A speed bump obstructs Moscow's new bicycle lane. Photo courtesy of Alexander Tugunov

Moscow, home to 11.5 million people, recently got its very first bicycle lane. It was proudly inaugurated with much fanfare by city officials this summer to the great excitement of the city’s cyclists. However, their joy was slightly diminished when they realised that it was more like an obstacle course than a method for cyclists to more easily navigate city traffic.

The pictures, shared by Russian cycling enthusiasts, show just how complicated it is to navigate Moscow’s new bike lanes. In some spots, two-way bike lanes are just a metre wide and frequently blocked by gates as well as other obstacles. Moreover, Muscovites don’t seem to know what the green lanes mean and therefore have no compunction about parking their cars in the city's new cycle lanes.

Our Russian Observers argue that the problem is symptomatic of the capital’s lack of interest in promoting bicycling.

Cyclists have to ride around all sorts of obstacles, like this barrier. Photo courtesy of Maxim Pshenichnikov.