WOMENABILITYPRAGUE JUNGMANNOVE NAMESTI
Special thanks to
Our cyclists
Anna, Sylva, Jiri, Marie, Jitka, Radka, David, Marketa, Hester, Jitka H...
For WomenabilityPrague, we organized a unique exploratory walk on bike, an exploratory ride, thanks to our partner Gender Studies o.p.s ! So all responses are related to women's vision and feeling when cycling in Prague.
MOSTLY USING BIKE FOR
50% 36-65 yo
recreation work
90
shopping
%
40%
25-35 yo
10 % 10% 66 + yo
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with children (school for example) Biking is not just sport. It can be part of casual life. I mean you can bike to work, with children to school... I heard that it is not proper for women to be sweaty... but not really ;) so take it as casual as possible !
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The area of Jungmannove namesti During the ride, cyclists enjoyed seeing the nature, the parks, the view on the river, the beautiful prague's architecture and people smiling. Yet, the car traffic and the too many tram lines ruined the view. On a bike, there are some really smooth surfaces to ride, but cobbles, holes, tram lines aren't ones.
Cyclists also appreciated listening to people talking, but the noise from the traffic covered it too often.
Tasting and breathing the spring in the air was great for the cyclists during the walk. But it was spoiled by car gas and other vehicle exhaust. WOMENABILITYPRAGUE DATA FOR WWW.WOMENABILITY.ORG
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Biking in Prague 70% APPRECIATE BIKE REPARATION STORES Some places exist to repare bikes but it's not enough. Plus, it could be great if there were a space to learn how to repare it oneself.
90% THINK THERE ARE NOT ENOUGH BIKE PATHS AND PARKING Bike paths are old, many holes can ruin the ride. Plus, they could be more wheelchairs and trollers friendly. There are not many options where to park : missing parking places in front of most public offices, supermarkets, schools, libraries,...
86% FIND DANGEROUS BIKING WITH CHILDREN Even if biking with children is very enjoyable, it seems quite dangerous to do so in their company. Cyclists are feeling more vulnerable.
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50% LIKE BIKING AT NIGHT At first, it seems dangerous and lights need to be improve, but at night, the streets are less occupied by cars so cyclists can feel more free to ride. 88% DON'T FEEL FREE TO BIKE WITH CLOTHES THEY LIKE Cyclists wear only pratical or confortable clothes, not only because it's practical or confortable, but also due to "bike harassment". I do not feel comfortable when riding in a short skirt or low-cut dress, mostly because of sexist comments from men passing by.
80% DON'T FEEL SAFE BIKING WITH BAD WEATHER Cablestone and tram tracks are very slippery especially when it rains, plus clearing snow seems not really good in the city.
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Other transportation in Prague FREQUENCY AND WISH ABOUT TRANSPORTATION
WALKING IS HEALTHY BUT SLOW Walking is the most simple and the cheapest way to move. It is also healthy and relaxing. But it's slow and weather dependant. BIKING IS THE BEST BUT HAS ITS LIMITS Healthy too, faster than walking, bikes can also carry shopping. But they can be easy stolen and need some maintenance which can be expensive. TRAM/METRO ARE GREEN BUT SOMETIMES NOT SAFE Ecological and cheap, tramways and metros don't know traffic. Buses and trams have a bonus : you can look out ! And sometimes homeless are living in. CAR IS THE MOST PRACTICAL Not ecological, expensive, stressful, traffic dependant, the car is still the most practical way to move. It is fast and can carry a whole family and heavy things for a long distance. TAXI IS EXPENSIVE BUT A NIGHT SAVIOR Rarely used because of its price, taxi and drivers is a safe way to go home at night.
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COMBINE BIKING AND USING PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION IS DIFFICULT People are allowed to take their bike in the tram or the metro but a lot of them aren't accessible. There isn"t enough places and people can get angry very fast. So combine biking and public transports is very limited.
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Bike harassment and safety in Prague FREQUENCY OF BIKE HARASSMENT legend
weekly
montly
annualy
never
60% of the respondents have been orally harassed on their bike : sexist comments, insults by street workers or drivers. Most of the time, the cyclists ignore them. 30% of the respondents have been physically harassed on their bike, espacially by walkers or drivers who don't want to share spaces nor respect cycle paths. 80% of the respondents are suffering from drivers violence. A quarter of them have to bear it everyday. Once I left my bike in a bar locked and the bar owner cut the locker chain because he did not like my bike to be locked by his rail. Without telling me he locked my bike in his storage. Then he screamed at me. I was her client and there was not many people in the bar so he could have told me to park it elsewhere easily.
33%
ONLY 33% WOULD REPORT HARASSMENT TO THE POLICE According to 66% of the respondents, there is no worth reporting because nothing will be done.
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Improvments proposals
Increase the number of cycle paths so they all can be connected and renovate the old ones.
Foster the connexion between biking and public transportation : improve cycle parking, oragnize a no car day in the city center...
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Strengthen signalisation : road signs to better sharing spaces, maps to better explorating the city...
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What can WE do ? WOMEN WHO WANT TO BIKE HAVE TO BIKE
MEN BIKERS NEED TO BE MORE TOLERANT
Biking when you want to can be a way of life. It is not just a sport, and women have to feel free to ride whenever they want. The more they do, the more men will understand, so will the public institutions. They have to let men and the municipality know their needs on how to feel safer and better on their bike.
More in the competition, more into races, men can be agressive towards women even sometimes with kids. In the contrary, they need to encourage women, friends and family, to bike safely and to enjoy biking. Defending those who are bike harassed is also something men can do.
Ride more often so we normalize the fact that we, women, are bikers. Improve their skills when it comes to repairing bikes. Overcome their fear to ride in the city, it is not so dangerous I you are carefull.
Men should understand that women do not want to hear their opinions and comment all the time. They should also encourage their female friends to bike. Make a participative budget where part of the budget is dedicated to projects according to the referendum
NGOS CAN PROMOTE BIKING
By organizing more rides like this one, or some workshops about biking, can make the difference to foster women rights and better conditions for cyclists and pedestrians. There are lot of runs but I know only about one ride. I think people would be more interested !
MUNICIPALITY CAN IMPROVE BIKING FACILITIES
Some little things can really improve biking conditions like bike lockers and holders near to daily facilities. Then develop more infrastructures for cyclists and pedestrians, at least visually seperated from the road, can encourage biking.
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