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Cycling enthusiasts are constantly shouting on social media: “You want to grind your teeth, ride this bike lane.” Some cyclists on Facebook even shared their painful experiences of getting blood injuries or even fractures after falling on this dilapidated asphalt road.
Journalists from “Vakarų ekspreso” also cycled the Smiltynė-Juodkrantė section a few days ago and were unpleasantly surprised: asphalt or gravel was crushed on the sections, and to overtake another person driving an eco-friendly vehicle, they have to go to the grass or sand.
“If this path is not maintained, we may not be able to avoid very painful injuries this summer. It is a shame, they have been talking for many years, but they do not care that the most expensive Lithuanian complex is safely accessible by vehicles. ecological: bicycles, scooters, inline skates, ”said Vladas Kuizinas from Klaipėda, who regularly rides her bicycle.
© Western Express
He claimed that he did not even ride a bicycle on this road to Neringa.
“I tried to drive on the road, but it is narrow there and very dangerous to drive. So, albeit reluctantly, you have to choose other routes. I just don’t have a choice, “he emphasized.
I drive and grind my teeth
Klaipeda residents who ride road bikes said that it is possible to brush your teeth while riding this trail.
“I drive and my teeth get cold. More than once, we have seen landslides when passing other cyclists. It would definitely be time to repair this trail. It has not been repaired normally for years, only one patch has been added per sections ”, commented the cyclists who found themselves by chance on the bike lane.
According to them, it is not surprising that cyclists in Klaipeda are increasingly choosing another direction of cycle paths: Palanga.
“Although the road is not ideal, it is not crumbling asphalt. I wish the Smiltyne-Juodkrante-Nida cycle path was better. After all, the number of cyclists is growing. It is much better when people choose environmentally friendly vehicles. The flows are increasing, so the quality of the bike lanes should also be a concern, ”said the cyclists.
© Western Express
Cancer and politicians
The mayor of Neringa, Darius Jasaitis, told the “Western Express” that in the summer, almost all tourists who ride a bicycle ask him the question: “When will you finally clean the bike lane?”
“Everyone has to explain that this trail belongs to the Lithuanian Highway Administration and their plans are to manage this trail, but as far as I know it is caught up in legal acts. There is a desire to expand this bike path, because the traffic is very high: in summer hundreds of thousands of people ride this road instead of dozens. Crossing the narrow bike path is already difficult. If this road were fixed, patched up, then everything would be fine, there would be no bureaucratic obstacles, but if you expanded, various nuances would emerge. Or perhaps a solution has already been found. This can be answered by representatives of the Lithuanian Highway Administration, “said the mayor of Neringa.
He stressed that he had tried to raise the issue in public many times.
German tourists collapsed
Saulius Ružinskas from Klaipeda, a member of the Council of the Lithuanian Cycling Association, told the Western Express that he had previously organized bicycle trips from Klaipeda to Juodkrante and Nida for foreign tourists, mostly Germans, but in recent years the pandemic and the shortage of tourists have prevented this.
“You can see the status of this bike path yourself, but we have organized trips … There is no other way, it will not take you off the route. Besides, it is a very beautiful corner of nature. But that bike path … It is unpleasant to show so much shame to foreign tourists. By the way, to a painful disaster: one step. We have had incidents where people just collapse and those collapses end in fractures. In Juodkrante, for example, there are wooden paths to the colony of cormorants, which become slippery when touched. We are also in a group of tourist crashes that ended in fractures. And this is due to the fact that the infrastructure is not completely finished. It is possible to put a metal mesh, as it is done, for example in Polish national parks. This is a quick and cheap solution, “said S. Ružinskas from Klaipėda, who founded the company Baltic bike travel.
Organize bicycle tours in Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia and neighboring countries.
Remember the case when a foreign tourist traveling on the Smiltynė-Juodkrantė road presented the rented bicycle only a few days later.
© Western Express
Outlined the work plan
According to Saulius Jansonas, Communication Manager of the International Communications and Communications Division of the Lithuanian Highway Administration, on September 24, 2020, the Highway Administration together with the Neringa district municipality and on August 18, 2020 signed cooperation agreements with the municipality of the city of Klaipėda in Smiltyne -Nida Trail. According to him, the length of the trail belonging to Klaipėda is 852 m. The city of Neringa has most of it, almost 35 km.
“In accordance with the aforementioned cooperation agreements, the Road Administration will organize and finance the preparation and implementation of the road improvement project.
We plan to complete the works of the first stage in 2023. 13,463 km of the trail would be organized, and the entire trail would be fixed by 2025. In stage II – 15,656 km and in stage III – 6,638 km. The implementation period includes not only the layout of the trail, but also the preparation of the project, ”explained S. Jansonas.
According to him, the management process for this bike lane is also hampered by the fact that it is located in a protected area – the Curonian Spit.
“It is a very sensitive subject here about trees, dunes and vegetation. To avoid problems with the use of forest land owned by the State Forest Company during project preparation, the Highway Administration organized an inter-institutional meeting with representatives of the Curonian Spit National Park and the State Forest Company. At this meeting, it was decided to cooperate with the representatives of the SFE State Company in the legal registration of the bike lane and the additional land needed to prepare a technical design of the bike and pedestrian lane in line with international standards. The goal is to ensure safe traffic for both pedestrians and cyclists on this trail. Soon, the Highway Administration will initiate public procurement procedures for the preparation of the Smiltyne-Nida trail improvement project. Once the public procurement procedures have been carried out and the contract has been signed with the winning service provider, the project should be prepared within 12 months, ”said the representative of the Lithuanian Highway Administration.
He also pointed out that in 2020 the pedestrian and bicycle lanes near state highways were inventoried, taking into account the data received, priority queues are being prepared for the installation and repair of roads.
“Currently, the Lithuanian Southeast Highway Administration manages almost 1,496 km of pedestrian and bicycle paths located on roads of state importance,” emphasized S. Jansonas.
When asked if he had received any complaints, requests, or requests for this trail from bikers, skateboards, or skaters, Janson responded, “The Highway Administration has received multiple reports from residents with requests to update the trail status.”
Questions arose: what will happen when the bike lane is maintained? Will it be closed for a few years? If so, which roads will cyclists get to Juodkrante or Nida from Smiltyne? The representative of the Lithuanian Highway Administration replied: “During project preparation, the service provider will have to analyze all possible traffic organization options and select the optimal solution and prepare traffic management schemes that will be valid during the works. . In addition, before starting the work, the contractor must additionally inform the client, the Highway Administration, about the work to be started and, if circumstances change, adjust the traffic organization scheme. Pedestrian and bicycle traffic must be organized safely. “
When asked what steps are being taken to improve the condition of the bike path and ensure the safety of road users, Mr. Janson said damage to road safety and routine maintenance were being eliminated.
“Maintenance work is carried out in accordance with the regulations, regularly, in this case every 5 days. AB Kelių draudimo inspects the condition of this bike lane and, if necessary, areas of the road that are dangerous for safe traffic are filled in. Dangerous damage: breaks in asphalt or concrete pavements of more than 0.1 m2 and more than 40 mm in depth that endanger traffic safety. AB “Kelių draudimo” is obliged to eliminate dangerous local defects, “said the specialist.
The number of cycling fans increases
S. Ružinskas stated that in a corner of nature as unique as the Curonian Spit, it is necessary to manage the cycle paths as soon as possible and not scratch for five years. According to him it should start from Pervalka where the oldest and worst maintained trail is located.
“This is the international ‘EuroVelo’ cycle route No. 10 and 13 and the only national coastal cycle route No. 10. According to EuroVelo standards, the route cannot be closed. Diversions will have to be arranged during repairs, which actually it will be the main road, because there are no other alternatives! This means that cars and bikes will share the main road for 3 years in a row during the hot season (too bad, but so far our road workers are not very capable to organize work) .And it is a pity that it is not possible to organize a 35 km bike path of international importance in 1-2 years! What there is, preparation and design alone takes 2 years! Too bad! Perhaps here our president could step in and rush those works? ”Asked S. Ružinskas rhetorically.
He and professional cyclists interviewed by Western Express, Olympians from Klaipėda Ramūnas Navardauskas and Gediminas Bagdonas, said they noticed that the COVID-19 pandemic had encouraged people to spend their free time more actively outdoors.
“We have seen an increase in the number of cyclists during the pandemic. People actively cycle even with young children. People themselves understand that doctors will not help, immunity must be strengthened and cycling is one way to do it. to European cities, the use of bicycles has increased several times. Some European cities have closed streets for cars, laid out bicycle lanes and created infrastructure for cyclists. That could also be with us, “said the cyclists.
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