Many have speculated that this keeps happening because authorities responsible for building this infrastructure don’t actually ride bicycles themselves.

“Should the bicycle lane perhaps be narrowed by a few centimetres to ensure that car users are not tempted to encroach on it?” he questioned.

Another potential solution, which would protect cyclists without having to narrow their lanes, is a physical barrier.

Cassola also shared photos comparing the promised and delivered bike lane between Żabbar and Marsaskala – which looked fine in digital renders.

Plans presented a bike path separate from the road (though it didn’t have a physical barrier preventing cars from jumping the curb into passing cyclists) and which would have been wide enough for pedestrians and cyclists (even though those would ideally be separate) to travel together.

What has been delivered is quite different from what was promised.

Essentially, promises were broken. 

This is not the first time that a bike lane has ended up disappointing local cyclists, with the latest bike lanes in Mġarr being way too narrow at times and finally disappearing into thin air. 

When we’re shown flashy renders planning a €35 Million Bike Lane Project For Sustainable Mobility, we have to wait and see it to believe it.

If you’re ever driving along, and see an empty bike lane that could help you get to your destination quicker (or more realistically, bring you to another bumper-to-bumper traffic jam) – resist the temptation.

If you succumb to it, you’re the reason that the bike lane is empty. Cyclists aren’t prepared to lose their lives because someone wanted to get somewhere a minute faster.

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