I ask because earlier tonight I almost got hit by some asshole driver coming off the Dazhi bridge. Crossing south toward the city, there’s no good lane to ride in on the bridge, so lately I’ve been taking the bike lane. The problem with that, though (besides a whole bunch of bumps), is that when you come out to cross Binjiang Street, cars turning right off the bridge often fail to see you because you’re behind a wall right until you come out onto the crosswalk. The guy who almost hit me today might not have stopped if I hadn’t yelled at him, yet even though I had my lights on and was crossing at a crosswalk, he still honked at me and yelled “f— you!” as if it was somehow my fault. How the hell am I supposed to get across there without putting my life in danger? Going north is bad, too: the bike lane makes you go up and down stairs with no ramp, and the lane on the bridge set aside for scooters and bikes is in the middle of the road.
The other ridiculous thing about the Fuxing North Road crossing is that bikes aren’t supposed to go through the tunnel under the airport. Where do they expect you to go instead? That tunnel is probably safer than many other tunnels open to bikes, too. I ride through it all the time despite the sign, even next to cops, and nobody seems to mind.
If you want to get from Dazhi/Neihu to downtown or vice versa, it seems like you’ve got two options: Zhongshan North Road, which is safe but too far west for me, and the dangerous Dazhi bridge I just described. If I want to cross further east, like to Keelung Road or Guangfu, I have to go all the way over by Costco to even get across because the genius urban planners here decided to keep bikes and scooters off of Tiding Boulevard. It’s ridiculous.
So, is there a better route that I don’t know about? Or am I stuck choosing between long detours and life-threatening bridge crossings?
I have the same problem between Zhonghe and Downtown. I really wish the gov’t would make good on it’s plan to make Taipei more bike friendly - they’ve been putting lanes in various spots in the city, but how about on the bridges to GET INTO the city?
[quote=“haokaiyang”]If you want to get from Dazhi/Neihu to downtown or vice versa, it seems like you’ve got two options: Zhongshan North Road, which is safe but too far west for me, and the dangerous Dazhi bridge I just described. If I want to cross further east, like to Keelung (Jilong) Road or Guangfu, I have to go all the way over by Costco to even get across because the genius urban planners here decided to keep bikes and scooters off of Tiding Boulevard. It’s ridiculous.
So, is there a better route that I don’t know about? Or am I stuck choosing between long detours and life-threatening bridge crossings?[/quote]
No suggestions except to say that, yeah, you’re not alone. I tried to get downtown from Dazhi once and have never tried again. Fortunately it’s a route I don’t need to do very often. Getting downtown on the west side of the city is OK, but coming in from the north is a nightmare, I guess in part because of the airport. The city has become quite good for recreational cycling, but for commuting? Not so much.
You say Zhongshan is too far west for you. How about Jilin or Xinsheng North Road? If not, you can just turn off from the Dazhi bridge and ride down the ramp into the riverside park and head west. Come out at the water treatment plant right after you go under the freeway (a huge sliding gate). After you come out of the alley (and holding your breathe as you go by the plant), cross the street and ride through the former Floral Expo park (surprisingly tranquil these days now that the event is over). Come out either at the Jilin exit or Xinsheng exit. The good thing about Jilin is it has no buses, but it’s got a few more stoplights than the main thoroughfares.
You hit the nail on the head. Glad to see I’m not the only one who feels this way!
Cycling is a great hobby that does virtually no harm to the environment, but it doesn’t do any good either if it doesn’t replace carbon-generating transportation. Maybe the problem is the perception that only the poor use bikes as their primary way to get around. People who can afford nice bikes generally don’t use them to commute because it’s so inconvenient: unsafe roads, hot/cold/rainy weather, and nowhere to keep your bike safe once you get to your destination. The government could certainly make commuting a lot safer if it tried. The weather is a tougher nut to crack, but look at the Netherlands, where cycling is so popular that the government is actually considering heating bike lanes in the winter. Taiwan could at least try building covered bike paths for rainy days. As for preventing theft, environmentally conscious companies could provide secure bike parking for employees.
Unfortunately, I don’t think any of this will happen anytime soon due to lack of political will. Here, green transit seems to mean building subway systems EVERYWHERE, as if the whole western side of the island were one gigantic city. But as far as I know, subways generate as much emissions as cars do, they just do a better job of hiding it. Public transportation is all well and good, but there’s something to be said for a tool that can get you wherever you want to go with the power of your own two legs. A little smart facilitation of that would go a long way.
That sounds like the way to do it all right but I must add that what Jilin Rd lacks in bus routes it makes up for in tour buses blocking the side of the road and homicidal taxi drivers out for blood. Xinsheng might be a better bet…