The cancellation of the Vía Libre bike lane has sparked all sorts of reactions among cyclists, due to the illegality of this action.
Despite the fact that traffic accidents involving cyclists are more deadly than regular car accidents, Nuevo León has not prioritized safe cycling infrastructure and has even seen setbacks in the use of dedicated spaces for non-motorized transportation.
Recently, the municipality of San Pedro removed Vía Libre, a dedicated space for cyclists and pedestrians that ran for 4.8 kilometers along Avenida Alfonso Reyes.
The removal of the Vía Libre lane was a campaign promise of the recently deceased mayor, Mauricio Fernández, who argued that the space would be returned to motorists and the sidewalk widened, without any clarity on how this loss would be compensated to cyclists.
In this regard, Francisco González, a founding member of Bicibus de San Pedro—an organization of mothers and fathers who transport children to school by bicycle—pointed out that the authorities have not yet provided the technical plans for the intervention on Avenida Alfonso Reyes and that the spaces to which cyclists are intended to be relocated do not comply with current mobility regulations.
“In the renderings, what we see, and what they propose to do, is a shared sidewalk, and on that shared sidewalk, a bike lane will be demarcated simply by a change in texture. (…) There is a lot of concern from the cycling community because the lane is 90 centimeters or less, which does not comply with current mobility law regulations,” stated Francisco González.
One of the arguments used to justify the removal of Vía Libre was that “no one was using the bike lane.” In response, Cesia Escobar, an activist for the right to the city, stated in an interview that this narrative renders invisible and denies the right to mobility to other forms of transportation besides private cars.
“It’s very upsetting to hear everyone from authorities to car users saying that the street is made for cars. That’s extremely serious, because from that perspective, any other mode of transportation breaks with the logic of a street, of a public space, and that’s where the rejection comes from,” the activist commented.
Furthermore, according to the latest survey by the civil association Cómo Vamos Nuevo León (CVNL), 65.3 percent of the population agrees that public space for cars should be reduced and more space allocated to people who travel by foot, bicycle, or other means.
The survey also confirms that in 2024, nearly half a million people (473,841) used bicycles as a means of transportation for some of their main trips. Therefore, according to the MAS Ciudad collective, the narrative that people don’t cycle or only do so for sport is a myth.
“Urban cyclists exist and use the streets, with or without infrastructure that guarantees their safety. The problem is not a lack of cyclists, but a lack of political will to ensure their right to move freely and safely around the city,” the collective stated in a press release.
One of the questions in the Así Vamos survey is why the sample doesn’t use bicycles as a means of transportation.
The main reason given by respondents is that they consider cycling less safe than using cars, due to the fear of being hit by a vehicle.
According to statistics from the Nuevo León Citizen Observatory for Road Safety (OCISEVI), between January and October 2025, 4,185 traffic accidents were recorded, resulting in 150 fatalities. This represents a 0.36 percent fatality rate for all traffic accidents. In the case of accidents involving cyclists, this figure rises to 1.51 percent.
Furthermore, in more than a quarter of all car accidents involving cyclists (26.63 percent), at least one person is injured.
High speeds on avenues increase the risk and severity of accidents, so removing bike lanes and forcing cyclists to ride among cars could lead to serious accidents.
“Cyclists have every right to ride on the street, because the Federal Mobility Law allows it, which will generate more friction between motorists and cyclists. It’s something we don’t want because it’s inherently dangerous. An angry motorist will run you over and kill you. It’s that simple,” said Francisco González of the San Pedro Bike Bus service.
The Federal Law on Mobility and Road Safety states that road planning must follow the mobility pyramid, prioritizing pedestrians and users of non-motorized vehicles over occupants of private motorized vehicles.
Therefore, the decision to eliminate Vía Libre not only affects the right to the city and signifies the end of citizen initiatives like Bicibus, but also violates national and state legislation on mobility.
“That action killed us as Bicibus, which we found very arbitrary because we weren’t consulted (…) It also goes against the Federal Law on Mobility; what they did was illegal. Because they, as the government, should promote the use of bicycles, not kill them,” Francisco González stated in an interview.
Source: reporteindigo
