In Angers bike traffic increases, and bickering with pedestrians too

The traffic by bikes has increased along the years and, because of the soaring of gas, will probably continue to do so. If Angers city, as well as the surroundings towns and villages, have set up a grid of cyclables lanes, the users of bikes don't take, till now, good habits regarding the other users of public ways. Of course, bikers are more vulnerable than drivers of cars, lorries and even buses, but pedestrians are themselves more vulnerable than bikers and these last quite often forget it.

Because to the lack of cyclables lanes in Angers downtown, bikers use the pedestrian streets and even pavements which are not dedicated to them. The result is the pedestrians don't feel safe, especially during winter mornings and evenings when day light is scarce. Believing they are seen by pedestrian, the bikers are sometimes driving a little bit fast and accidents may occur with elder persons who are unaware of the dangers.

With the increase in the years to come of the traffic by bikes, Angers town hall could reconsider the design of its cyclable lanes because cars, and even Irigo company buses' drivers, don't respect the regulations in favour of bikers. Quite often, and not always because of simple neglect, they close the distance between their vehicles and the pavements, a behaviour which can lead to accidents and injuries. One of the solution could consist in designing separate lanes for bikers with their own traffic lights and their own regulations. But it could be costly.