Cycling and Light Rail – They Do Get Along
A comment on the previous post about the ability of trams and bicycles to ‘get along’, clearly illustrates the bicycle/tram myth, that bicyclists and trams or streetcars can not cohabit on the same road. The small flange-way does not pose a risk, except for the mostAi?? blind cyclist and the safety claims being made against streetcars or trams is greatly overstated.
Scores of bicycle friendly cities such as Amsterdam, The Hague, Bonn, Heidelberg, have extensive networks of tram/LRT lines with little problems.
Unless a cyclist is pedaling in the trams path, with the bicycle wheels parallel with the tram/LRT tracks, there is little problem and only a fool would ride his bike on a tram/LRT line.
Girder rail, with its small flange-way (small compared with “T” rail with a guard rail), poses little problems for cyclists crossing a right-angles. To help mitigate bicycles crossing tram/LRT tracks, some cities have installed a resilient material in the flange-way to help cushion the bump.
There is some truth with the myth that tram tracks had caused problems for cyclists, but as with all myths what was actually true then has been greatly exaggerated or has disappeared altogether today.
Early tram/streetcar lines had the route set with granite or stone paving setts for ease of maintenance, which would have made for a very bumpy and dangerous ride. Today, most LRT/tram routes are smooth and flush with the road, unless it is lawned rights-of-way or on ballasted track.
Several cities operated cable cars, or had conduit operation (power was picked up underground in a conduit) which required a large and deep slot located in the centre of the track. Such a slot would have been very dangerous for cyclists. Today, there are few cities operating cable cars and funiculars, which because of the steep grades they operate on, pose little danger to cyclists. There are no surviving tram/streetcar lines using conduit systems for power pick-up.
The Great Orme Tramway (cable car), which operates in Llandudno Wales (UK) illustrates the problems of a conduit or slot for cyclists.
Today, a properly designed LRT/streetcar line poses little risk to cyclists and much of anti-tram rhetoric about the dangers of cyclists running afoul of tram tracks is just that, rhetoric, as in hundreds of cities around the world, cyclists and streetcars/trams operate with little problems.
