A wider type of path in the Uus-Veerenni residential quarter still under development in Tallinn currently supports bike traffic in addition to pedestrian.

"We have the opportunity to draw a dividing line, to mark off between them here as well as on other already built such paths – you don't have to go on the roadway here at all," explained Pärtel-Peeter Pere, chair of the Reform Party's Tallinn region. "And we can create these separations. Add to that communication, and it'll come."

Vladimir Svet (Center), who is currently still serving as deputy mayor of Tallinn, said that dedicated bike lanes were built as streets were overhauled, noting that Tallinn has gradually implemented its strategy to create a dedicated space for cyclists.

Even so, the capital city nonetheless still faces the issues described by University of Tartu professor Tiit Hennoste regarding traffic in Tartu, where cyclists still prefer to bike on sidewalks despite the existence of a bike lane.

Fines for cyclists wouldn't help, though, Svet found, noting that biking culture needs to be cultivated from the ground up already.

"Each one of us, when riding a bike, for example, must consider whether they aren't currently endangering anyone," the deputy mayor said. "Often when comparing different groups of road users, we speak of bikes as the weaker road user compared with cars, but we must not forget that the least protected user is always the pedestrian."

The next local elections are in fall 2025, meaning that the capital's incoming new coalition can't make very long-term plans.

"It is unacceptable that sidewalks are no longer safe – this cannot go on," Pere stressed. "We definitely want to – maybe solve isn't quite right, because this still depends on every individual – but our job, what we can accomplish in a year and a half's time, is to take sections of road and fix them."

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