Caen, France, 2009 - hire a bicycle

Not totally new, and not unknown in many other cities in Europe, but during a week in Caen last year, I encountered this scheme for hiring a bicycle and thought it was a great idea.  This week's hullabaloo about the Mayor of La Linea's "decongestion charge" - yes, it does sound like medication for an unpleasant physical condition - brought it all back to mind.

Now, I'm not saying it's an ideal way of getting about for everyone:  I have six kids and I wouldn't want to use one of these to get me to the supermarket for my weekly shop.  But surely for the many visitors or workers in Gibraltar, and La Linea for that matter, some of these set up around the border area, in the South District, and about the town would be perfect.  Perhaps also at the Eastern and Western sides too.  The idea is you leave your car at home for longer journeys, perhaps to one of the beaches in Spain or to the larger commercial centres there, and you pop a pound or euro coin in the slot and you borrow the bike to get you to work at the other end of the Rock, or to visit friends or whatever.  You then go to another bicycle hire point and clip your bike back in. At the end of the day you borrow one back.  Frequent users will have passes and special rates as will those who hire them all day.  The scheme could be run in conjunction with the local authority in La Linea so people can borrow one here and drop it off there and vice verse.  

The benefits - we'll reduce traffic and traffic pollution and become fitter.  There may even be some revenue for the local governments.  

Of course, this sort of thing is too beautifully simple for politicians both sides of the border, largely because it suits politicians of whatever persuasion to stir up problems rather than find practical solutions to them.  Alejandro Sanchez, despite his rhetoric, is politicising even further a sensitive situation.  If he wants to decongest his city from the blockages of lack of funding, he needs to use creative, imaginative, collaborative schemes to generate the wealth that being a close neighbour of a wealthy city brings.  By all means set up a congestion charge around the town - I for one, think this should be introduced in parts of Gibraltar anyway, our air is filthy with foreign traffic filling up with our cheap petrol, fags and booze - but don't do it to stir up trouble between the neighbours; there are enough ill-educated and malicious, bigoted boors on both sides of the notorious verja already doing that.

So back to bikes.  A little dangerous on such congested roads with no space to build bicycle lanes, I hear many a Gibraltarian complain.  So, how about taking a risk and introducing a no-car zone in the Town with notable exceptions for perhaps the disabled, or ambulances etc.?  What about circulating the traffic so some roads are only for bicycles?  Not easy, some people will grumble, but I expect politicians to have balls like bulls, not just forked tongues.  All it takes is a little courage, a lot of determination and a good pinch of imagination and charm.  Other much larger and busier cities have done it, so we can too.  

Leaders with cojones is what we need.  I wonder if any of them have cuernos like bulls too?

My daughter and I in 2008 - to prove that if I can do it, anyone can!