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I'm led to believe that in Odense, Denmark they run a little car with a laser scanner over the bike route network to scan for tiny defects in the pavement that will in the future degrade into actual holes, so they can fix them before the pothole even forms. This seems entirely unbelievable, like some sort of joke. Presumably, next I'll be told that at the edge of town instead of an airport they have a spaceport with regular flights to the moon.
I mean, before you'd scan the bikeway with a laser, you'd presumably have to first be willing to fix the actual holes, which in the USA will never happen. In the US, I'm not sure how you'd even go about laser scanning a bikeway. How would you define the surface? With all the gravel, mud, the leaves, branches, fallen tree limbs, and unrepaired holes and bumps, what would you even define as the pavement surface? Presumably in the US you'd program the computer to just ignore any fallen tree limb over a certain size, on the theory that it totally blocks the path so someone on his way to work will stop, get off his bike, and try to shove it out of the way, at which point the problem will be solved and there will be no need for any effort on the part of the city or county.
If you wonder why we Effective Cycling types want to be out there on the road with the cars, this has a lot to do with it. There is an off-road bike trail running along the little river that actually makes a useful commuting route for me. It is certainly prettier than the six-lane 40+MPH Highway 100, and since it doesn't intersect with roads, it's reasonably safe. Normally, of course, bike paths intersect with roads in a totally random, very unsafe manner, so in the US at least you have to avoid intersecting at all. It's also shorter, which is nice. But it's in lousy condition, debris covered, and it always floods even after minor rain. The worst crash I've had in a very long time was a mud-related slide there. Highway 100 might be safer, plus it's passable even if it rains. And the fallen trees get removed.
I mean, before you'd scan the bikeway with a laser, you'd presumably have to first be willing to fix the actual holes, which in the USA will never happen. In the US, I'm not sure how you'd even go about laser scanning a bikeway. How would you define the surface? With all the gravel, mud, the leaves, branches, fallen tree limbs, and unrepaired holes and bumps, what would you even define as the pavement surface? Presumably in the US you'd program the computer to just ignore any fallen tree limb over a certain size, on the theory that it totally blocks the path so someone on his way to work will stop, get off his bike, and try to shove it out of the way, at which point the problem will be solved and there will be no need for any effort on the part of the city or county.
If you wonder why we Effective Cycling types want to be out there on the road with the cars, this has a lot to do with it. There is an off-road bike trail running along the little river that actually makes a useful commuting route for me. It is certainly prettier than the six-lane 40+MPH Highway 100, and since it doesn't intersect with roads, it's reasonably safe. Normally, of course, bike paths intersect with roads in a totally random, very unsafe manner, so in the US at least you have to avoid intersecting at all. It's also shorter, which is nice. But it's in lousy condition, debris covered, and it always floods even after minor rain. The worst crash I've had in a very long time was a mud-related slide there. Highway 100 might be safer, plus it's passable even if it rains. And the fallen trees get removed.
