I think it’s a great idea to post it, just so that drivers are pre-warned to avoid those areas. We got caught once somewhere the other side of Zurichsee and had a good hour of detours to negotiate.
Should be banned IMO.
Discussion on protection of vulnerable road users from motorised traffic (both perceived and actual)
Signs have been up about the Murtensee one for 2-3 weeks now saying which roads are going to be closed.
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Yep, we were saying just this morning that we need to avoid that area next Sunday.
I think they are a good thing.
They show people how pleasant travel by bicycle would be without all the cars on the road.
The atmosphere is great.
It must be terrible for a car driver to be inconvenienced once or twice a year.
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I think they’re good too.
We’ve done the Murten one a couple of times.
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And?
I mean, I’m a huge fan of cycling and there’s loads of places where I can do it away from road traffic if/when I want to, but roads are… roads. Without all the cars using them they wouldn’t exist in the first place.
You have got an old man mindset - you need to change it. Bicycling shouldn’t be seen as only a recreational activity. It’s a viable form of transport to get to work, the shops or other appointments.
Having said that, your mindset seems to align with the anti-cyclist Swiss government.
I’m pretty sure that when they were built, there weren’t so many cars and those cars weren’t so big.
Actually, I’m pretty sure when they were built, there weren’t any cars - only horses and carts.
Err, no, not a single one of the roads we use today were built in the days of horses and carts.
Note your use of the word “built”.
Propaganda.
I have no need to change, TYVM. I cycled to work for years, both in cities and out, and fully support it as a viable means of transport. I do not believe, however, that there is any need to remove motorised traffic from the roads for it to be so.
One of the reasons I think these events are bad is that they reinforce a mindset that bicycles and cars cannot co-exist, which is anathema to me.
The Romans were pretty famous for their road-building and this was before the time of the automobile. A fair few Roman roads are still in use today.
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This is a good one. We did this when my son was still quite young and it’s do-able.
https://www.myswitzerland.com/en-ch/experiences/route/roemer-trail/
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They cannot exist together for the majority of people because of a certain mindset which the car-friendly Federal council has.
It’s just unpleasant for cyclists.
Almost every other European country has introduced, or is introducing minimum-pass distances for vehicles wishing to pass cyclists. This is normally 1.5m at 50Km/r or lower and two metres at faster speeds.
Three times people have tried to get Switzerland to adopt this law and it’s been rejected everytime. The last time was in 2022 when the Federal Government not only rejected the idea but instead discussed making speeding penalties more lenient.
Other European countries are closing off roads to motorised through-traffic, except sometimes public transport, and the streets are much for pleasant for residents and non-motorised traffic.
Nothing will happen here until there is a mindset change at Government level.
Sure, they built roads. Sure, some of the routes they used have remained in place ever since then. Modern traffic-carrying roads have all been built or rebuilt in modern times though. The point is that that the roads that are being closed for these cycling events would not exist but for motorised transport. Some sort of roads would, but not these ones.
So showing people how good cycling could be with no cars is just ignoring the fact that the roads they’re using only exist because of cars.
Is that the premise of the event? I thought it was just to promote using the car less and rediscovering the joys of cycling/scootering/walking.
Tom was suggesting that this was a reason that these events were a_good_thing; whether that is the intention of them I have no idea.
That’s what I thought as well.
It’s basically a fun day out that happens in each location just once a year on a Sunday. They’re pretty easy to avoid for those not interested.
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From the SlowUp Zuerich webpage:
slowUp are celebrations of movement and human powered mobility, i.e. moving with your own muscle power. Young and old, singles, couples, families and groups can easily show off, pedal, role, run, enjoy and catch their breath on the go.
slowUp lets all residents of Zurich and its localities along the lake, as well as guests from near and far, discover the glorious Lake Zurich far from the usual hectic of daily traffic. A special kind of celebration! For one day, a leisurely atmosphere takes over the road, free of professional athletes and motorised traffic.
My point early is that in some cities - many roads are like this everyday
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I agree in principle. Does that make me anti-cyclisists? I do wonder if some people can interfere that from my statement.
But…these events are only a few times per year and the greater good surpasses our inconveniences, so let them have it. The problem is most people are clueless and have no idea when and where these events take place.