New bicycle crossings are being built - despite accidents increasing

Just last year, 190 bicycle accidents occurred in Umeå, and when SVT asks the Umeå residents many testify about unsafe conditions for cyclists.

- I try to be careful, but I'm afraid all the time. They drive like fools, says Inger Viklund, cyclist in Umeå.

- This morning it was a car that did not stop for me. I slowed down as hard as I could. It went well says, Frida Grankulla.

Umeå is a cycling city and now the municipality is investing in new bicycle crossings - bumps for cars, clear signs and preference for cyclists.

- Other cities, such as Gävle, have many more bicycle crossings than we will get, says Marie Frostvinge, traffic planning manager in Umeå municipality.

Why not build subway tunnels instead?

- It's also about security. Tunnels are expensive and in the evening many people feel that it is not so much fun to cycle there.

A study from Lund University that has studied three bicycle crossings in Malmö shows that the safety of cyclists has deteriorated in two of them.

In their conclusion, the researchers write that road safety has decreased for cycling since the rule change to bicycle crossing. The speed of motor vehicles has increased and so are the serious conflicts.

- Using the right bike transfers is a good thing. We have not seen any increase in bicycle accidents during 2017 and 2018 where we built bicycle crossings. We hope to increase the accessibility of cyclists while providing a traffic-safe environment, ”says Marie Frostvinge.

If you want to read the study in its entirety, you can do this.

Hear some of Umeå's cyclists in the clip above.