Last autumn, a part of the bicycle path I use most days to get to work closed. There was an announcement on a board at both sides of where it would be closed, and it all looked very serious. But the actual work only took a day or two. It actually improved the drainage of the path! I was quite happy with that; the initial situation was rather bleak, which meant that in autumn you were often riding through a puddle, and in winter that pubble was at risk of turning to ice. I think it will be better now! And it came soon after different repairs. The route was getting loads of TLC!
Then winter came, and then spring. And suddenly, a fence appeared again. And also a sign. That part of the path will be closed for 12 weeks! This might be the actual big work. The other work might just have been some impromptu add-on.
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| None shall pass |
So what does this mean? For as long as this work continues, cyclists will have little choice but to ride on the road. And quite some riders will be commuters, so they ride during rush hour. I could imagine that this will cause some friction between car drivers and cyclists. The car drivers will be annoyed at the increased number of cyclists on the road; it is not an unusually wide road, so if there is traffic coming the other way, you cannot overtake a bike. And I would imagine that quite many drivers wouldn't know the cyclists currently don't have a choice. And the cyclists might feel a bit vulnerable with all that traffic so close by.
If you are willing to make a detour, you can avoid this situation altogether, of course. The most reasonable option would be a detour of half a mile and some more uphill. That would be a bit inconvenient, but I think it will be worth it for reasons of safety. I hope this period will pass without any unpleasant incidents! Only time will tell…
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