239
Who could have predicted this?
(lemmy.nz)
I'd think German traffic engineers could come up with a better solution, yet these are everywhere:
The bike paths themselves are desire paths for cars and motorcycles.
To block them off, they put up barriers, but those also block cargo bikes, wheelchairs and strollers, create a collision hazard, and force all cyclists to stop and dismount for no reason.
Of course, they'll be bypassed wherever possible – naturally by cars and motorcycles too, if there's enough room.
I'm aware of their function. But they actively make the bike path worse for all users and block it off for some legitimate uses (wheelchairs, cargo bikes), that's why I'm saying there has to be a better solution. Like putting up blocking posts with a distance of ~1.8m on both sides of the path would be enough to keep cars from entering.
And if there's so little traffic on the road that cyclists don't expect it and slow down naturally, it might be a good idea to give cyclists the right of way at that intersection and design it accordingly.