According to the article posted on www.bcn.es, "the city's new bicycle initiative has allocated five million euros to help aid the needs of augmented bicycle use in the city". It also states that 129 km of new bicycle lanes will be created, doubling the 132 km currently available in Barcelona.
If you only read this one article you are left with the impression that Barcelona is an admirable city pioneering intiatives that look to address the ever increasing problems of pollution, congestion and climate change. So far so good, Well Done Barcelona!
However with just a little investigation, reading an article published in ADN last week, things suddenly don't appear quite so straight forward. Surely it makes sense to improve the safety and convenience of a means of transport that makes up one third of all traffic in Barcelona? However the government has decided to make the most of the opportunity presented by so many cyclists and is looking to turn this to their financial gain by imposing fines.
In Barcelona there are currently 5,682 bicycle racks and between 40 000 - 90 000 bicycles. Due to this imbalance cyclists have had no choice but to park their bike in a cavalier fashion as and where they can. From January 2007 it will be prohibited to park or lock your bike against; trees, traffic lights, benches and litterbins. Jordi Portabella, in continuation with the governments positive line of thinking has announced that the number of bike racks will be increased to 9000.
Is it me or do the figures not quite add up?
Well that depends on how you look at it. The numbers have been meticulously calculated. If you park and commit an infraction you could receive a fine of over 1000 euros, as explained by ADN in the same article. The sanctions range from 450 euros, for a minor offence, 450-900 for a what must be considered a 'medium' offence and from 900 -1800 for serious offences and persistent offenders.
So instead of celebrating and encouraging the commendable growth of an ecological, silent, congestion relieving and pollution free, form of transport in Barcelona. Something that is even more important considering the perils of global warming that are currently upon us. The government have decided to sanction it. Have you contemplated 9000 bike racks for 40 000 - 90 000 cyclists? Obviously when the government looks to address the "issues and needs" of increased bicycle use the answer is easy:
"You want to ride a bike? You Pay!'