BIKE PATH OR BIKE LANE? BERLIN PONDERS ITS OPTIONS
[adapted from Der Rabe Ralf, Oct./Nov. 2004]

What to do with cyclists? Do they belong in the street or on the sidewalk? In Germany, the German Bicycle Federation and the German Traffic Club are now calling for bike lanes directly in the street. These are supposedly safer and cheaper than building off-street bike paths on the sidewalks. Critics, however, say that especially with narrow streets, bicyclists risk being run over by trams if forced to swerve. Delivery trucks would park in bike lanes, forcing cyclists to swerve into traffic. Nonsense, say proponents; visibility increases safety.
German cities typically separate bike traffic from car traffic by putting bike paths on sidewalks. While giving cyclists an added sense of safety, some cycling advocates claim this sense of safety can be deceptive. Since cyclists are not as visible to cars when riding on the sidewalk, they face a higher risk of being run over by a turning car when in the crosswalk. Bike lanes allow cyclists to move along faster and to make manoeuvres in full visibility of drivers. Cycling advocates also want to reduce the number of collisions with pedestrians.
Other options are also being implemented. So-called "bicycle streets" run parallel to main arterials, give right-of-way to cyclists, and are otherwise intended only for residents and visitors who must however yield to bikes. Painting the entire bike lane red increases visibility for cyclists, additional flashing warning lights alert drivers to cyclist crossings, and expanded bike lines in front of cars at red lights allow cyclists a head start at green.

 

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WORRIES MOUNT OVER TRAFFIC INCREASE IN PAKISTAN
[Pakistan Times, National News Desk, October 22]

In a country addicted to automobile imports, an estimated more than 100,000 additional vehicles every year have choked roads, particularly in urban centres where scenes of traffic jams have become order of the day.
According to automobile sources, car production in the country has increased from 30,000 to more than 100,000 within a few years and this increase is still continuing at a great pace owing to car financing schemes initiated by banks and leasing companies.
In Lahore alone there are an estimated 800,000 vehicles plying on narrow city roads while in Islamabad almost every third house has a car. Commuters take hours to reach their destinations. Long traffic jams on city roads have gotten out of control.
No authentic figure is available as to how much petrol, diesel, compressed natural gas and precious time of the people are being wasted on roads due to long traffic jams. Pakistan's oil import bill has crossed all previous records due to sudden rise of oil prices in international markets touching the figure of US$55 per barrel.
Official sources said the government has no plan to tackle this new situation which is clogging up the country's roads. But planning is a must at every level to decongest the roads.