Prague does not know how many cyclists there are in the city. She still gave over a billion for bike lanes and trails
Prague continues to make extensive investments in infrastructure for cyclists. Although the popularity of bicycles in the capital has been growing slightly in recent years, only a fraction of people still use it as a means of daily transport. This is due to the hilly profile of the city and the lack of cycle paths, which try to replace the often dangerous cycle lanes in which cyclists move with cars. Since 2019, the town hall has invested over one billion crowns in trails and cycle lanes.
The current management of the town hall is advocating record investments in bicycle transport and the growing popularity of urban cycling. This year, he wants to give 245 million crowns for bicycle transport. Including this year, it has invested a total of 1,037 billion crowns in it since 2019.
Councilor and Deputy Mayor for Transport Adam Scheinherr (Prague says that the funds spent) correspond to his interest in cycling. “Last year confirmed the significant growth in the popularity of bicycle transport. The counters recorded almost 5.9 million trips of Praguers on the city’s cycling routes. We also know from the counters that the number of passages has basically doubled since 2019, and at least once a month, 456,000 Praguers cycle in Prague, ”says Scheinherr.
However, even the town hall does not know exactly how many inhabitants of the city use the bicycle as a means of everyday transport and at the same time as a car raid or public transport. data from cycle counterswe find that the largest traffic takes place on the Troja cycle path (Povltavská) and also on the path along the Vltava in Modřany, which supports the claim that a large part of the numbered crossings are recreational cyclists.
On the other hand, it is obvious that the often criticized cycle lanes, where bicycles meet cars, are used by only a few tens to hundreds of cyclists a day on busy roads. For example: while the cycle path on the cycle path in Troja recorded a total of 2,781 crossings (in both directions) from Thursday morning to evening, only 252 people used the cycle lane leading to Captain Jaroš’s Embankment in the same period. Cycle lanes, which have grown in recent years on roads such as the Prague highway or the city ring, are becoming the target of frequent criticism.
Data from the Technical Administration of Roads show that bicycle transport still accounts for only about 1% of the total Prague transport mix. In contrast, 45% of transport is served by public transport, 33% by car and 23% by pedestrian. According to Scheinherr, however, the share of cycling by 2030 could be several times higher. “The climate plan estimates 7% off-season and 5% off-season,” the councilor said.
Scheinherr has previously stated for the daily Echo24 that cycle lanes are created in Prague following the example of Swiss cities. For example, in the capital Bern, cycling accounts for more than 15% of the total transport mix. In addition, according to some expert opinions, Prague cannot in the foreseeable future become a cycling city such as the Dutch Amsterdam, mainly due to its hilly landscape profile. But the expansion of e-bikes could help.
In the last three years, 29.9 kilometers of new cycle paths have been built in Prague. However, more criticized cycle lanes were added to the knowledge. From 2019 to 2021, 17.7 kilometers of dedicated cycle lanes and 44.6 kilometers of protective lanes were painted on Prague’s roads, which can be used by space and cars when a cyclist is not riding in the lane.
Fetish and the war against motorists
Cycling mania is criticized by Prague’s opposition and coalition representatives. For example, the coalition representative for TOP 09 Jiří Pospíšil says that he is not against investing in cycling, but I do not agree that city cycling should be preferred at the expense of cars. “I will not oppose investments in new cycle paths. I don’t mind the principle of investing in bike paths. But it bothers me that there are no changes in the technical parameters of the road and the bike lanes are painted there without enough space for them. People who write to me then often complain that the lanes for cars are narrowing, which increases the risk of collisions, ”he tells Echo24.
The mayor of Prague 9, Tomáš Portlík, also contradicts the painting of bicycle poles. “In the program statement, they had the word car three times and always in a negative connotation. The result of four years of rule corresponds to that. Only now, when he found out that motorists are a large part of the electorate, did they suddenly start dusting things like the level crossing of Poděbrady and Kbelská, which are the ideas we put together ten years ago. The reason that they are doing level crossings at the moment is that they know that the cycle lanes on the main roads are completely useless and that there is a need to make level cycle paths, because those classic cycle lanes just don’t work, “says Portlík (we wrote more here).