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This is how the Népliget cycling centre would look like
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According to index.hu, Budapest is kind of a sport capital. The city will be the home of the World Aquatic Championships, it bids for the Olympic Games, stadiums grow out of the ground, you can go kayaking and canoeing on the Danube and take part in several running competitions around it. But what’s the situation with the fans of the second most popular mass sport, cycling? They are like unwanted children in the city. But this can change soon.
There are already bicycle lanes and tracks in the city, but those are not really suitable for doing sports. The Millenáris is going to be rebuilt, but, presumably, there won’t be space for neither hobby cyclists, nor roadside racers.
There’s effectively no place where you can cycle without obstacles. The asphalt of the Margaret Island is not really smooth, there are many pedestrians, and the swimming pool is under construction. Individual cyclists usually take on the Zichy Mihály Road – City Park – Olof Palme Walk triangle, where they have to make their way through parking lots, trolley buses and illegal car tricksters (the road-conditions are actually also not the best here for cycling, only with the best-built off-road bikes – DN), and the place is frequently closed because of a running event.
Cyclists couldn’t organise a competition there due to the factors mentioned above, they just made do with the place. Until now, because due to the constructions, only a tiny lane was left for cyclists and nobody knows what the future holds for them.
Meanwhile, there’s an excellent and obvious solution, which has been a bit neglected in recent years. It is the Népliget, and cyclist champion Károly Eisenkrammer has already worked out a plan for the utilisation of the space. The 3D animation of the plans is quite cool.
