Long-awaited break through

I was away on holiday and I missed it -- the long-awaited, permanent (knock on wood) opening of the Buda Quay bike tunnel under Margit Bridge. This morning on my regular commute, I started taking the customary detour around the tunnel -- and then I noticed that the chain-link fence across the opening of the tunnel had been removed. And cyclists were actually going into it. I guess things do happen to those who wait.

Of course, the bike path on the bridge deck is still a work in slow, agonising progress ...

An Open-and-Shut Case

The view from the north of the tunnel shows that cyclists are, again,
riding on the carriageway to get around the ongoing bridge work.

The new bicycle tunnel under the Buda bridgehead of Margit híd was closed shortly after opening last week due to an apparent signage screw-up, reports the index.hu news portal.

The view from the south shows a cyclist coming off the
carriageway and rejoining the bike path.

The signs on the new tunnel indicated that pedestrians, as well as cyclists, are permitted through the tunnel. And according to the Budapest Transport Centre (BKK), that isn't correct. The contractor for the long overdue bridge renovation needs to correct the mistake before the tunnel can reopen, and BKK is certain this will happen "rövidesen", meaning "shortly".

Considering the bridge project has been delayed countless times and has now taken about twice as long as originally planned, we'll take that with a grain of salt.

Cyclists Get a Hearing on Bridge Plans -- Today

According to a Tuesday post by Critical Mass organiser Gábor Kürti, the matter of cycling accommodation on Margit híd will be taken up by the city's Operations Committee today (Wednesday). It will involve a consultation with "all concerned parties," according to a statement issued by SZDSZ Assembly Member Imre Lakos.

This is not much notice for those wishing to participate, but seems par for the course considering the city didn't even GIVE notice when they removed the south side bikeway from the bridge renovation plans. That said, here are the details:

Time: 1 p.m. Wednesday, August 26
Place: Mayor's Office (1052 Budapest, Városház utca 9) 2nd Floor, Room 277

Margit Híd Closed -- Awesome!

From noon today, Margit híd is closed to car traffic. This is the busiest of Budapest's six car bridges and it's been a favourite subject of water-cooler talk for months. Budapest somehow got through the Szabadság híd closure, but this one -- some people are wondering if it'll just lead to the collapse of the economy and a permanent re-division of Buda from Pest.

My perspective is somewhat different. We live in a building on Margit körút less than 200 metres from the Buda bridgehead (pretty much just upstairs from the Bem cinema, for locals). We're anticipating that traffic out front will drop dramatically, which will bring relative tranquility to a neighbourhood whose traffic levels are not a big selling point. Our view is also coloured by our lack of a car. The planned traffic changes would only seem to benefit us.

One thing that isn't clear is how the closure will affect bike and pedestrian traffic. We've heard so many contradictory rumours about it. The latest news on City Hall's website doesn't mention  this aspect although a May article in Index.hu quoted Mayor Demszky promising that bike and pedestrian passage will be ensured throughout the project. I hope he hasn't reversed himself, as he's prone to do concerning important cycling and pedestrian issues. Living so close to the bridge, it'll be easy for me to follow how it really plays out.