Very interesting discussion. I have been cycling from Älvsjö to Kista for several months and I come across all kinds of obstacles. I read in a response that one cannot bike on road when there is a bike path. In certain roads some cars (and trucks) have been honking when I bike my ICE recumbent on the road. My assumption is that they see a bike path next to the road and expect me to use it. There are two reasons that I do not bike on the bike path, the obvious one which was mentioned earlier is speed which can be dangerous for pedestrians, etc. I can come up to +30km/hr. The other reason is that the road has less of an inclination compared to the bike path. I wish that city planners thought of this when making bike paths. The reason that there are so many cyclists in Holland in my opinion is that it is "flat"!
1. First question, is there a speed limit on the bike paths? Is there a certain speed that riding a bike on the road is acceptable.
My general theory which was reflected in other comments is that when biking on the road one has to read the traffic and act according to car rules. Because downtown Stockholm is very busy with "leisure" bicycles I tend to bike on the road. This usually works well when I have about the same speed as the general traffic.
2. Why can't a bike be considered like another vehicle with the same passing rules. In the country side where speed limits are 70kim/hr I consider a higher risk compared to in the city where the speed is 50.
Is there anything politically that can be done to give bicycles more rights? It is sad to read the original article. There isn't a more healthy and environmental way of transport. When I lived close to Holland I heard that the bicycle was considered the holly cow meaning whatever they did it was ALWAYS the cars fault. In Sweden there is this tendency to push rules and motorists like to use their horn to make a point, bike on the bike path and not on the road. Arrgghhh! I would like to see them try to bike and notice how difficult it can be sometimes.
mvh, JanL