Photos and video by MJ Klein
UPDATE: I forgot to include the ride map. Click on this link to see it.
Over the recent holiday, I had the distinct pleasure of riding my recumbent trike in the wonderful city of Kaohsiung. This southern Taiwanese city is known for wide boulevards, protected side streets and ample scooter lanes. It was a real pleasure riding there! Notice in this shot, how large the scooter lane is (the space to the right of the solid white line). Notice that there is ample space for parked cars and scooters to co-exist.
Here is another example of the scooter lane. There’s enough room to park a big truck and still make it by with no problem!
Just look how wide the intersection is! There is plenty of visibility, and therefore, reaction time, making these large roads very safe for cyclists.
One thing that I really like about Kaohsiung is the food market areas. They run every day, some of them all day, some of them in the night only.
Often, I rode right in the middle of a regular lane. Not once did I experience an angry horn honking for me to get out of the way. In fact, on this ride I met some very nice people. Some took the time to ask me questions about the trike, while others gave me a friendly wave from a passing vehicle.
For some reason, Kaohsiung often gets a bad rap from expats, but I can’t figure out why. Here we see a brand-new KRT station, and an isolated scooter lane. Cars are not allowed to trespass into this scooter lane. I was able to ride in this lane with complete confidence.
I’ve also heard expats complain about the layout of the city, but as this example shows, they put some thought into the layout. Here you see a lane of car parking, along with a dedicated scooter lane. For the most part, parked cars don’t block the scooter lanes in Kaohsiung.
Lastly, this is one of my favorite situations – a completely protected side street for scooters, bikes and pedestrians. To the left of the traffic island on the left, is a 4 lane thoroughfare, and there is a matching protected side street on the opposite side of the thoroughfare, making six lanes in all.
So, the next time you plan on going to Kaohsiung, I suggest taking your bicycle, or renting one at the many locations throughout the city. You’ll enjoy the leisurely wide streets, dedicated scooter lanes, and the patient, friendly drivers in this southern Taiwan city.
Here is a little video I shot while riding around town. You’ll see the wide roads and nice scooter lanes of Kaohsiung.
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“Here we see a brand-new KRT station, and an isolated scooter lane. Cars are not allowed to trespass into this scooter lane. I was able to ride in this lane with complete confidence”
WOW…. lucky you.
If they had lanes here that were for sccoters. bikes, and so on and they were to say that cars aren’t allowed to trespass into that lane… you would still be taking your life into your own hands cause you know people would drive in those lanes.
Nothing like using them to pass on the right.
.-= mike01905´s last blog ..2010 New England Boat Show =-.
hi Mike. yeah, Americans think the driving over here is chaotic but yet they probably wouldn’t honor a separate bike/scooter lane themselves. don’t get me started on right-passers! thanks Mike.
Passing on the right… driving in the breakdown lane… are both pretty bad. What makes the breakdown lanes even worse… is when a section of the highway has a “active breakdown lane”… were driving in it is legal. Then during rush hour… people get mad in the breakdown lane… when their vehicle has broken down.
I have some very sad news to pass on. The past few days… we’ve had a storm here. Along the coast we got about 2 1/2 inches (63mm) of rain… some places away from the coast had rain/snow mix. We’ve had hurricane/typhoon force winds (60 to 90mph/95 to 145kph) along the coast. I heard on WBZ radio that… The Rockmore… is no more 🙁
The Rockmore was a restaurant in Salem Harbor…
http://www.flickr.com/photos/mike01905/2254618479/in/set-72157601316816406/
The rough seas/strong winds broke the place up and it washed up on shore.
I had been there a couple of times. It was a little pricey… but pretty good food. Their main thing was seafood… but they also did burgers, steaks, and so on and and had also a bar there.
.-= mike01905´s last blog ..2010 New England Boat Show =-.
Mike, sorry to hear about the loss of a local restaurant. was anyone hurt in the process? thanks.
No one was on the restaurant.
Since it “was” in the middle of Salem Harbor and had nothing but outdoor seeting… the place was closed between like mid-fall to early-spring.
If you had a boat… you could take your own boat to the place and tie it off on their docks (you could call them on a VHF Marine channel to see if they had room on their dock). If you didn’t own a boat,… then you could get a shuttle boat from Pickering Wharf in Salem or from another location in Marblehead (I think they had low-power VHF Marine “call boxes” at the locations to call for a shuttle boat).
.-= mike01905´s last blog ..2010 New England Boat Show =-.
sounds like a very cool place Mike. glad no one was on-site when it got clobbered. thanks.
“Often, I rode right in the middle of a regular lane. Not once did I experience an angry horn honking for me to get out of the way.” Seems you’re experiencing southern hospitality. I’m envious. I’d like to do a ride around Kaohsiung someday.
Patrick, you would love riding there. i hope i can do it again soon. thanks and take care.
I love Kaohsiung!
Be sure I borrow your bike next time when I visit your place.
Here comes a news for you,one of my friend track to my blog thru your blog, what a small world!
Ms. Blingbling, i’m glad that someone found your blog thorough ours! as soon as your blog was up and running, i added it to our Links section. you have a very interesting blog i think and you’ll do very well with it. thanks!
I’ve never ridden my bike there, but I have driven there on occasion. There were certainly a few right-side passers, but mostly it was quite orderly.
I actually find the traffic situation in Taipei and Kaohsiung to be quite tolerable. Taipei generally has people following the rules and has some order but is very busy, Kaohsiung was planned better and hence the wide roads through a lot of the city.
Tainan, where my wife stays, is the biggest disaster of all time. Constant jumping of red lights, speeding, passing on the right and just pushy driving all round. People just do whatever the hell they like. And the cops are powerless/useless. Really pisses me off actually.
Rant over.
.-= Peter Stewart´s last blog ..Taipei Bike Show 2010 =-.
hi Peter. i’ve experienced pretty much the same as what you relate here. i do like Tainan very much but it’s a disaster as you put it very well. i’m looking forward to spending more time in Kaohsiung and hopefully riding there. i found the people there to be very nice and the drivers respectful. thanks Peter.