In October 2022 became a young cyclist rolled over by a cement mixer on Bundesallee in Berlin killed. The accident made national headlines because climate activists are said to have hindered the use of the fire brigade. Shortly after the terrible accident, bicycle activists also criticized that the sign that marks the cycle path on Wilmersdorfer Hauptstraße as mandatory was too small.
Now the Berlin traffic administration is reacting. “Due to the increasing speed levels in cycling the administrative practice will be reviewed to determine the conditions under which the size of traffic signs must be adjusted,” said spokeswoman Sara Lühmann.
The Tagesspiegel had asked whether the sign on Bundesallee at the corner of Nachodstrasse was the right size. “The recognizability is given in the present case,” said Lühmann. However, the size of traffic signs is not specified in the road traffic regulations. “The general one applies first Visibility Policy. Accordingly, a traffic sign becomes effective when it can be perceived,” the spokeswoman explained the legal situation. The size of the signs used on Bundesallee and other places in the city is based, among other things, on “the average lower driving speeds” of cyclists.
The trigger for the review that is now beginning is that “the speed of cycling is generally increasing due to the increase in e-bikes”. Sandra U., who was killed on Bundesallee, also rode a high-quality, fast sports bike. It was not clear when the review would be completed. “There is no time horizon,” said Lühmann.
The short, approximately 100 meter long section between Nachodstraße and Spichernstraße is the only section on the Bundesallee northbound where the Cycle path compulsory is. The small blue, round sign with the bicycle symbol indicates this.
After the accident, bicycle activists repeatedly claimed that the woman was allowed to use the street because she wanted to go straight to Bundesallee. The police headquarters had clearly contradicted this view: “Follow the mandatory cycle path to the junction with Spichernstrasse and then turn left at the traffic lights on the cycle path and cross Spichernstrasse in the direction of Bundesallee.”
The daily mirror had asked the police for a legal assessment of the situation. A police spokeswoman referred to the traffic management for the size of the sign.
The blue, round signs with the bicycle symbol have been removed from most of Berlin’s streets over the past 20 years.
