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Danger Bicycle lane in Sofia | One Cyclist in Sofia
The two-way bicycle lane on same side of the road is not the safest solution for a crowded city boulevard, such as Knyaz Alexander Dondukov Boulevard in Sofia! Riding in the opposite direction of the movement, cyclists remain in the blind spot of much of the drivers. Almost all situations in which a car driver leaves or enters the boulevard on the side of the bike lane carries hidden dangers.
This video shows the three main problems of the two-way bicycle lane on Dondukov Blvd:
Problem #1: on a regulated junction with a traffic light - turning cars through the bicycle lane! Drivers look at pedestrians and do not have the habit of looking for cyclists, and this is the reason why they often come in the way of cyclists or drive directly against them without spotting them because they are looking at pedestrian traffic and the way they will continue. The solution to this problem is easy - allowing pedestrians and cyclists to have longer passage time before turning green traffic in that direction.
Problem #2: All cars on the boulevard through the bike lane! The driver's attention is focused on tracking the traffic coming from his left and totally forgetting and / or ignoring the coming cyclists at his right. It is precisely because of this problem that the two-way bikes are avoided, as it is forbidden and very dangerous to ride a bicycle in the opposite direction!
Problem #3: Turning left-hand drivers through the bicycle lane. The driver's attention is entirely directed towards the traffic against him because he has to cross the ribbon. On a busy boulevard, this must be done quickly so that no traffic is detected, and in this idle situation the bicycle lane remains in the background. The problem can be solved by forbidding the left turns to the bicycle lane of non-traffic-controlled crossroads.
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