Photo: Courtesy of Buenos Aires government.
If you're thinking about traveling to Buenos Aires, consider taking your bike with you. The promise of 100 kilometers of new bike paths is becoming a reality with new safe, separated-from-traffic lanes popping up in different parts of the city. Take a look at the map inside.
The new bike paths have arrived not without controversy: drivers complain about the works arguing that there aren't enough riders to make the lanes worthwhile, while some groups of cyclists say they are not along the major avenues.
But the thing is, the absence of security seems to be the only explanation on why people don't ride in Buenos Aires: a flat city with great weather where you could ride all year long. So we celebrate the new paths and think they'll be a great step forward.
If you're familiar with the city, know that some of the paths that have already started to function include a section of one of Buenos Aires' signature avenues, Avenida del Libertador, which will go all the way down to Retiro. Another section covering the way from Retiro to Parque Lezama (almost San Telmo) should be inaugurated in March.
By the end of 2010, if everything comes out according to plans, there should be a total of 100 kilometers of new paths connecting the main points of the city.
If you're in or about to come to Buenos Aires, save the map below (blue is for the paths that are going to be ready in March, light blue is for the planned ones).
Now all we need is for the city to revamp the forgotten bike-sharing program that was announced so eagerly in late 2008.
From Treehugger.com