To provide cyclists with a safer space, many roads in Beijing have installed waist-high barriers to create a “safety wall” for bike lanes. However, due to a lack of management, this “safety wall” has now become an obstacle to smooth traffic: either cars are parked inside the bike lanes, or the ends of the “wall” are blocked by vehicles, forcing cyclists onto the main road. Even worse, some drivers move the “wall” onto motor vehicle lanes for convenience, turning it into a winding “snake” that further congests already busy roads.
Bike lane barriers have become useless
At a little after 7 a.m., heading west along Anlelin Road from the Puhuangyu intersection, both sides of the road are packed with cars. Nearly every entrance or exit to the bike lane is blocked by one or more vehicles, making the already narrow road even tighter. Cyclists, faced with these obstacles, are forced to maneuver around the barriers and ride directly on the motor vehicle lanes. Cars rushing to work honk incessantly at the cyclists ahead. One frustrated cyclist shouts at a driver, “What’s the horn for? If you hadn’t blocked the bike lane with your car, we wouldn’t be riding here!”
Lin Zhong, riding an electric bike, had been staying within the bike lane until he encountered a blockade ahead. He had no choice but to stop and push the barrier about ten centimeters toward the center of the road. “My electric bike is really heavy—it’s hard to lift—so I can’t just back up. It’s better to move the barrier,” he says, gesturing to the nearby barriers. “These barriers have all been moved out of alignment, crooked and messy. It looks terrible, but there’s nothing we can do.”
On Anlelin Road, reporters observed that nearly every bike lane barrier had been shifted like a snake—some jutting nearly a meter into the middle of the road, others moved toward the curb, completely blocking the bike lane. A sanitation worker cleaning the area said, “Cars are always parked here, sometimes for days. That’s why people move the barriers. Since they’re not being used anyway, it’d be better to just take them away and make the road wider.”
No parking spots, so they park in the bike lane
It’s not just Anlelin Road. Over several days of investigation, reporters found that from Dawooyang Hutong near Jianguomen Bridge, to Tiantan East Road, and even beyond the Second Ring Road on Puhuangyu Road, Liujiaoyao Road, and the Third Ring Road service roads, bike lane barriers at entrances and exits are almost universally blocked by cars.
On Liujiaoyao Road, the bike lane is separated from the motor vehicle lane by iron barriers at regular intervals, but nearly all the entrances and exits are blocked by vehicles. Some cars leave a gap of less than a meter wide, barely allowing cyclists to squeeze through; others simply park in the bike lane, forcing cyclists onto the motor vehicle lanes.
Zhao, a driver on his way to work, said, “I live in the neighborhood nearby. There’s no parking lot in our compound, so we have no choice but to park on the street. If I get off work early, I can find a spot that’s not too obstructive. But if I’m late, the street is full, and I have no choice but to park in the bike lane. It’s blocking, sure, but I leave a gap!” Zhao added that because there’s nowhere to park, squeezing into the bike lane has become commonplace. “If I don’t do it, someone else will. There’s no other way.”
“You may have parked your car, but aren’t you putting cyclists in danger by pushing them onto the motor vehicle lane?” a reporter asked. Zhao gave an awkward smile, got into his car, and drove off. Accelerating a bit too quickly, he nearly clipped a cyclist who was trying to pass from behind as he merged from the bike lane onto the motor vehicle lane.
On both sides of the entrance to a building on Puhuangyu Road, where the bike lane is separated by iron barriers, a large sign reads “No Parking.” Yet, at both ends of the bike lane, a moving company’s box truck and a jeep are parked, forcing cyclists to compete with motor vehicles for space. “What can we do? The cars take up the bike lane—we have no choice but to use the motor vehicle lane,” said cyclist Zhang Hong, pointing to the two vehicles blocking the lane. “Cars block this spot every day, and no one does anything about it. What’s the point of having those barriers?”
If you set it up, manage it well
In interviews, many cyclists expressed that since safety barriers have been installed, they should be properly managed to serve their intended purpose. If barriers are installed but left unmanaged, allowing cars to block the lanes not only renders the barriers useless but also forces desperate cyclists onto motor vehicle lanes, turning the barriers into obstacles that hinder smooth traffic.
According to relevant regulations, parking is prohibited at bike lane entrances and exits. When police officers encounter temporary stops, they usually ask drivers to move their vehicles. For prolonged obstructions, drivers can be fined 200 yuan. However, after observing for several consecutive days, reporters never saw any enforcement against illegal parking.
A senior official from the traffic management department explained that while Beijing has many hardened-separated bike lanes, there is insufficient police presence, and it’s impossible to station officers at every intersection. Therefore, on one hand, drivers need to voluntarily comply with the rules, and on the other, citizens can report cases of prolonged illegal parking to traffic authorities.