Expansion of express cycle lanes in Germany is only “excruciatingly slow”

Created: 09/23/2022, 3:50 p.m

Cycle highways as a solution for the traffic transition: BuzzFeed News asks six major cities how they are progressing with the expansion of bicycle highways.

Filling up has become expensive: the prices at the petrol pumps went up just as the tank discount came to an end. Driving with fossil fuels is no longer just bad for the climate, but also for the wallet. In addition to the 15 million e-cars that the federal government is planning according to the coalition agreement, a solution to this problem could also be bicycle traffic in the future. Provided that the bike offers a real alternative to the car. The General German Bicycle Club (ADFC) believes that in order to achieve this, cycle highways are also needed. But where are they?

Cycle expressways: “What is missing is specialist staff, know-how and structures for cooperation”

In the coalition agreement of the federal government of SPD, Greens and SPD, about five lines are devoted to the subject of cycling. There it says: “We will implement and update the national cycling plan, push ahead with the expansion and modernization of the cycle path network and the promotion of municipal cycling infrastructure.” To strengthen cycling, the “funds will be secured until 2030 and the combination of cycling and public transport will be promoted “.

The Allgemeine Deutsche Fahrrad-Club (ADFC) believes that this is currently the problem with the expansion of express cycle paths: “There is plenty of money at the moment – there are large federal funding programs for cycle infrastructure in municipalities and also for express cycle paths. What is missing is specialist staff, know-how and structures for cooperation for this innovative form of infrastructure,” says the spokeswoman for the ADFC Stephanie Krone BuzzFeed News DE from IPPEN.MEDIA . Cycle superhighways are also being planned in Dresden – it could take up to ten years for them to be completed, Tag24 reported.

“Germany is lagging far behind actual demand when it comes to expanding the cycle path network,” says the ADFC. You still have to look for efficient and attractive express cycle lanes with a magnifying glass in Germany, while they have been standard in the Netherlands for decades. There are over 500 kilometers of express cycle lanes there – in Germany, on the other hand, less than 50 so far. The ADFC therefore calls for cycle traffic coordinators and further training for planners and engineers. “The federal government must provide strong support with know-how and new offices for cycling.”

How is the planning of cycle lanes in major German cities progressing?

Cycle superhighways, in combination with good local public transport (which, according to studies, the majority of Germans do not think much of), are the best way to lure commuters out of the car and onto their bikes. Thanks to their special design, you can quickly cover longer distances on cycle highways without having to stop constantly or being pushed by cars, Krone told BuzzFeed News DE . If this motivates more people to cycle, this not only has advantages for the environment and climate, but also for the physical condition of Germans. Because those who commute to work by car or public transport may damage their health.

According to the ADFC, cycle superhighways are planned in almost all metropolitan regions. Hesse in particular is planning a large number of cycle expressways. Many federal states such as North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW), for example, have exemplary quality standards, but are only making “agonizingly slow progress” with the expansion. In general, it is the pace at which planning is progressing that worries the ADFC. BuzzFeed News DE from IPPEN.MEDIA asked Frankfurt, Berlin, Hamburg, Leipzig, Stuttgart and Munich how far they had come with planning cycle expressways.

1. Frankfurt

The Frankfurt region describes itself as “Germany’s commuter stronghold”. In the Rhine-Main area, several large cities such as Frankfurt, Darmstadt, Wiesbaden and Mainz generated “complex commuter flows”. Cycle superhighways (also called cycle highways) are intended to remedy this and reduce travel times by up to 50 percent. Cycle superhighways are part of the Frankfurt-Rhine-Main mobility strategy, according to the website of the Frankfurt region.

In June 2019, the first section of a cycle highway between Egelsbach and the Darmstadt district of Wixhausen was officially inaugurated. Since then, a total of 6.6 kilometers of this trail (FRM1) have been completed. The other sections will follow in the years to come. Eight other cycle paths are planned. However, they are not even in the planning phase, according to a graphic. It shows the progress of the cycle highways in the Rhine-Main area (see below).

2. Berlin

The Berlin region has a clear goal when it comes to cycle highways, the Senate Department for the Environment, Mobility, Consumer and Climate Protection informed BuzzFeed News DE . “The Berlin Mobility Act stipulates the construction of at least 100 kilometers by 2030. Construction will not start before 2026,” said a spokeswoman. Currently, seven high-speed cycle connections with a route length of 110 kilometers are planned in parallel. For three of the seven connections, there is already a suggestion as to where the route will lead.

Route planning is a complex undertaking, since you have to take into account the districts, Deutsche Bahn, residential areas, visibility and many other aspects. “Due to their complexity and quality standards, it is necessary for the high-speed cycle connections to go through a planning approval process,” said a spokeswoman for the Senate Department. This check is carried out by an independent testing authority – the plan approval authority – and lasts at least 1.5 years, after which the concrete planning of the three cycle highways can then be tackled.

3. Hamburg

Like Frankfurt, the Hamburg metropolitan region is planning nine cycle expressways. The entire rapid cycle network is to cover around 300 kilometers. The feasibility studies for the cycle highways were completed in 2021, and now the detailed planning and implementation are going on step by step, according to a spokesman for the city of Hamburg. “A specific date for completion cannot be given at this point in time, as we are at a very early stage. The process will continue until the early 2030s.”

Until then, a network of cycle routes will complement the planned network of cycle paths in Hamburg. It consists of a total of 14 routes, most of which are now almost continuously passable, according to the city’s website. [Velo routes are inner-city cycle routes, which, in contrast to express cycle routes, are less wide and not closed. They also often include classic red pavement markings for cyclists in the inner city of many large cities. ]

Bicycle highways should make cycling easier and faster – the bicycle should thus become an alternative to the car. On the other hand, these 5 construction projects make cycling harder – they are a real waste of taxpayers’ money.

4. Leipzig

The Transport and Civil Engineering Office in Leipzig informed BuzzFeed News DE that the Free State of Saxony has identified five corridors in its 2019 cycle traffic concept that have the potential for over 2,000 cyclists a day and that could be used as cycle expressways. A feasibility study has already been drawn up for one of these routes, and feasibility studies are in progress for two others. “We too are still in the planning phase when it comes to cycle superhighways,” says the city of Leipzig. The reason for the long planning periods is also the “lack of skilled workers and the enormous amount of tasks that have to be dealt with in the transport sector”.

“Here, the support of many political levels is necessary – starting with education in the universities, where cycling still plays a subordinate role, to the necessary personnel in the municipalities,” said a spokesman for the Leipzig Transport and Civil Engineering Office. Since the subsidies for high-speed cycle connections only include financial resources and municipalities have to do a lot themselves, “stronger central control could be considered”.

5. Stuttgart

The first eight-kilometer cycle expressway in Baden-Württemberg between Böblingen/Sindelfingen and Stuttgart (see photo above) has been open to cycle traffic since May 2019. In the long term, bicycle traffic in Stuttgart should account for 25 percent of all traffic, according to the city’s website. The Department of Urban Planning, Housing and Environment tells BuzzFeed News DE that part of the important route between Bad Cannstatt and Fellbach has been completed this year.

Overall, Stuttgart is considering a potential route network of 13 routes, a total of 102 kilometers, for the expansion of which total costs of 125 million euros are estimated. Commuter routes into the city center have priority, i.e. the routes on Nürnberger Straße in Bad Cannstatt, in the Neckar valley between Esslingen and Untertürkheim as well as in Kaltental and on the north‐south road. With the help of so-called “bike highways”, parts of the planned bicycle highways should even be possible on stilts.

6. Munich

At the beginning of September, the groundbreaking ceremony for the construction of the high-speed cycle connection between Munich and Garching took place in Munich, reports a spokeswoman for the city of Munich. From the city’s point of view, the quality standards for high-speed cycle connections are “demanding”. In the city center in particular, it is often not possible to meet all space requirements. The greatest challenge here is the compatibility of express cycle paths with public transport and motorized traffic, which would inevitably have to be interrupted in some places in order to create express cycle connections.

In the coming years, planning for five more high-speed bike connections from the center of Munich to the surrounding area (in the direction of Dachau, Markt Schwaben, Oberhaching, Starnberg and Fürstenfeldbruck) will begin, the feasibility studies of which have already been completed, according to information from the press office.

Aside from cycling on Cycle Superhighways, there are other things you can do to help the environment. The Patagonia boss is even giving away his entire company to “save our planet.”