EluniaPlatinumElunia
Platinum
13 yrs, 11 mths ago

Best cycle friendly cities?

I just saw an article on ninemsn talking about cycle friendly cities

http://travel.ninemsn.com.au/holidaytype/adventure/8196420/top-10-cycle-friendly-cities

It lists Melbourne as the number one cycle friendly city before Amsterdam and Berlin!
From what I know of Amsterdam almost everyone cycles and the rules are that everyone gives way to them including pedestrians (even though footpaths are so narrow).
Berlin has wide road and footpaths (so walker and cyclist don’t ever clash), not many cars in the city centre and is very flat.
Melbourne on the other hand is a bit hilly, and trams are supposed to rule the roads. If a tram stops to let off pedestrians, cyclist are supposed to stop to let them pass (even though some cyclists don’t think that they should) and many of the interesting lanes with shops are areas where cyclists shouldn’t be. Considering this I would never put Melbourne as number one in regards to being the most cycle friendly. I would rather have it rank as the number one tram friendly city.

How many of you agree with this claim that Melbourne is more cycle friendly than Amsterdam and Berlin?

4 comments 32 voices

Replies

  • EluniaPlatinumElunia
    13 yrs, 11 mths ago

    I’m sure that the article is just an advertising ploy for those Melbourne companies listed (and the other companies in the other countries that were mentioned) and is just a huge load of rubbish, but it just annoys me to see that some companies are happy to post such utter nonsense.

    You picked two great places PrettyPrincess and Mollygirl 🙂 two that should definently have been considered.
    Japan as there are so many people and not enough space for cars so cycling would probably be the best way of getting around over there.
    And I didn’t ever think of Barcelona, it has such nice wide roads (plenty of space for cyclists) and from memory pretty flat too! I recall seeing some of those bike racks stations.

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  • MollygirlPlatinumMollygirl
    13 yrs, 11 mths ago

    Japan would have to be good for cycling wouldnt it? My daughter lived there for a year and Im sure thats how her and her hubby got around.

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  • PrettyPrincessPlatinumPrettyPrincess
    Founding Member
    Platinum
    13 yrs, 11 mths ago

    I think barcelona is quite bicycle friendly!
    They have pick up and ride stations everywhere and you can return them to any station when you dont want it anymore.

    I wouldn’t have said Bali is overly bicycle friendly, but guess if you are not in Semminyak, Kuta or Nusa Dua, might be ok!

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  • beautyheavenPlatinumBeautyheaven
    Platinum
    Staff
    13 yrs, 11 mths ago

    I find this claim about Melbourne extraordinary. I live and love Melbourne but it is definitely not cycle friendly. In fact, I was listening to an interview on the radio last week about this topic and the person being interviewed (a cyclist ) put forward very good arguments about Melbourne NOT being cycle friendly.

    There is always a contrary view!!!! x

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