Cyclist takes fine protest online

David Caruana

Jun 10th 2011, 19:36

Improve regulations on WHICH BIKE LANES?!

There's almost no bike lanes at all on our island - and the few there is are not respected by car drivers!

Mr Sammut,
I cycle on the pavement too, but I ride a mountain bike. You cannot possibly expect a road bike to go over those cobbles!

Mr Korsten,
Totally agree with you! And I add that most local drivers have no respect for cyclists! They can't even figure out that cycling is pollution-free, unlike cars, so in reality bicycles deserve more respect than any fuel guzzler!

Mr Biker Man

Jun 10th 2011, 22:31

Good one Mr C Cassar ..... or rather .... awful one !!!
Let me tell you how Malta would improve overnight ...... it would improve overnight if thousands of local big fat sloppy lazy gluttons would stop using their car for errands that would involve a 5 minute walk, and walk it, or otherwise start using a bicycle.

Eric Muscat

Jun 10th 2011, 17:31

Charles, there are major inconsistenies in the way cyclists can ride across Malta and Gozo to keep within the laws and regulations. There are unclear definitions where definitions exist. There is nothing as far as I know that prohibts cycling on the road even where there are so called cycling lanes. Some cycling lanes are unfit for certain types of cycling. As a minimum you have to make the distinction between what fits a road bike and a mountain bike. Brand new roads are sometimes being served with cycling lanes, most of which are not fit for purpose. I think it's about time that TM starts to take cycle lanes seriously with proper designs, proper regulations, etc. One important regulation that has gone into many countries is that all vehicles are obliged to drive at a minimum of 3 feet from cyclists, and that would go a long way ot keep cyclists safe. We are withnessing a dramatic increase in the number of cyclists on the roads and regulations / guidlines are very very poor

Mr R Bartolo

Jun 10th 2011, 17:34

So the fact that the pavement is cobbled, is "no problem".

I can just about imagine roadbike users, some of whom have wheelsets (not the bikes - just the wheels/hubs/tyres) costing Euro3,500 (yes, correct, three thousand five hundred euros, just for the WHEELS) being oh so enthusiastic about riding on cobbles, and up and down the ramps that intersperse this after thought of a "bike lane". All while potentially doing 60 km/hr.

Unlike you Mr Sammut I have also used bike lanes in London and there is a world of difference between an afterthought that what our "bike lanes" are, and a complete network of lanes that provide for getting from A to B mostly separated from other road traffic.

Also, a competent cyclist is supposed to be fully capable of flowing with regular traffic on regular roads with the only exceptions being the faster highways, for obvious reasons, of which we have none here.

Mr Steve Chetcuti

Jun 10th 2011, 18:21

and what are you supposed to do when the cycle lane comes to an end. Get off your bike and push it!!!!! give us a break Mr. Sammut

Mr Peter Korsten

Jun 10th 2011, 19:01

Coming from a country where cycle lanes are taken very seriously (the Netherlands), I'd say the ones in Malta are a joke.

There are:
* lanes maybe half a metre wide. That should be at least four times that.
* lanes on a pavement. Yeah, what fun, going up and down all the time.
* lanes that suddenly disappear because the roads narrows.

You can't put in cycle lanes as an afterthought. They have to be part of the design, they have to be separate from the road (not by a mere line, but physically separate), they need to be good quality tarmac (possibly better than for cars, given their short wheelbase) and they need to be level with the main road.

Mr Joe Mallia

Jun 10th 2011, 19:29

It seems you have ridden a flying machine and not a bike. Accidents have been reported in the press by cyclists using this bike lane. The ramps on the lane make it more dangerous to use the lane than the road.