How not to "door" a cyclist in Auckland

With all this anatgonistic debate in Auckland and NZ Herald about how to avoid the "dooring" of passing cyclists - "get off your bike...", "take all doors off cars....", "check the rear-vision-mirror....", "don't bike too close to parked cars....." ...here's a few pictures I took in a civilised part of the world. This is Malmo in Sweden. I went there a few years ago to check out their wonderful waterfront development. This pic is self-explanatory. How to provide for parking, and cyclists, and minimise dooring. Here's how Malmo avoids conflict between cyclists in arterial roads. In this case there is parking on the other side of the road, and the cycle-lane in the opposite direction is on a parallel road. Rational solution. Rational allocation of road space to maximise safety and mobility of bikes as well as motorised traffic. And check out the generous width of the footpaths. (Compare for example with similar capacity roads in Auckland in Manukau, West Auckland, and North Shore - eg Taharoto Rd). There is also sophisticated provision for cyclists at tricky intersections. Something we avoid like the plague in Auckland. Here the solution to bikes at intersections is: "dismount and walk..." Imagine if that was the rule for cars!

You reap what you sow is the lesson for Auckland in Malmo.... This picture is at Malmo's equivalent of Britomart railway station. Because it's so safe to bike there, many people do, park their bikes there, and take the train (or bus). High public transport patronage depends on being able to easily catch the bus or train - and for many that depends on being able to easily get there from home. Good and safe cycling infrastructure makes economic sense. I concede Malmo does have a problem that Auckland does not have. Parking congestion for bikes. Now that would be a good problem to have to solve in Auckland - better than dooring - plenty of bike racks could be located on Queens Wharf without much impact don't you think? By the way - if you want to see other pics I took at Malmo's waterfront (and some other waterfronts), look here.