Nothing beats the rush of cruising down the highway on a motorcycle. You feel immortal, especially if you don't have a helmet on, and the faster you go the more immune you feel. Riding a bicycle is a different kind of buzz but that too can be a hair raising experience 's at least in Lithuania. You have to deal with angry pedestrians. Some people get their kicks out of putting bikes together: bikes are not all about speed 's it requires time, patience and dedication to restore old bikes. This week's Industry is about bikes.
VILNIUS - A lack of bicycle-friendly infrastructure 's and the resulting fear for life and limb 's is preventing scores of Lithuanians from enjoying a safe and healthy alternative to driving.
While countries like Belgium, the Netherlands, Denmark and Sweden have put years of planning and large amounts of money into ensuring their cities are bike friendly, Lithuania is lagging behind. Biking enthusiasts say the situation in Lithuania is getting better but still requires vast improvements before it is workable.
To Frank Wurft, a board member of the Lithuanian Cycling Community, cycling is an excellent solution to traffic jams, health concerns, and sky-rocketing fuel prices. He thinks the government isn't doing as much as it could to improve the infrastructure in cities.
"In Vilnius there is no infrastructure for bikes… There are some paths, but there are no networks," Wurft said, referring to the dedicated bike roads on which bikers can safely ride. Particularly problematic for cyclists is crossing intersections where the bike paths end. In order to cross, bikers need to dismount, walk over to the foot crossing and wait for the lights to change.
Wurft explained that statistically, cyclists are safe on the roads of Lithuania, but it doesn't always feel that way. "There aren't high numbers of cyclists who are injured in accidents, but you don't always feel safe when you ride, particularly on some roads," he said.
But it's not always the drivers who are at fault. "Most accidents are due to the behavior of the cyclists themselves, like riding in the wrong direction down the street or other things," Wurft said. However, some contend that dangerous cycling practices are due to a lack of alternatives, such as dedicated bike lanes.
Simonas Sorys, a regular cyclist in the capital, says people ignore bikers' needs and cyclists are forced to find their own ways around. "Biking in Vilnius is never safe, because bikers have to use either streets or sidewalks. A big risk source on the street is careless drivers, [but] on the sidewalks, cars may also block your way." Bike lanes are always crowded with pedestrians, he says, who "will go mad if you use a bike bell."
Sorys says one needs to get outside the city center to feel safe and have some fun. "Biking [a circle] around Vilnius is a lot of fun and is relatively safe. The southern semicircle is much more problematic than the northern because of loose dogs and heavy trucks," Sorys said.
This, of course, is of little use for commuting to work or getting around the center. The municipal government of Vilnius does plan to build bike paths; the question, of course, is whether they actually will. Panevezys is said to have the best cycle routes in Lithuania, but despite being the country's biggest city, Vilnius is falling behind.
There have been no solid timetables made for the construction in Vilnius, but according to Alvydas Karalius, a Vilnius city planning official, the city plans to build a six-kilometer bicycle path from Zirmunai to Balsiai Lake. "Then there will be a total of 88 kilometers of marked bicycle tracks in Vilnius," he said. He added that the city plans to repair bike-path pavement and make lower curbs.
Bikers are sick to death of the political chatter and feel left out of the city's traffic community. "Pedestrians and drivers never respect bikers [and] town authorities are not investing in separating a part of streets for bikers, which is the only solution," Sorys said.
The government knows the problem exists, but their response is to cry poor. "Indeed, most of the bicycle tracks are not connected, but building connections between tracks is expensive," Karalius said.
On another front, many people won't ride to work until they have bicycle parking and a place to clean up after their commute. Linas Vainius, chairman of the Lithuanian Cycling Community, says businesses need to get up to speed on bikes for their workers' well-being. "In order to help cyclists commute by bike, you need to have a place to store the bike, [and] a place to shower and get changed," Vainius said.
He says the health of workers is important for business, but he also offered a suggestion for more immediate gains: selling the parking spaces that the bike commuters no longer use, thus saving money and encouraging a healthier, happier staff.
