Unexplainable cycle lanes (1)

Daniela Borg Mizzi, public relations manager at the Malta Transport Authority, kindly explained the new bike lanes (Cycle Lanes Explained, August 21). I appreciate that old roads where never designed with bike lines in mind, however I will only be willing to ride on them if the government agrees to sponsor the increased number of tubes and tyres I'll need from damage caused by broken glass and what not accumulated on the side of the roads. Not to mention other dangers such as protruding sign poles which are perfect for getting tangled in when a motorist decides to drive too far to the left.

On the other hand, safe in the knowledge that the new roads do have an in-built bike lane on the pavement, I set out to complete the 2.2-km ride from Zebbug to the roundabout below Saqqajja. I had to give up trying to ride on the pavement almost immediately. Firstly there was a large group of people walking along, and since there is no apparent signage indicating that the pavement is actually a bike lane, I had to hop down onto the road, then get off my bike because the pavement's too high to hop back onto it without risking a fall.

Then, a few hundred metres on, some pickup trucks were parked right on the "in-built" bike lane. Further on there were speed camera signs right in the middle of narrow parts of the "in-built" bike lane. And what about the sort of obstacles shown in the photographs? Maybe Ms Borg Mizzi can suggest a way how I can continue riding without getting on the road. I soon realised that it's probably much safer and certainly less frustrating to ride on the road the way I always do.

Ms Borg Mizzi also mentioned the stretch from Qlejgha to Mtarfa Military Cemetery as having an in-built cycle lane. Well, I hope that the broken crash barrier which has been lying across the "in-built" bike lane for weeks has now been removed. I haven't gone along there for about a week so I can't say for sure. However, there are other obstacles along the way, such as having to hop onto the road and back onto the pavement to cross a side road, without the help of a ramp, as well as a very narrow part at the top which is probably beyond the ability of most cyclists to go through unscathed.

I'm practically sure that all those involved in this mediocre attempt have no real idea of what cycling is all about. Surely none of them use the bike regularly over long distances. All in all, another example of poor, or should I say haphazard or non-existent, planning.