Update 2023-08-28
Romuald Ochyra, head of the Investments and Infrastructure Department at the Bolesławiec Municipal Office:
In reference to the content of the blogger’s intervention (the author of the spidersweb website) concerning the signage on the bicycle path in Łaziska, I would like to inform you that Bolesławiec municipality co-financed the project (50% of the costs) and assumed responsibility for conducting and supervising the construction work. The completed path was incorporated into the right-of-way of voivodeship road No. 382, which is managed by DSDiK in Wrocław. Matters related to traffic organization on this road fall within the competence of that road manager.
This does not change the fact that the signage within the traffic-calming island was installed during the construction work. Therefore, Bolesławiec municipality undertakes to examine and respond to the objections raised in the intervention.
And explains:
Extending the island toward the village, built with paving blocks, by marking its contours with road markings, fulfills both functions named by the blogger, namely:
- a “left-turn lane for bicycles” – in the section between the P-23 road markings (a lane for single-track bicycles),
- a “bicycle box” – between the second P-23 road marking (counting from the village side) and the bollard (U-5a vertical sign) and the C-9 sign (mandatory passage on the right side of the sign).
And adds:
In order to clearly define how this part of the roadway (marked in red) should be used, after consulting the traffic-organization project author and the supervising inspector, it seems reasonable to follow the intervening party’s suggestion and additionally mark the red area between the P-23 signs with a P-8b sign (directional arrow for turning left).
Let us recall. On August 19, a video appeared on YouTube, on the @Napotkane_w_drodze channel, presenting a “super bicycle path” (the channel author’s description) in Łaziska, in Bolesławiec municipality.
The recording intrigued one of the authors of spidersweb, Poland’s largest independent technology and lifestyle blog, Piotr Barycki. He examined the subject. His conclusions? “Let us assume for a moment that there is such a hypothetical being as a cyclist who rides in accordance with the regulations. Genetically incapable of breaking them. And if we manage to imagine such a thing, then let’s not try sending them anywhere near Łaziska, because they will become stuck in an endless loop of being unable to make their next move,” the author stated at the outset.
Later in the material, the blogger wonders what exactly was built in Łaziska: whether it is a bicycle box or a left-turn lane for cyclists. He also suggests that the designer probably intended the latter. But if that was the case, certain problems arise:
First – why was the red surface extended all the way to the island, suggesting that there is some kind of bicycle lane here? (...)
Second – there is a problem with… entering the pedestrian and bicycle path.
And he concludes that a hypothetical cyclist—that is, one who would want to obey the regulations every time and at all costs—would have to work up quite a sweat using the aforementioned path. The author’s detailed analysis and conclusions can be found on spidersweb.pl.