by Gábor Bihari
September 15, 2008
The Car Free Day Critical Mass Ride coming up on September 22 in Budapest will be somewhat different now, according to the organizers of the World's largest such bicycle event. It will not be a demonstration as much as a proper ride - i.e. travel - from point A to B, abiding by all traffic laws, with no streets being closed down and no police route permit requested. Therefore people will get to choose their own route, and will truly be part of traffic. "Why?" - one might ask.
The main reason - say the organizers - is that they realized: this should not be just a PR event and it's certainly not only a party. The pressure needs to continue on policy makers to improve the conditions of bicycling in Budapest as well as in the rest of the country. The beginning and starting point gatherings will in fact be registered as demonstrations, but the idea is to show everyone how many cyclists could - on any day - use the streets of Budapest in regular traffic. They would also not like to run away from the traffic jams, which they actually consider the main cause of the problem, and for which they actually offer solutions.
Therefore, the main difference is that there will not be a precise route used, and there will also not be any roads closed. There will be a Starting Point (18.30, Hősök tere) and an End Point (20.00, Moszkva tér), with bike-lifts at both places to start off and end the ride. It is completely up to participants how they make their way from the start to the end, although it's likely that most will stick together on one or two different suitable routes. So in some ways it will be similar to most Critical Mass rides around the world, in that there will not be any police route permits issued or requested. There are, of course, safeguards build into this system as well: everyone is warned that all traffic laws apply at all times during the ride, bike lights are required after dusk, sidewalks belong to pedestrians, and car drivers are not enemies. There will also be about a hunderd volunteers directing bike traffic at some major intersections likely to be used by thousands of cyclists passing through, and the police will also be present where necessary.
Policy, Politics, and CM History
Despite some very positive developments in recent years, bicycle and environmental activists see it as a big setback that in May 2008 the new Hungarian Minister of Economy and Transport discontinued the post of Ombudsman for Bicycle Affairs. In other words, the challenges still exist, and sometimes past challenges re-occur. This, among other factors, prompted everyone involved in Critical Mass to intensify their efforts and let the public know: it's not enough to keep breaking world records in terms of the number of participants if we cannot make real progress toward our goals.
The basic concept is to get bicycles recognized as 'real' vehicles, with rights equal to those of motor vehicles. 'WE ARE TRAFFIC TOO', as they say, and they don't just want to be regarded as some weekend demonstration show, as it's been in the past few years. It is also clear that the record breaking turnouts of the previous couple of years were partly because they happened to fall on weekends, and the weather was quite pleasant too. There might be fewer people showing up this time, but the message might be stronger on a weekday, when it is all part of real traffic.
And let's also not forget: Critical Mass Budapest started hitting higher turnouts in 2004, instigated by the Capital City Mayor's office attempting to pressure the Car Free Day organizing groups - including cyclists - to hold their events on the weekend instead of the actual day (September 22) so they would not obstruct traffic too much. The cyclists considered this a contradiction in terms, asserting that Car Free Day events should not cater to the needs of car traffic - the very cause of the problem - and organized their ride on September 22 anyway, with a surprising turnout at that time of about 4000 people. It is one thing, they say, that the Earth Day 2008 ride was moved from the 22nd to the 20th of April, but Car Free Day is somewhat different in nature and in its message, especially when we consider the history of the Hungarian movement. This is also visible in the way the design elements of the Critical Mass website changed from the happy-go-lucky theme full of flowers - used during the Earth Day campaign this Spring - to something that now appears to be more of a red and black warning signal…
Further details and background info is available in the Critical Mass press release.
