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 – naturally by cars and motorcycles too, if there's enough room.

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[–] teft@piefed.social -5 points 2 days ago (1 children)

Stop and dismount? Those seem completely navigable mounted imho. Why would you dismount?

[–] bluGill@fedia.io 4 points 2 days ago

IF you have a small bike maybe. I often have a kid on trail-a-bike. Sometimes I have a second kid in the trailer behind that. The train cannot be got through that. Even my road bike alone often cannot make those tight turns without dismounting, but it depends on the exact geometry of the gates.