How to move when the end of confinement takes effect? In many cities of the world, the bicycle is chosen because it guarantees social distancing while avoiding air pollution, suspected of worsening the risks associated with coronavirus. The French government has just launched a mission on the subject.
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Streets deserted by cars and overrun by dozens of bikes. This image, which was still utopian yesterday, will become a reality in several cities around the world. As they begin their deconfinement, it is a question of avoiding crowded public transport and the spread of the virus, but also of combating related air pollution, suspected of aggravating the risks linked to the coronavirus according to Harvard University researchers.
On April 13, the French government launched a mission to promote travel by bicycle after the containment was lifted. “There will be a collective rejection of public transport. If we don’t want to take the metro, bus or coach to get to work for fear of contagion, we will have to be able to get around“, notes Pierre Serne, president of the Club of cycling cities, in charge of this mission, questioned by Le Parisien. Lanes reserved for cars could be transformed into temporary cycling paths, delimited with studs, barriers or a simple marking on the ground They already have a name: coronapists.
Parisian boulevards transformed into cycle paths
“I plan to temporarily provision axes above the busiest metro lines, so that people who feel safer on bikes can easily circulate. Concretely, we want to double lines 1, 4 and 13 by surface bike networks, on the same routes “ said Anne Hidalgo, the mayor of Paris, in an interview with the Journal du dimanche.
For her part, Valérie Pécresse, the President of the Île-de-France region, has committed to mobilizing 300 million euros to accelerate the creation of a regional cycling network already in the cards, “RER-Vélo”, starting with temporary routes adapted to deconfinement in the most frequented sectors. “He would be possible to go from 400,000 to 800,000 people by bike a day “, she believes. In Montpellier, two new major cycle routes have been created. Lyon, Grenoble and Rennes are also planning to speed up their cycling plans.
Elsewhere in the world, many cities have already taken the plunge, as in Berlin where the width of cycle paths has been doubled. In Milan, a 35-kilometer experimental track was launched. In New York, streets have been closed to automobile traffic. In Bogota, Colombia, 22 kilometers of cycle paths were created overnight, even before confinement, to promote social distancing. In total, the city has set up 117 km of provisional tracks fitted only with studs.
The city of Bogota, pioneer of the establishment of Covid19 temporary bicycle paths, has just posted a video
It allows you to better visualize what they look like and how they are set up and used pic.twitter.com/ECnTyCoyIP
– Mathieu Chassignet (@M_Chassignet) April 19, 2020
A historic moment for cycling
“This is a historic moment for cycling “, wants to believe Stein Van Oosteren of the Vélo Île-de-France collective. “These temporary containment exit tracks are an exceptional opportunity to reorganize space, giving space and security to cyclists “. “A historic opportunity to do in a few months what normally would have taken years or could never have been envisaged”, also summarizes urban planner Dominique Riou in a report published this week.
For this turning point to really take place, the Federation of Bicycle Users (FUB) recommends providing these temporary cycle paths on entire axes, and not just isolated sections. They should also be accompanied by temporary bicycle parking lots, put in place a check for 100 euros to finance the reconditioning of bikes and properly mark the routes by tracing them on public transport.
“The mode of travel that will accompany return to work after confinement can potentially lead to structural changes if it is directed to alternative modes of transportation “, warns the High Council for Climate. According to his estimates (1), greenhouse gas emissions will be reduced by 5 to 15% by the end of the year in France. However, the reduction in transport emissions accounts for 60% of the total reduction.
Concepcion Alvarez, @ conce1
(1) See the report of the High Council for Climate published on April 21
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