this post was submitted on 15 May 2026
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Desire Paths

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Desire paths Desire paths can be paths created as a consequence of erosion caused by human or animal foot-fall or traffic. The paths usually represent the shortest or most easily navigated routes between origins and destinations. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Desire_path

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I'd think German traffic engineers could come up with a better solution, yet these are everywhere:

The bike paths themselves are desire paths for cars and motorcycles.
To block them off, they put up barriers, but those also block cargo bikes, wheelchairs and strollers, create a collision hazard, and force all cyclists to stop and dismount for no reason.
Of course, they'll be bypassed wherever possible โ€“ naturally by cars and motorcycles too, if there's enough room.

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[โ€“] cravl@slrpnk.net 13 points 2 days ago

This particular design is more aggressive than simple bollards for sure, but in general I file these devices under necessary evils. The real solution oftentimes is getting usage of a path high enough that social pressure is an effective deterrent, but that's a longer-term system level goal.