This photo was taken on our walk to the brewery. Here's what you're looking at - the part right in front of the camera, with a mix of cobblestones and pavers, is the sidewalk and is for pedestrians. The paved strip to the right of the sidewalk, against which the cars are parked, is the bike lane and is for bicycles. Next to the parked cars are two lanes for cars, one for driving in each direction. Then there's a space for parked cars on the other side of the street, a bike lane and a sidewalk.
Now there may be more bicycles in use in China, but this country has to come in a close second. The way the streets are laid out, each type of transportation has its own lane. In the busy streets of downtown Copenhagen, to my untrained eye, it looks chaotic and dangerous, especially for the cyclists. If you step back and just watch the way this works, it's fantastic! Pedestrians do NOT walk in the bike lane. If they have to, for some reason, they must be on the lookout for the cyclists who have the absolute right of way. For Pete's sake, the buses have to watch out for approaching bicycles even when they are trying to make a right turn! They have to watch for bikes coming from in front of them and from behind them! And they do! I was astonished watching all this happen as smoothly as running your hand on silk. If we want to encourage people to use bicycles, instead of cars, making these lanes would be a good place to start!
No comments:
Post a Comment