在圣保罗骑行

　　Tropic of Copenhagen

　　热带的哥本哈根

　　A city fights its car addiction

　　城市戒车瘾

　　SaO PAULO'S obsession with the automobile is well documented. It first hosted a Formula 1 Grand Prix in 1973; a motorway is named after Ayrton Senna, a local son and three-time world champion killed in a crash 20 years ago. The city has 5.6m cars, nearly one for every two people. The result is congestion. Taken together, afternoon jams often exceed 100km (62 miles). One recent study found that the average paulistano spends nearly three hours in daily commutes.

　　The city's mayor, Fernando Haddad, says this cannot go on. Since taking office in 2013 he has tried to cajole paulistanos out of cars and onto bicycles. On November 18th a 700-metre stretch of cycle lanes was completed, bringing the total to 179km. Fully 117km have been laid since June, more than in the previous 33 years, when city hall first mulled them. Mr Haddad has promised 400km by the end of 2015, which would put the city on a par with cycle-centric Copenhagen.

　　He faces an uphill climb worthy of the Tour de France. Sao Paulo is not naturally bike-friendly. Multi-lane arteries and ring roads link the periphery, where most people live, to the centre where the jobs are. This creates sprawl.

　　巴西圣保罗州对汽车的痴迷从档案就可见一斑。早在1973年，该州就举办过F1一级方程式锦标赛；有一个赛车道就是以埃尔顿·塞纳命名的，他是当地人，获得三次世界冠军，但是在20年前的一次事故中这颗巨星不幸陨落。这座城市的汽车保有量达到560万，几乎每两个人就拥有一部汽车。其后果就是交通堵塞。堵塞路段加起来，下午的堵塞经常超过100千米（约合62英里）。近期的一项调查发现，圣保罗人每天花在路上的时间平均下来将近3小时。圣保罗市长费尔南多·哈达德称这一现象将会终止。自2013年上任以来，他努力劝导圣保罗人放弃开汽车改骑自行车。11月18日，一条宽700米的自行车道竣工，全场179千米。自六月以来，117千米的自行车道就已竣工，这比33年以前的总和还多，那时市政厅就对此作仔细考虑。哈达德承诺到2015年自行车道里程将达到400千米，而这，将会使圣保罗市与自行车驱动的哥本哈根一样。他所面临的上坡路其意义堪比环法自行车赛。圣保罗并不是一开始就十一自行车出行。多车道要道和环城路连接了城郊，这些城郊容纳了该市主要人口，让他们能够到市中心工作。于是导致了圣保罗市的无计划扩张。

　　在圣保罗骑行.jpg

　　Unlike Buenos Aires, which has taken to two wheels with gusto, Sao Paulo is also muscle-strainingly hilly. It is unsafe, too. In London, with more bicycle trips, 14 cyclists perished in traffic last year; in Sao Paulo 37 did. Many drivers have little patience for non-motorised road users.

　　与首都布宜诺斯艾利斯适宜两轮自行车不同的是，圣保罗多山，骑行非常累，而且不安全。在伦敦，由于人们骑自行车远足，去年14个自行车手死于交通事故，而圣保罗的数据是37人。许多驾驶员对非机动车道路上的骑行者没有一点耐心。

　　Nine in ten paulistanos say they want the cycle network extended. In practice, some are less keen. In the short run congestion may worsen as bike lanes impinge on precious road space. Vicente Safon, who runs a bakery in Higienópolis, a leafy district, came to work recently to find one being traced on his doorstep. Deliveries of flour in 50kg (110lb) sacks had to be lugged from a distant side street. Mr Safon complained; a 50-metre stretch was painted over in asphalt grey—to the relief of the baker, if not the bikers, who now find themselves in a car lane with no warning.Such kerfuffles are inevitable, says Leonardo Barchini, a city-hall spokesman. He hopes the kinks can be ironed out, for instance by allowing delivery vehicles to stop on bike lanes at certain times.

　　圣保罗人里十个有九个称他们希望拓展他们城市的自行车道网络。实际上，有些人的意愿并不是那么热切。短期来看，由于自行车道对之前的公路系统有影响，交通拥堵的状况可能会加剧。文森特·赛风在Higienópolis经营一家面包店，该地区树木众多。近期来工作的他发现自行车道都修到他的门口。运送50千克一麻袋的面粉不得不从很远的街道另一边拖过来。赛风抱怨道，50米宽的车道被涂上沥青灰，以让面包师安心。倘若不是那些骑行者，谁会在没有警告的机动车道危险穿行。市政厅的发言人Leonardo Barchini声称这样的混乱是不可避免的。他希望这让人着恼的事能尽快得到解决，比如在特定的时间段允许货运车暂时停靠在自行车道。

　　Changing Sao Paulo's car culture will be hard, admits Nabil Bonduki, a city-council man leading the pro-cycling peloton. But he takes heart from Copenhagen. When the Danish capital first mooted bike lanes 30 years ago many residents were dead-set against them. Now 36% of commuter trips are by cycle.

　　纳比尔，圣保罗市委员会倡导自行车化集团的首领承认改变圣保罗市的汽车文化任重道远。但是他从哥本哈根获得勇气和启迪。30年前，丹麦首都哥本哈根开始商讨修建自行车道时，许多居民都坚决反对。然而现在36%的远足都是骑行发生的。