Final Word from Wednesday, June 4, 2008
China is moving en masse from bicycle to car, driving up motor-fuel prices and forcing people in other parts of the world to move from car to bicycle. But not in Prague. Despite the cost savings associated with pedal power, few Praguers of sound mind and body are commuting by bicycle. Director Petr Fejk of the Prague Zoo said in MFD that he hasn't found the courage to allow his 14-year-old son to bike into the city. The few feeble attempts to make the city bike-friendly have backfired, he noted. The city has built expensive bike lanes that start and end in the middle of nowhere, making them unacceptably risky for cyclists and contributing to the congestion problem by eliminating one lane of car traffic. What Prague needs is a detail-oriented ombudsman who walks, bikes or drives around the city and has the authority to fix such stupidities. If only Mr. Fejk would take the job....[Czech Republic cycling gasoline oil]
Glossary of difficult words
pedal power - (informal) cycling as a means of transportation;
of sound mind - mentally fit, being reasonable or competent;
to commute - to travel between one's home and place of work on a regular basis;
MFD - see the Prague edition, June 3, Page D2;
feeble - failing to convince or impress;
to backfire - to have the opposite effect to what was intended;
congestion - overcrowding on the road; traffic jam.