Bike lanes near Mikulov: A Dutch recipe for safety between villages?

The new bike lanes were marked on the road leading to the Austrian border after its reconstruction and widening. Despite the narrow width of the road, bike lanes were created, functioning essentially as non-designated bike lanes (which were not yet legislated at the time of reconstruction). The road has only one lane for cars, with two-way traffic. When vehicles need to pass each other, they move into the bike lane, but they must not obstruct cyclists in doing so.

The advantage of this system, commonly used on local roads in the Netherlands, is the overall calming of traffic. The road is visually narrowed, causing drivers to proceed more cautiously and slowly, being aware of the presence of cyclists and other vehicles. When overtaking cyclists, motorists also clearly know where to position themselves.

Of course, the solution near Mikulov is not perfect. The bike lanes can feel quite narrow at times, and according to the current technical regulations of the Ministry of Transport TP 179, the car lane should be narrowed to 2.5 meters, and the bike lanes should be widened so they are not just a narrow shoulder. However, these standards are more recent than the Mikulov bike lanes.

A proper application of this principle in the Czech Republic can be found on Na Pěšině and Generála Šimka streets in Břeclav, as well as on Technická Street in Brno. A similar solution is also found on Stará Tenice Street in Uherské Hradiště, though here the central lane is wider again.

Outside the city, we only know of this one case, though until 2022, a similar system was in place on Jilemnická Street between Kbely and Vinoř in Prague. However, there, the shoulder only served to visually narrow the road, and it wasn’t actually a bike lane.

In the context of frequent accidents on local roads, this road configuration could contribute to higher traffic safety. Bike lanes in both directions and a single lane for cars could help clarify and calm traffic, at least on roads between cities and towns that are heavily used by cyclists.

This is not an experiment; this solution has been working in the Netherlands for many years. Czech regulations also allow it, and it is already applied in several places in the country. Therefore, the information from Aktuálně.cz claiming that such a solution is not permitted by Czech law is not accurate.

From a technical perspective, this arrangement also preserves the shoulders, which on Czech local roads often deteriorate under the weight of cars. Drivers often end up driving in the middle of the road anyway, unless they need to pass another vehicle.

Where would you mark similar bike lanes like those near Mikulov?

And what does it look like on Dutch “local” roads between towns, where there is no separate cycle path along the road: