There is a hair’s breadth between the rear wheel of the bicycle and the front light of the car that is approaching. With a narrow gap and an indignant roar of the engine, the car overtakes the two-wheeler on the local road as soon as there is a narrow gap in oncoming traffic. That is the tone that is still often used today in road traffic between driving a car and riding a bicycle. The reason for this well-known traffic picture is the frequent lack of bicycle lanes on the hard shoulder. In order to draw attention to such problems, the Ebersberg ADFC district association has invited to a bicycle demo with a subsequent rally for Saturday, September 24, under the title “Kidical Mass”.
The bike lanes need to be expanded
“Kidical Mass” is a modification of the “Critical Mass” demonstration movement, which campaigns for the safety of cyclists on the road. The participants in the “Kidical Mass” are specifically committed to the safety of children riding bicycles on the road. They are active on a federal and state political level and demand: “To give children the opportunity to move about on the move”, as Jürgen Friedrichs, chairman of the ADFC Ebersberg, summarizes. With the initiative, the ADFC wants to support the independence of the children and combat the fear that parents have for their children on the road. To do this, non-motorized traffic must be strengthened, above all by expanding the cycling infrastructure.
The Ebersberg ADFC chairman Jürgen Friedrichs, here in his velomobile, calls for equal rights in road traffic.
(Photo: Christian Endt)
Like the “Critical Mass” movement, the “Kidical Mass” also benefits from certain legal provisions of the Road Traffic Act during their demonstrations. For example, a group of 17 participants or more is considered to be a group. This means they can ride side by side on the road. In addition, the last passengers in the group are still allowed to cross the traffic light when it is red, provided that the bicycle in front has crossed it when it is green.
The ADFC had already called for such a demonstration in Ebersberg on May 27th, which was considered a complete success. Despite the few registrations in advance, up to 70 people finally went, including some who had seen the train on the street and spontaneously queued up. For the first time, the cyclists used the entire available road and developed a feeling for what it could be like to be a cyclist in the city. The aim was not to block traffic as a provocation. Mainly the places that are relevant for the children, i.e. schools and day-care centers, were headed for and thus made aware of the road safety situation on these routes.
The ADFC complains that the police and road construction department are often not cyclist-friendly
There were also critical voices – but not from drivers, but from authorities. On the one hand, the police were rather skeptical about the project at the beginning, according to the ADFC. Because instead of encouraging the children to ride bikes, the main focus was on directing the children to the sidewalks. In addition, the road construction authorities regularly stubbornly stand in the way of ADFC projects, such as the construction of traffic lights, zebra crossings or other safety-enhancing measures, the cycling club complains.
Poing, on the other hand, is already a member of the Working Group of Bicycle-Friendly Municipalities, which only accepts towns, municipalities and rural districts that are committed to cycling. With its demonstrations, the ADFC not only wants to criticize negative examples, but also to draw attention to municipalities in which the development of bicycle-friendly infrastructure is already well advanced as positive examples.
The municipality of Poing wants to promote cycling, for example with bike rental stations like here at the train station.
(Photo: Peter Hinz-Rosin)
Despite the success, Jürgen Friedrichs is rather averse to “hiding behind loopholes in the road traffic regulations” in order to enable comfortable cycling of this kind. For the future, he would like the StVO to give cycling priority or at least equal priority to motorized traffic. Maneuvering between pedestrians, dog leashes and prams should not remain the alternative to dealing with impatient, aggressive drivers in the future.
The ADFC’s “Kidical Mass” bicycle demo begins on Saturday, September 24, at 2:30 p.m. on the market square in Poing. The march will set off at 3 p.m. Back at the market square, a rally is to take place there at 4 p.m.