Chinese commuters told: get off your bikes

Jonathan Watts in Beijing
Saturday May 21, 2005
The Guardian

I have recently bought an environmentally friendly endangered species: a bicycle. It is definitely not a case of moving with the times.

A few years ago, Beijing was probably the most bicycle-friendly capital on Earth. A flat, dry city with broad, tree-lined cycle lanes patrolled by protective traffic wardens was perfect for two wheels. The streets teemed with so many bicycles that they became as much a symbol of China as the giant panda.
  
    But now they are under threat as their habitat - the city's network of bicycle lanes - shrinks, and predators - in the form of cars - increase at the rate of 20,000 a month.

It is as though China's economic and urban planners have a new mantra: four wheels rich, two wheels poor.

The richness of bicycle life in Beijing is still evident from the plethora of subspecies. As well as standard models churned out by domestic manufacturers such as Pigeon, Phoenix and Forever, there is a dizzying array of customised vehicles. Some have trailers on which entire families are ferried around.


Others are turned into flat-backed cargo-carriers, occasionally loaded so high that only the rider 's pedalling legs can be seen.


I opted for a Taiwanese-made mountain bike, not an obvious choice for city that does not have a single hill. But the sturdy frame, reliable brakes and spring-loaded suspension come in handy in a city where cyclists, once the kings of the road, have been relegated to third-class citizens.


It is not deliberate. Bicycles just don't matter as they used to. Thirty years ago, Beijingers considered themselves affluent if they owned a bike, a radio and a sewing machine. The equivalent today is a car, a TV and a computer. Last November, the city dropped registration requirements for bicycles. A few months earlier, the annual four yuan (25p) bike tax was abolished.


There is no risk of extinction. Estimates of the number of bicycles in the city range from 4 million to 10 million. But transport analysts say the average Beijinger travels 60% less by bike than 10 years ago and those journeys are becoming dirtier and more dangerous.


Beijing has become infatuated with the car. Vehicle numbers have doubled in less than five years to more than 2 million. Urban planners have been happy to accommodate these economic engines by building thousands of miles of multi-lane roads, often at the expense of bike lanes.


There are remarkably few complaints. My Chinese teacher, Song Laoshi, prefers to commute on two wheels. But as a middle-aged Beijinger, he can understand the allure of Honda, Volkswagen and Citroën.


"When I was a child, we used to walk miles to the nearest big road and then just stand and wait. You will never guess why. We wanted a car to pass so that we could breathe in the fumes. For us, that was really exciting."


These days, the air of Beijing is choked with exhaust emissions. Along with the grit and dust from building sites and sandstorms, that makes bike riding tougher on the lungs than the legs. It is not the only hazard. Drivers frequently invade the bike path, blaring their horns at anyone who gets in their way.


The closer to the city centre, the lower the status of the bike. Soon after the fifth ring road, the bicycle lane halves in width, even though the number of users (which sometimes include horse-drawn carts) more than quadruples.


But it still beats travelling by car, and often is quicker.

下面是<环球时报 >的摘译

在北京骑车挺憋屈（第三只眼）

[英]乔纳森·瓦兹  文  万新  译 2005年06月08日                 


    最近在北京采访时，我买了一件非常环保的交通工具———自行车。不过，如今在北京买自行车可不是一件“与时俱进”的事情，因为随着非机动车道的不断缩小，自行车正面临着消失的危险。
　　过去，北京可能是地球上最适合骑自行车的城市。北京干燥少雨，路面平坦，宽阔的自行车车道两旁种满了树，还有交通管理员在维持交通秩序，这些条件都非常适合人们骑自行车上下班。那时，自行车几乎和大熊猫一样成了中国的象征。
　　可如今，人们的观念似乎已经发生变化。30年前，北京人借以显示自己富裕的物品有三样：自行车、收音机和缝纫机。而现在，衡量一个人是否富裕的标志是私家车、电视机和电脑。
　　如今的北京几乎是车满为患。汽车数量几年内翻了一番，现已超过200万辆。而北京人出行时骑自行车的比10年前大为减少，骑车出行也比过去更脏，更危险。城市规划者为了给带动经济发展的“发动机”提供更多的便利，非常乐意修建多车道公路，而这通常是以牺牲自行车道为代价的。
　　对于自行车道的缩小，人们似乎并不抱怨。我的汉语老师宋先生是一位已步入中年的北京人，他平时骑自行车出行。不过，他说能理解人们为什么会对小汽车那么感兴趣。“当我还是孩子的时候，经常走好几里路到大马路旁看汽车驶过，对我来说，这是件很令人兴奋的事情。”
　　由于北京的空气中沙尘多、汽车尾气多，这就需要骑车上下班的人不光要腿上有劲，还必须有一个强健的肺。
　　此外，骑车人还时常受汽车的气，因为汽车司机经常把车开到非机动车道上与自行车抢道。任何人挡住了他们的路，他们会一个劲地鸣喇叭。▲
    （摘自5月21日英国《卫报》）

The Chinese fail to see that the best way to catetr for cars in inner-city areas is to NOT cater for them.

Keep the bike lanes wide and the car lanes narrow, and the cars will stay in the outer-city areas.

It is that simple.

yes ,that's an idea.  no matter how the car line wide   ,there 's still not enough.