Three in four Swiss voters have backed a proposal enshrining cycling in the country’s federal constitution in a referendum today.
The question of whether “promoting bike paths” should be added to an existing provision of promoting footpaths and hiking trails was supported by 73.6 per cent of the electorate.
For the constitution to be amended, the referendum required not only a majority of voters across the country as a whole to vote in favour, but also most of the country’s 26 cantons to back it.
As it turned out, a majority of people in every single canton supported the measure.
The promotion of footpaths and hiking trails has formed part of the constitution since 1977.
Back then, the Swiss federal parliament’s House of Representatives was in favour of including cycle paths within the wording, but that proposal was vetoed by the country’s upper house, the Senate.
The amendment to the constitution comes as the Swiss government is eager to promote cycling for both transport and leisure.
It is likely to result in it devising a strategy for developing a national network of cycle paths – although these remain primarily the responsibility of individual cantons – as well as mapping routes, among other issues.
The proposal was supported by all the country's main political parties with the exception of the right wing Swiss People’s Party, reports SwissInfo.ch.
In the run-up to the referendum, the country’s transport minister, highlighted that encouraging more people to cycle could ease pressure on overcrowded public transport as well as help reduce air pollution.
She also highlighted the importance of safety of cyclists, the only class of road users to have seen an increase in casualty numbers in recent years.
Maybe take some drugs to calm your nerves...
So...don't cycle on it. Lots of other routes around that area. Source: I used to work there.
I'm not sure that aero carbon fiber bike would have been much use in such circumstances. But a gravel bike, well that's another story...
So, do those buses do as much damage per person as a w@nkpanzer?
Armando Iannucci "Today is Day One of humanity’s Idiolithic Era."
My photochromic specs have just turned up in the post today
It's not just cycling shoes, walking boots have the same problem. A long time ago I was told I had Germanic feet and those of us descended from...
Downhill Alpe d'Huez TT would be _awesome_. And someone should organise one for real!...
Couldn't find the breathalyser sketch, so this one will have to do https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vqxXNZcIdwM
Custom bikes used to be for life....