Car
Free Day in Poland: 22th September, 2004
Significant
involvement of more than 100 local authorities in the Car Free Day 2004 is good news (see
national website here). Even better news is the growing
number of municipalities across Poland
that implement
sensible cycling policies all year long and build cycling
facilities. The case of Gdańsk where the Cycling
Infrastructure and Promotion Project co-financed by Global
Environment Facility resulted in top-quality facilities is
closely followed by the city of Cracow where innovative
procedures of bicycle audit and the standarization of cycling
infrastructure have already significantly improved conditions for
cycling in some places and promise much progress in the coming years.
Warsaw Road
Authority
once notorious for their neglect for cyclists now announced public
consultations for the cycling facilities and switches from uneven
concrete blocks to smooth sealed surfaces on cycleways, much desired by
the users.
Critical
Mass
rolls across Poland, with 15 active rides and the Warsaw
Mass
consistently attracting more than a thousand cyclists. This is
happening in a country where grass root activism has become nearly
extinct and sociologists and media worry about people's dramatic
withdrawal from public participation of any kind. (Interestingly,
the Polish media have not taken any notice of the Critical
Mass. CM have never been reported in the national media and have grown,
spread and remained absolutely grass-root way).
However, the
picture is not so bright. Cycling in Poland is very dangerous. Every
tenth person killed in traffic accidents in Poland is a cyclist (and
the roads accidents in Poland are numerous). This is about six hundred
cyclists killed every year, more
than in Germany with twice as many
inhabitants and much more bicycle traffic in streets. The accidents are
often caused by sheer neglect of the cyclists themselves (no lights,
reflectors, careless ride, alcohol abuse). However, poor road
infrastructure and lethal habits of Polish drivers play significant
role. Cars do speed in Poland despite potholes, narrow roads and tight
curves. And - paradoxically - the problems grow when cycling facilities
are
built. The underlying reason for all the trouble is the Traffic Law and
serious flaws in the regulations.
Polish
Traffic Law is inconsistent with the Vienna Convention on Road Traffic
(1968) and its article 16, paragraph 2. Cyclists on the cycleway parallel to a road
with right of way must stop and
give way to cars every time a cycling track comes to a junction. This
makes cycleways useless. In all other countries that are parties to the
Convention, cars changing direction must give way to the oncoming
traffic
and to the cyclists on cycle tracks travelling straight ahead. Another
example of weird regulation is the article that says
that when being overtaken, non-motorized vehicles must come as close to
the right side of the roadway as possible and stop if neccessary. If
taken literally, this rule may force cyclists to topple when stopping
in some emergency situations and/or be guilty of being run over by a
car. Well, it seems that nobody takes this rule literally or even
seriously, but then what is the
need of such regulations?
Another problem stems from the regulations on road construction and
technical reqiurements for
road facilities. They make it very difficult to provide good quality
cycleways or even to properly design the traffic calming measures. For
example, instead of simple contra-flow lanes, the Ministry
of Infrastructure regulations promote two-way bicycle lanes in
one-way streets. This results
in slow-moving cyclists forced to use the "fast" (left, in the UK -
right) side of the one-way roadway, with cyclists having no visual
contact with the
drivers. No traffic calming or similar measures are required to
implement such facilities. No requirements for curve parameters for
segregated cycleways exist, which results in many sharp bends where
bicycles would rather need to be turned by hand. Those road engineers
and planners who co-operate closely with bicycle users and take their
needs seriously
have real trouble designing facilities that at the same
time provide safety and comfort to the cyclists and meet the legal
requirements.
The most intriguing
part of the regulations is the guidance to cut cycleways short before
they cross the roadway and paint the zebra crossing ahead in order -
well, already guessed? Yes, in order to force cyclists to dismount and
walk with their bicycles across the street. Seriously.
And - by the way - walking across the street is not safe at all.
Pedestrians constitute enormously large part of the road accidents
victims in Poland. Roughly 2000 pedestrians get killed each year, or
some 30 percent of all road fatalities. This is way above the EU
average. In many countries, pedestrians have right of way when entering
the pedestrians crossing (and cars halt in advance when drivers see
pedestrians approaching the zebra). In Poland, just entering zebra
crossing in front of an approaching car is an offence. Keep this in
mind when you hear that Poland's authorities say they work hard on road
safety and support the rights of vulnerable road users.