Excursion at Easter: Our cycle paths are so fit – and that still has to be done

Analyse

Public holidays. The university is closed, many don’t have to work, you often spend time with your family. But at some point the ceiling falls on your head. So get out there, get on your bike and do a lap.

What is possible at any time in the village often turns out to be problematic in (big) cities like Berlin. Where to? And how do I get out of the concrete and tin desert into the countryside as quickly and accident-free as possible?

Because it is not uncommon for you to first have to put up with several kilometers of the city cycle network, countless traffic lights and dozens of honking cars or buses in order to be able to leave the asphalt. But what about the cycle network in Germany and what can we learn from other countries? Watson asked futurologist and mobility researcher Stefan Carsten and the politician from the Berlin climate list and cycling lobbyist Ingwar Perovanovich.

Cycle paths: Germany still has a lot of potential for improvement

In general, Germany is not in a bad position compared to other countries, emphasizes Ingvar Perovanovich. Countries like Denmark and the Netherlands are way ahead, but “Berlin was the first city ever to pass a mobility law.”

Among other things, it stipulates that all main roads should have a protected cycle path by 2030. This means that the path must be at least 2.50 meters wide so that two cargo bikes could overtake each other. It must be paved and painted red to distinguish it from the rest of the road.

However, we are still a long way from thatsummarizes the bicycle activist.

Cyclists often have to fight their way through.Bild: imago images / Travel-Stock-Image

“A city can only become more bicycle-friendly by reducing lanes for cars and parking spaces and dedicating them to cyclists, pedestrians and public transport,” emphasizes Stefan Carsten. “That’s what I call Road Diet”.

It is true that a first approach was created in Berlin with the Mobility Act. However, the new government led by Kai Wegner has set the city back many years.

The bicycle city of the future needs political will

Perovanovich emphasizes in this context: “As a bicycle lobby, we should demand that every city be provided with a comprehensive bicycle infrastructure.” And adds: “Drivers are also not confronted with the fact that their road suddenly ends.”

Completely car-free cities would then be a bonus, but cyclists would not have the right to do so. But on a safe cycling infrastructure.

However, it is not enough to have a goal in mind, futurologist Carsten points out. “It also needs traffic planners and mobility planners who are able to implement this goal.”

A venture was made in Berlin: Friedrichstrasse became a bicycle street.Image: IMAGO / Stefan Zeitz

In order to become a bicycle-friendly city of the future, one must first ask the question: What is the goal for future mobility? “The target at the moment is that the share of cars should level off at around 20 percent and that the environmental group has a share of around 80 percent,” explains Carsten. This goal can only be achieved by rethinking the entire street space and its sidewalks. “It’s not enough to simply add a wheel track.”

Rather, it needs a priority and a clear will from society that the bicycle is the means of transport of the future alongside public transport, adds the mobility researcher.

Prestige projects can provide incentives for more cycling

While in cities like Berlin you still have to snake around trees and run the risk of being run over in the bus lane – which is often also the bike lane – cities like Paris, Brussels and Amsterdam have understood.

In Amsterdam, for example, the first underwater bicycle garage opened at the beginning of the year. And in other cities, you are cycling in a parallel world: your own traffic lights, your own streets, your own transport system.

The first underwater garage opened in Amsterdam in 2023.Bild: IMAGO / Richard Wareham

Prestige projects like the one in Amsterdam are important, believe Perovanovich and Carsten. Also in Germany. “We need positive examples to show how a future-oriented bicycle city can work,” says Carsten. Hamburg, for example, is a pioneer in Germany with a partially car-free city center and two-story parking garages for bicycles.

“Prestige projects can help create incentives for more cycling. Every city needs such a prestige project,” demands cycling activist Perovanovich.

Money is not a problem – but prioritization is

Contrary to many critics, the financing of the traffic turnaround is not a problem, emphasize Carsten and Perovanovich. “We put an enormous amount of public tax money into the car system. And only a fraction into cycle paths. It’s just a question of prioritization,” says Carsten.

However, he also emphasizes: “Volker Wissing is not the right player for a sustainable city and mobility. We have to wait for the next mobility minister.”

Above all, Perovanovich states that the funds provided by the federal government are often not called up. What is lacking, however, is the required staff: “Not enough people apply for the post of cycle traffic planner.” And the political and thus also the social will. He demands: “We need more courageous politicians who don’t shy away from an argument. Drivers are a loud minority in many cities.”