Bike Infrastructure Enshrined in Swiss Constitution

A proposal to make bike infrastructure a constitutional authority passed in Switzerland with 73.6 percent of the vote, reports Domhnall O'Sullivan in SwissInfo.

Switzerland is not a "cycling mecca" like Denmark or the Netherlands, O'Sullivan says. About 8 percent of its population cycles regularly.

But awareness is growing about the relationship of transportation choices to health, environmental, and social concerns. Politicians also hope an increase in bike ridership could relieve overcrowding on public transit. And meanwhile, deaths and injuries of cyclists are rising.

The vote gives the federal government more authority for bike routes throughout the country. "In practice, this will likely involve coordinating standards of bike paths across the country, as well as taking on tasks like the geo-mapping of routes," O'Sullivan explains.

A similar statute regarding pedestrian infrastructure was approved in 1979.