shared paths look different in Järvsö

Thanks to – “because of” would grammatically be more correct but completely wrong expect for some spandex retards out there – the massive amount of people who choose to walk or ride during summer commuting by bike in Stockholm is quite an enjoyable hassle at the moment.

This is especially true on shared paths that are ridiculously narrow in some parts of the city and that only fuels the annual summer war between pedestrians and cyclists. But it does not have to be that way! Let’s look at how the smart brains of Järvsö solved the problem: with only a couple of wood boards and the help of gravity they created a nice segregated cycle facility leaving enough space for pedestrians on the left of the bicycle lane.

Wall ride, Järvsö
me trying out the bicycle lanes in Järvsö last Saturday

Thumbs up to Järvsö for solving the shared path problem so well! I can’t wait to see Stockholm urban planners follow these guys ideas on streets design: imagine a double wall ride (first to the right, second to the left) to connect Götgatan to Skeppsbron. Wouldn’t it be sweet? Or am I just day-dreaming again?

the real threat to Stockholmers

A couple of weeks ago I wrote about the first episode of a series of controls targeting cyclists who ride through red light. The controls are still going on around Stockholm and it’s for the best: cyclists are a real threat to pedestrians and car drivers and must be treated like the criminals they all are!

cyclists should be put in jail
Handcuffs look good on casually dressed bike commuters.

Of course there are a few sloppy motorists too but the situation on the roads is not as critical as the anarchy it’s on the bike paths. A police check in the city once in a while should be enough to remind drivers of the rules and make sure they stay safe in their rolling coffins. An operation like the one carried out in the evening of Thursday, April 26th and which definitely proves cyclists are the real threat… oh wait…

Between 23:00 and 06:00, Stockholm Police carried out an operation on “The Central Bridge” (Centralbron) & in “South Way Tunnel” (Söderledstunneln). Around 90 cars were stopped. Fines amounted to 50,000 SEK.

  • highest speed was 125 kph (instead of 50 kph)
  • 12 driving licenses were confiscated as a result of speeding and drink-driving
  • 15 drivers were caught driving without a license, 6 showed fakes
  • 1 driver commited environmental crime with “illegal waste transport” (whatever that means)
  • 2 people were taken to the police station on suspicion of drug-impaired driving
  • 1 person was arrested for illegal weapon possession and drink-driving
  • 2 people were reported for breaching knife law
  • 1 person was taken into custody for being in Sweden illegally

This is the result of just one single police check carried out on a regular weekday. I don’t know about you but as far as I’m concerned I have a pretty good idea who the real threat to Stockholmers is.

The report is available (in Swedish) here – http://www.polisen.se/Stockholms_lan/…/Flera-fast-for-rattfylleri-fortkorning-och-olovlig-korning/