Photo credit Timea Kadar
On June 13 The New York Times story “Cornona Cycleways” reported that European cities are opening up new bikeways. These are to accommodate people who, prior to the pandemic, took public transportation. While some bikeways are temporary, they are part of a larger trend. Before the coronavirus, Paris “had already added around 1,000 kilometers of protected cycling lanes.”
The Times reports “France, Italy, Britain and their neighbors are accelerating hundreds of millions of euros in investments on new biking infrastructure and schemes to get people pedaling.” Christophe Najdovski, the deputy mayor of Paris for transport and public spaces noted that “Around five or six years ago we were talking about shifting from fossil fuel to electric cars… . Now we’re talking about shifting from any type of car to other vehicles—especially bikes.”