NO NEED TO REINVENT THE WHEEL

You can only realise the true purpose of cycle paths when you begin thinking of them as of a necessity that is vital in every sense. As when your child is playing in the park, while you are trying to monitor in your peripheral vision the movement of an amateur cyclist racing at full speed right into people walking around idly.

Extreme experience

At such moments, you try to predict not only where your fidget is heading to, but also a chaotic route of the cyclist which demonstrates cycling "tricks" at high speed. Just thinking what may happen to an adult, let alone a child, and the cyclist himself if such a thrill-seeker would run into pedestrians, sends chills down one's spine. As a result, a regular walk with the kids turns into an extreme experience. Nobody is relaxed - neither the kids who are continuously being checked, nor their parents who literally get tired of their own voice and nervous strain. Why? Because people who like riding a bike should not do it in public places. Cyclists should enjoy their ride in specially designated areas.

A boom for cycling in the form of entertainment has only recently emerged in Azerbaijan, though the bike as a means of transportation is still out of favour. However, since the appearance of bike rental stations in the capital, many people developed a liking for having a quick ride. By the way, this is a convenient form of transport for tourists too. This approach is used in many cities. In the capital, such rental stations were initially located only in the territory of the Baku Boulevard [also known as National Park], in its new part. Now you can rent a bike on the Fountains Square and in other recreational parks. Some fashion trend, one would say. But everything should have its place, as the saying goes, and the issue of profit should be sidelined in this case.

There are special paths for cycling on the territory of the new boulevard. But certain "dashing riders" long for riding in the promenade area, and law enforcement officers, which usually appear as if out of the blue when it concerns some other prohibitions such as walking on the lawns, show enviable tolerance in this case. Cyclists are boldly "bypassing" the law, and the authorities are not going to notice it.

While the presence of cyclists on the boulevard can reasonably be explained by its spaciousness, the organising of bike rental stations on the Fountains Square does not fit any logic. This is no place for cycling: first, the park is not a cycle track, secondly, there are many people here strolling with their children. And speaking of the Fountains Square, another cause for concern are electric waste collection vehicles that scurry through the park at any time of the day and not at such a low speed. Drivers of these vehicles go noiselessly, but carelessly. It is scary to see an electric vehicle passing by a kid or anyone else. Would it not be better to clean the park in the morning or at least to move at a slower speed if it is absolutely necessary to do the cleaning?

A law is a law!

Hopefully, this will be the main postulate for all holiday-makers as everyone should understand that the freedom of one person ends where the freedom of another begins. If the parents went out for a walk with their child, nobody should interfere with their leisure - neither cyclists nor anyone else. Likewise, cyclists should not be hindered by those who prefer walking. This means that walkers should keep away from bike paths while cyclists should not encroach on the territory of strolling holiday-makers. Incidentally, this legal postulate is well learned in many European cities, where an intruder would have to pay a considerable fine. But this rarely happens. Meanwhile, our correspondent repeatedly heard that both cyclists and strollers were severely penalised for such violations at the local boulevard in the Georgian spa town of Batumi. And that all parks with bike rental stations have cycle paths.

Bicycles are indispensable transport for the development of tourist infrastructure. However, everything should be done nicely and intelligently. In Paris, for example, this sphere has been under development since 2007, when the city authorities decided to encourage both residents and tourists to ride on bicycles, as part of the struggle against the endless traffic jams on the streets. However, it was not easy to find free public bicycles in Paris at that time. Now the city has 750 rental stations located about 300 m apart. The Velib' system provides the Parisians and visitors with 10,600 bicycles which they can leave at any nearest rental station. To rent a bike, you only need to buy a ticket. As with the travel passes, tickets are available in several forms: an annual ticket at 29 euros; a weekly ticket at 5 euros; and a 1-day ticket at 1 euro. A fixed price allows a person to use one bicycle for half an hour. Today, the total length of bike lanes in Paris is 371 km. On busy streets, cyclists use lanes allocated for buses. On Sundays, the embankments along the Seine are closed to motor vehicles and remain accessible to pedestrians, cyclists and skaters.

Clearly, the cycling infrastructure in Baku is in its incipient stage. However, do the local authorities need to reinvent the wheel if many cities have already gone down this path? And before introducing a novelty, is it not better to use the existing experience and move in a rut? Bicycles are not only eco-friendly but also are a convenient form of transport, and the authorities should do everything possible to facilitate and encourage their wider use. Today, due to lack of bike lanes, many cyclists are forced to ride on lanes allocated for motor vehicles, which irritates drivers and is dangerous for cyclists. Interestingly, the Road Police Department has recently stated that there are bike lanes in the capital and cyclists guilty of traffic rules violation will be subject to punishment. However, not a single driver from among those interviewed by our correspondent has seen such bicycle lanes on the roadway.

As regards "dashing cyclists" in recreational parks, this issue requires a "special investigation and consideration," the press service of the General Police Department of Baku told an R+ correspondent. "We can say nothing in this respect at the moment. We need complaints." Well, let us assume that a phone call from R+ to the appropriate authority is a formal complaint and it will not pass unnoticed.