Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
‘Corona cycleways’ are new way to get to work in Europe
PARIS — As France eased one of Europe’s toughest coronavirus lockdowns last month, a small army of street workers fanned out across Paris in the dark of night. They dropped traffic barriers along car lanes and painted yellow bicycle symbols onto the asphalt.
By morning, miles of pop-up “corona cycleways” had been laid, teeming with people heading back to work.
Among them was Christophe Tafforeau a commercial director at a job training agency, who navigated the throngs for his post-confinement commute.
“This is the first time I’ve ever cycled to my office, but I don’t want to risk using public transportation,” said Tafforeau, 52, fresh off a 20-minute ride across Paris. “I’m learning to make the bike my main means of getting around.”
As European cities emerge from quarantines, bicycles are playing a central role in getting the workforce moving again.
Governments are trying to revive their economies from a deep recession but can’t fully rely on public transportation to get workers to their jobs because of the need for social distancing. In urban areas at least, bicycles are suddenly an unlikely component to restarting economic growth.
Americans are also flocking to bicycles as the coronavirus limits activity and discourages the use of public transit. But in Europe, where many cities have integrated cycling as a mode of transportation, the pandemic is speeding up an ecological transition to limit car traffic and cut pollution.
France, Italy, Britain and their neighbors are accelerating hundreds of millions of euros in investments on new biking infrastructure.
Around Paris, residents can get up to 500 euros, or about $554, in subsidies to buy an electric bike and a 50-euro reimbursement to repair an old bike, prompting thousands to wait in lines at bike shops. Public bike rental projects are logging record demand. With new paths springing up daily, bike sales have quadrupled in European cities that ended home confinement, with retailers across the continent reporting shortages.
“This crisis has made clear that we need to change the way we live, work and move,” said Morten Kabell, chief executive of the European Cyclists’ Federation. “In the era of social distancing, people are wary of using public transportation, and cities can’t take more cars.”
Authorities say the need for social distancing leaves them little choice. European cities have cut capacity on subways, buses and suburban trains by up to 80%.
To manage the overflow and prevent cars from flooding back onto the streets, authorities have asked companies to keep employees working from home when possible, and to stagger shifts for people who must go to work.
“Around five or six years ago we were talking about shifting from fossil fuel to electric cars,” said Christophe Najdovski, the deputy mayor of Paris for transport and public spaces. “Now, we’re talking about shifting from any type of car to other vehicles — especially bikes.”