Cycling with children – between gambling and illegality

The entire area of Jarov between the streets Na Jarově, Hartigova (formerly Koněvova), Osiková, and Habrová is only permeable in the westward direction. The only legal way to currently leave the area on a bike heading east is the protected bike lane on the very busy Hartigova street. As an adult, experienced cyclist, I don’t have an issue with this bike lane. However, the infrastructure is quite different for the safe movement of children. I don’t want to risk that some undisciplined driver at 50 kilometers per hour will hit my children.

Even if I were willing to take this risk, as is customary in the Czech Republic, the bike lane ends about a hundred meters before the enormous intersection with Spojovací. Crossing into the turning lane toward Učňovská Street and further to Hrdlořezy requires even more experience and nerves.

For the above-mentioned reasons, we currently opt for riding on the sidewalk along Habrová Street, knowingly violating traffic regulations. Drivers are content, pedestrians are tolerant, and I assume that any potential fine would not cost me more than a movie ticket.

I don’t want to teach my children that it’s normal to break rules.

I’m definitely not satisfied with this situation. I don’t want to teach children that it’s okay to break rules just because many people think that a particular rule doesn’t make much sense, and no one really enforces it.

I was very pleased that over a year ago, there was finally a glimmer of hope for better times. The city council finally started working on creating a bike lane on Habrová Street. This would put an end to this absurd situation where you have plenty of green spaces within reach, but no way to get there.

Unfortunately, the planning and preparatory work dragged on, and this year’s season couldn’t accommodate it. Finally, last week, the news came that the project, along with four other projects, was abruptly dropped from the table just before implementation by the strongest coalition partner.

Why do some council members continue to force parents-cyclists to choose between risking their children’s health and breaking the rules? Do they not want children to be active?

The project was dropped just before implementation by the coalition partner.

Do they have resilient individuals at home who are in kindergarten or in first grade and can handle riding on a major road? Do they prefer to tolerate rule-breaking rather than ‚upset‘ their conservative voter base?

None of the suspended projects may be the best possible solution for a given location. However, they are still projects that will help not only parents with children to be active in the city without having to deal with the aforementioned dilemma. The projects are months away from implementation, not years. They already have all the necessary approvals, including those from the Czech Police, which should ensure their safety.

I still hope that the relevant council members can be convinced as soon as possible, and maybe next season, there will be a few tolerated traffic violations less in Žižkov.