A new EuroVelo 6 international bike path segment has been inaugurated yesterday. It connects Dunaalmás and Neszmély and runs near the River Danube. Máriusz Révész, the government commissioner for an active Hungary, said 200,000 guests go to Vienna via the EuroVelo 6. Thanks to the new development, some of them will travel to Budapest from the Austrian capital.
According to Magyar Építők, the new EuroVelo 6 segment will connect Dunaalmás and Neszmély, two small settlements in Komárom-Esztergom county, north of Tata, near the River Danube. It is 7.5 kilometres long and was built by the Hazai Építőgép Társulás Ltd. The project concerned building two bridges, a railway overpass and two stops for bikers.
Bálint Nagy, the secretary of the Construction and Transport Ministry, said the new bike path segment is unique since it was built in the floodplain of the Danube. Máriusz Révész, the government commissioner for an active Hungary, reminded all that the EuroVelo 6 international bike path is of touristic importance. 200,000 guests go to Vienna via that road. If it touched Budapest, some could stretch even to the Hungarian capital. Neszmély is closer to Budapest, but it still takes more than 84 kilometres to arrive at the city from there.
The region’s MP, Judit Bertalan Czunyiné, said that the bike path fits into the network of the county. That connects Dunaalmás, Majk, Oroszlány, Tatabánya, and Tata. Therefore, it has its touristic attraction. Government spokeswoman Alexandra Szentkirályi said she hoped the new bike path will help Hungary get into the centre of European cycling tourism.
Here are some additional photos of the new bike path and its inauguration:
Look, I love cycling and, because of my poor eyesight, I very much prefer to have dedicated, separate bicycle lanes, etc. However, the amount of money this project cost vs. the benefit(s) it will generate is unjustifiable. This was done for purely ideological reasons rather than out of necessity, let alone good commercial sense. At a time when we’re experiencing deteriorating economic conditions, there is no excuse for this kind of vain profligacy.