Pop up Cycle Tracks

It has been suggested that air pollution is a multiplier for Covid-19 (1) . The internal combustion engine is a major contributor to air pollution in built up areas. Now obviously at the moment mass public transport is not a favoured method of getting about, so the British government has suggested private cars, cycles and feet as a means of getting to work in the present instructions for a loosened lockdown. Cycling and walking have the advantage that participants take exercise and improve their health. There are thus a number of initiatives to improve cycling safety and allow social distancing by widening  cycling and walking lanes in cities all the world using pop-up  lanes: Berlin and 133 cities in Germany, Milan, Oakland CA, Paris and Bogotá, just as examples (2).  These will be open at least for the duration of the Covid-19 pandemic. This could obviously go for some time. Epidemologists have suggested up to two years, but predictions are very difficult, especially about the future. Maybe we will have a world where cycling numbers resemble those of Copenhagen after the pandemic is over, but don't hold your breath.  The forces against cycling are many and powerful. In 2016 in London the Licensed Taxi Drivers Association attempted to block the construction of the Embankment cycleway on planning grounds (3). The opposition to cycleways in Berlin is described in (4).

1) https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/apr/20/air-pollution-may-be-key-contributor-to-covid-19-deaths-study
https://www.forbes.com/sites/emanuelabarbiroglio/2020/03/20/people-living-in-polluted-cities-are-at-higher-risk-from-covid-19/#7f3fe04c4b99
2)https://www.rtl.de/cms/pop-up-spuren-fuer-radfahrer-in-berlin-weniger-platz-fuer-autofahrer-4537989.html - use a Translator App
https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/world/covid-19-parisians-turn-to-cycling-as-end-of-lockdown-nears/ar-BB13NYeL
3) https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2016/feb/10/london-taxi-drivers-lose-high-court-challenge-to-cycle-superhighway
4) https://www.tip-berlin.de/bike-friendly-city-the-reality-of-cycling-in-berlin/ 

Everything runs like it's just been oiled.

The city of Mannheim, Germany offers free bike checks in the summer at various events and it is an excellent way of showing folk who don't cycle much how make their cycling easier, by pumping up tyres, oiling chains, adjusting gears and making sure brakes work. It's a very popular service. The queues can be very long. When I first saw this I was impressed, although the ADFC Bergstraße has organised a stand for years at the biannual closure to motorised traffic of the Bergstrasse between Heppenheim and Darmstadt. We have even helped on the stand. I was also impressed to realise that the CTC had organised a similar service at the Prudential RideLondon weekend. This is obviously something that meets a public need.