There are about 130 kilometers of bicycle paths in Skopje, but the standards according to which they are built, the lack of traffic culture and the dominance of cars make it difficult for cyclists to move around the city. A walk through the wider central area shows enough what lovers of "two wheels" have to deal with - containers and poles in the middle of cycle paths, unmarked traffic lanes at bus stops, too narrow lanes separated by widely placed traffic bollards, which allow them to pass between them. vehicles are parked.

Much can be said about the disrespect of other road users by the majority of citizens who do not leave their cars, but it is in vain if the authorities do not ensure that they offer both cyclists and pedestrians equal opportunities for smooth and safe movement, especially in conditions when the only option for public transportation in the city are buses.

In this country, there are no regulations for bicycle infrastructure, as is the case in most European and Balkan countries, according to which the space for cyclists should be planned and built. Because of that, cyclists have once again brought up this need, and the Association for Sustainable Development and Environmental Protection "Go Green", in cooperation with experts from several relevant professions, has developed a Proposed Rulebook for planning, designing, building and maintaining bicycle infrastructure. , which was officially submitted to the Ministry of Transport and Communications ten days ago.

In the literature used for this Proposal, there is also the document Proposal-rulebook on the conditions for design and construction of the bicycle infrastructure. The first phase was worked on in 2015-2016 and was completed in 2017-2018 by the Coordinating Body for Bicycle Traffic of the City of Skopje, of which "Na tocak" was also a part, which functioned during two terms of office of two mayors. We are extremely happy at this moment because the work of many of our members and supporters and the fruit of the last rather successful cooperation with the City of Skopje, has been brought out of oblivion, refined and upgraded by experts with new knowledge, designed and printed in an edition available to the public - point out from "On the wheel".

From there, they explain that such a rulebook would fill the deficiency in our regulation regarding bicycle traffic, because there are no standards for the design of the technical elements of bicycle surfaces, which leads to the construction of bicycle surfaces with non-standardized elements, insufficient and mismatched horizontal and vertical elements , bicycle surfaces with difficult or no drainage, use of low-quality materials, which endangers the safety of users of bicycle surfaces and other road users.

Paths of non-standard width are performed with numerous conflicts in the zone of intersections, parking zone or bus stops. When designing roundabouts, bicycle traffic is not an integral part of the design. We do not have bicycle parking standards for new buildings at the state level, only decisions of several municipalities according to their own will, and in the meantime standards have been adopted at the European level, to which we can adapt. Non-standard bike racks are used, which are not safe and comfortable to use and damage the bikes. The transitions from the bicycle paths to the road and vice versa are not accessible, high curbs are still used, and there are simple technical ways to do it correctly - the cyclists point out.

All these problems and their solutions are explained in the Proposed Rulebook. Well, for example, it states that on a high-speed main street, a two-way two-way cycle path separated from the road by a green belt of at least three meters wide and separated from the pedestrian path by a green belt of 1,5 meters should be designed . A two-sided one-way bicycle path next to the roadway or separated from the roadway by a green belt with a width of 1,5 meters and separated from the pedestrian path by a green belt of at least 1,5 meters is projected on a collector street, while on a service street a two-sided one-way bicycle path next to the roadway or a bicycle lane without a split lane if the width of the traffic lane is 3 meters or less.

The rulebook also explains the difference between a bicycle path and a bicycle street, what is a bicycle path and what is a bicycle lane, and all other necessary segments that would serve to design the bicycle infrastructure are given.
The Ministry is on the move, which should see the necessity of adopting such a regulation, if sustainable mobility is to be ensured in the future. Providing adequate infrastructure would also lead to increased use of bicycles in traffic.