The authorities in Sarajevo Canton made a mistake with the new legal rules for the use of bicycles and electric scooters. Instead of encouraging the use of these means of transport, it will discourage many from using them.
According to the new rules, it is forbidden to ride bicycles and electric mobility scooters on sidewalks, i.e. they can only be driven on bicycle paths and roads. All those who violate the regulations are fined in the amount of 50 to 250 BAM. The goal of the authorities is to protect pedestrians.
Pedestrians are the most vulnerable in traffic and should therefore be the most protected, but the government protects them in the wrong way, i.e. to the detriment of users of means of transport, the use of which is good for human health and the environment – they are increasingly an alternative to motor vehicles that pollute the environment, create traffic jams, take up a lot of space and for the maintenance of which a lot of money and resources are spent.
They are even more of an alternative at the time of the reconstruction of the tram line, which hinders the functioning of public transport.
It is likely that many will give up the use of bicycles and/or electric scooters as a basic means of transportation and as a means of recreation, given that it is extremely dangerous to ride them on the road. For many, it is unacceptable to drive them, for example, on the main road in Sarajevo, where the maximum speed for motor vehicles is 60 kilometers per hour.
This, as well as other roads, are often the site of races and crazy rides. Because of this, traffic accidents often occur. In such circumstances, who will ride a bicycle or a mobile next to a vehicle weighing more than one ton?
At the same time, a large number of motor vehicles are parked on sidewalks and other pedestrian zones, which endangers all other road users. The biggest problem in this is what Osman Lindov, a professor at the Faculty of Traffic and Communications of the University of Sarajevo (UNSA), noticed, among others, and that is that the government did very little to develop urban mobility.
“The rulers of Sarajevo Canton, you did not build or clean a millimeter of a new bicycle path, and now you are doing this. You are building new roads without adequate sidewalks and bicycle paths. You are sanctioning environmentally clean transportation for citizens, because they have no alternative, except to use individual vehicles, which is likely according to your ‘expertise’, the best solution. Your regulation will lead to cyclists and motor vehicle drivers being killed by motor vehicles and pedestrians being killed by motor vehicles,” warned Professor Lindov, Klix.ba writes.
