YIM.BA: Big Win for Bratislava. Cycle lanes on the embankment prove their significance

Bratislava has been living with the new bike lanes on Rázusovo and Vajanského embankments for a week now, right next to the busiest part of the Danube promenade. The capital confirmed its plans to create space for cyclists only at the beginning of August. Subsequently, work quickly began, and today, the new cycle path is already a reality. Although it is essentially a simple and temporary solution, it is one of the highest-quality sections in the city.

This is primarily due to the generous lane width, which reaches three meters in each direction. This is more than the standard for so-called cycle highways abroad, which are usually just over two meters wide in each direction. Thanks to these dimensions, the space can comfortably accommodate various types of cyclists, from fast to slower groups, including children and older individuals, despite being in contact with the road, from which it is separated by a curb.

A welcome bonus is the redirection of bicycle traffic from the promenade path to the new cycle path, which improves conditions for pedestrians. Pedestrians previously used a relatively narrow promenade sidewalk, which often led to conflicts. Therefore this will also improve the quality of movement for pedestrians. Currently, the only dissatisfied group are motorists.

A great success for the new cycle path

Today, one week after the launch of the section, the first positive aspects of the project are already evident. It seems that the cycling community is gradually discovering this new space and starting to use it intensively. This is also indicated by the initial data collected by the organization Cyklokoalícia. While it is not a representative survey, it shows that the number of users is not small by Bratislava standards.

According to Cyklokoalícia’s data, 178 people per hour used the cycle lane during the monitored period, including 17 on scooters and 3 roller skaters, with the rest on bicycles. The predominant direction was from the SNP Bridge to Šafárikovo Square with a ratio of 6:4. Additionally, an average of 47 cyclists and 6 scooter riders used the embankment promenade. Activists from Cyklokoalícia expect that this number will gradually decrease.

During the same period, 1,328 cars passed through the section, with 627 heading towards Šafárikovo Square and 701 towards the SNP Bridge. The average car occupancy was 1.39 persons. From this comparison, it can be deduced that cyclists and scooter riders accounted for 15% of the total number of vehicles that passed along the embankment. This is a fantastic number, especially considering that it was a weekday peak hour and not a weekend with a predominance of recreational cyclists.

It is important to emphasize once again that this is only a rough count and does not have the character of a serious research study. A more comprehensive study would be possible with the use of automatic counters and data on pedestrians or public transportation users. However, we can agree with Cyklokoalícia’s conclusion that claims of a negligible number of cycle path users are misleading. It can be assumed that the number of cyclists will continue to increase as more people take advantage of the newly provided space.

In the case of cycling infrastructure development, the motto „build it, and they will come“ often applies. The cycle lanes on Rázusovo and Vajanského embankments appear to confirm this rule, even though they lack a more continuous connection to the rest of the network. The eastern connection to cycle paths on the Old Bridge or Štúrova Street is of high quality, but currently insufficient for Dostojevského rad or westward towards Karlova Ves.

However, if this changes and the city proceeds with the project’s expansion, the usability and use of the cycle path will almost certainly increase dramatically. Bratislava will have its own cycle highway, resembling European examples not only in width but also in the number of users.

Change hasn't harmed car traffic

According to opponents of the cycle path, its implementation led to a radical deterioration for car traffic. However, it turns out that simply isn’t true. Despite some complications in the first three days, that however did not lead to catastrophic traffic jams (or even the collapse of Bratislava entirely, as some critics feared), now the situation is calming down. Even sources like the Stella Center or the Green Wave of RTVS no longer report traffic jams.

This is happening even though the road capacity was partially reduced as cars lost one lane in some places. Several of the initial problems were caused by accidents in other parts of the city, including one right on the embankment where a minor collision occurred between a bus and a tram. For opponents, this was proof that the project was poorly implemented or should not have been implemented at all. However, a closer look revealed that it was a mistake by the bus driver, not a direct consequence of the presence of the cycle path.

The last few days and the upcoming ones will be dedicated to data collection, but it is very likely that what usually happens in similar situations with existing alternatives will occur: the initial problems will subside, and the situation will soon normalize completely. The city council argues that 70% of cars only pass through the embankment, so it expects these drivers to shift to the capacity-rich Einsteinova Street or other alternative routes. For the rest, those who live in the vicinity of the embankment, the situation paradoxically improves.

Today, they may still occasionally have to look at dozens of cars waiting in line – which, by the way, is the capacity of one public transport vehicle – but soon the embankment will be calmer, quieter, cleaner, and safer.

Ultimately, this will also be a victory for car owners. As pointed out by Jakub Goda, an advisor to the president, „a cyclist is an ally of the driver, thanks to them, there is more space on the roads.“ This is quite an accurate summary of what happens in cities with advanced cycling infrastructure – more people on bikes mean fewer people in cars. This frees up the roads for those who rely on cars as a necessary means of transportation.

So far, everything suggests that this will be confirmed in Bratislava, possibly even within this month. The embankment will be more pleasant, and traffic will flow smoothly. This is another significant victory for the new project.

Similar initiatives need to continue

It’s not impossible that there may be some issues in the near future, but none of them should negate the purpose of the cycle path as a whole. One criticism concerns the movement of emergency vehicles, but this is a topic for these first days in particular. After traffic calms down, it won’t be a problem. Another complication is the two narrow lanes at the intersection with Mostová Street. However, this could be elegantly resolved by eliminating the left turn from the embankment onto Mostová.

This would be in line with the standard practice in cities striving to significantly improve cycling and reduce the proportion of car traffic. The basic strategy is to extend the average travel distance for cars, which must travel many kilometers even to relatively close destinations. Again, this will typically be done only by those who have to make that detour – others will switch to cycling, public transport, or walking.

This is also the trajectory for Bratislava, which should combine the development of new cycle routes, even in a similar form for now, with solutions that make it more difficult to pass through residential areas or narrow streets. It is also appropriate to implement cycle paths where roads are wide and underutilized. At this moment, when the discussion about the embankment cycle path is still very emotional, it may be premature, but in a few weeks, the way will be open for new improvements.

The first of these is the extension of the current cycle path to River Park. Again, it will be an adjustment that can improve the situation for both pedestrians and cyclists. The question remains with respect to public transport, which is more intensive in this area, but on the other hand, a tram track reconstruction is being prepared. If the data supports it, it may be appropriate for this track to be served by buses, creating enough space for wide cycle paths.

Other places include Radlinského, where the entire lane from Račianské mýto to Kollárovo náměstí could be converted into a cycle path (including the exclusion of car traffic from the Blumentál transfer hub), Mickiewiczova, where there has been a long-standing struggle to push out transit traffic, and Karloveská, which is not so heavily used that it requires so much space for cars.

Step by step, Bratislava can become a city friendly to cycling, which will have a significant share in the division of people transportation modes. Most of the city’s residents live in flat areas (most of Staré Město and Nové Město, all of Ružinov, Petržalka, Podunajské Biskupice, Vrakuňa, Vajnory, a significant part of Rača, Karlovy Vsi, and Dúbravky, actually even Lamač, Děvínská Nová Ves, Záhorská Bystrica, or three small right-bank city districts), the climate is favorable for most of the year (and this will likely be even more true in the future), and many parts of Bratislava offer physical space for the development of cycling.

Moreover, the construction or establishment of new sections is not so costly that the poor Slovak metropolis cannot afford it. It’s mainly about the will and courage to make changes and start making more significant interventions that will take away part of the space from cars.

It worked on the embankment. The success of this project is beginning to show, and hopefully, it will soon open the door to others. The vision of Bratislava as a sustainable, healthy, and advanced city that follows European trends may become a bit more real. After the initial concerns, the general public may understand this soon.