Bicycle enthusiasts of Kyiv rallied downtown on June 15 for safer roads and better bike infrastructure in the city.
The activists gathered outside Kyiv City Hall with their bikes and some took part in “die-ins” under the slogan “No more deaths on the roads.” They said that at least 5 bicyclists had been killed in traffic accidents since the beginning of the year. The latest fatal accident took place on June 11, when a bicyclist was killed on Heroiv Stalingrada Street.
According to activists, these tragic incidents occurred due to the extremely poor condition of the capital’s bike infrastructure and, sometimes, its total absence.
As of late 2018, Kyiv officials reported that the city has nearly 69 kilometers of bike lanes on some of its most important streets and along top sightseeing routes. But in a city with nearly 1,600 kilometers of roads, that isn’t much. Bicycle infrastructure remains extremely underdeveloped, the activists say.
Moreover, the number of people riding bicycles or electric scooters continues to dramatically increase amid the COVID-19 lockdown, which previously restricted public transport in the city and caused severe traffic jams.
Kyiv’s few available bike lanes are difficult to use and are often blocked by pedestrians walking in them, pop-up street markets and parked cars. For that reason, many bicyclists prefer to ride among motorists on the road.
A previous rally to protect bicyclists was held in March 2019 and, according to activists, the situation in the city has not changed for the better since then.
Using the slogans like “City for people, not for cars only” and “I want safety,” the demonstrators demanded that the Kyiv authorities build more bike lanes and racks so that Kyiv can move closer to a European transportation model, which caters to the needs of pedestrians and bicyclists.
