Originally posted by jmlee
I can’t speak for Australia, but all of this is much rarer in the U.S., largely, I suspect because of its overwhelmingly automobile-centered city planning. It’s pitiful that countries’ financial priorities dictate an either/or decision on paths and shoulders.
Perhaps German cities were designed differently to ours. However, in this country, paths basically don't go anywhere. If you actually want to go somewhere in an Australian city or town, you will sooner or later
have to use the road. Here in the Gold Coast is a prime example. People always talk about how many "bikepaths" this place has, but if I tried to ride to work using them, I'd have to leave about 4 hours earlier.
Basically, off-road paths are fine if you want to "give way to pedestrians" or "dismount to cross road/brige/whatever the council has decided to put there". If you actually want to get on your bike and go somewhere, sooner or later you'll have to use the road, and there is
nothing in this country more dangerous then the point at which the bikepath ends to enter the road.