Pedal power

THE Palma city council spent millions of euros ripping up pavements and roads to make way for cycle tracks in the city. It was all part of a campaign to encourage people to abandon their cars and get on their bikes. Unfortunately the plan has failed miserably and Palma is still close to traffic gridlock during peak times. Few people use the cycle paths and the few cyclists around Palma are to be found using the pavements which have been cut-up to make way for hardly used cycle paths! Pedestrians be warned. Personally speaking there is nothing more annoying that having to dive out of the way of a cyclist along the pavement when you know for a fact that there is a hardly used cycle lane on the other-side of the road. The other morning I was amazed to find two cyclists going up the Jaime IIIon the pavement oblivious to the small army of pedestrians following in their tracks. Plans by the city council to offer bikes-for-rent have also failed miserably. Now I am all in favour of cycling. It is a massive growth industry in Britain and elsewhere. But, cycle paths are for cyclists, pavements are for pedestrians. I think the city council should do more to encourage medal power in the city especially as they have gone to so much expensive building the cycle tracks. But unfortunately the car is king in Palma. There has been no real surge in cycling which is more like a weekend sport in the city than a mode of transport. Think again city council.