Prague has the first bike footrest in front of the traffic lights

This piece of street furniture is well-known in cities with more developed cycling infrastructure and is often used as a symbol to promote cycling. The bike footrest facilitates waiting at cycle traffic lights; cyclists waiting in front of the traffic lights don’t have to dismount from their bikes. „It allows cyclists to comfortably lean and wait until the green light for crossing the road,“ said Deputy Zdeněk Hřib about the new addition.

The pilot bike footrest in Prague appeared at the recently reconstructed intersection of Bucharova, Nárožní, and Rozvadovská spojka, where a new entrance to Rozvadovská spojka was created. Simultaneously, the previously criticized intersection of the cycle lane and the exit from Rozvadovská spojka on the main corridor of the A330 cycle route was addressed.

Although this intersection is currently relatively less frequented by cyclists, it includes other innovative solutions. As reported in the summer, automatic detection of cyclists is installed on the traffic lights at this location, predominantly allowing cyclists to pass through the intersection without stopping. Deputy Hřib about the chosen location: „For the pilot project of the bike footrest, we deliberately chose a suitable location on a separate cycle lane with a cycle traffic light.“ The goal was to find a place where the cycle traffic light was located outside the main traffic area.

At the location, in addition to automatic video detection and the bike footrest, there is also a backup button that allows a person to request the green light for bikes if the automatic detection fails to register them. Unfortunately, this button is placed out of reach of the bike footrest.