Cycle highway into the future

Only through attractive structures will more people switch to cycling in the future. In addition to numerous other infrastructure projects, so-called cycle highways also play a decisive role. All information here.

Finding your way through the hustle and bustle of the city on your bike, unsure between the kerb and the streetcar track, or pedaling on windy country roads with the constant threat of an overtaking car breathing down your neck. Who hasn’t experienced situations like these? Unfortunately, moments like these are still part of everyday life as a cyclist. All too often, the infrastructure is not designed to guarantee a pleasant and safe cycling experience. However, it is essential that the situation for cyclists improves in order to achieve a successful transport transition.

As the name suggests, the aim of a fast cycle route – or a fast cycle connection – is to provide cyclists with a quick link from A to B. They often bridge longer distances. They often bridge longer distances. For example, they lead from surrounding communities to the center of a large city or connect individual cities in a region. This often benefits commuters, who can reach their destination quickly thanks to well-developed routes before and after work. As is so often the case in debates about cycling infrastructure, the Netherlands is considered a pioneer. The first pilot projects were launched there as early as 1980. Today, there are over 40 routes in the country on which cyclists can travel easily, safely and, above all, quickly. Time and again, individual projects attract particular attention. For example, the Hovenring, the world’s first floating traffic circle for cyclists. As a round suspension bridge, it has spanned a busy road between the Dutch towns of Eindhoven and Veldhoven since 2011.

Fast cycle routes have also established themselves as a valuable part of the cycling infrastructure in Denmark. The Cycle Super Highway in Copenhagen serves as a prime example. There is already a well-developed network of around 390 kilometers of cycle paths within the city. In future, a new network of cycle paths will connect a total of 22 municipalities in the greater Copenhagen region with the capital. The first section of the plan was a connection to the suburb of Albertslund, around 22 kilometers away. A further 25 Cycle Super Highways are now to follow, creating a network with a total length of 300 kilometers. Both in Denmark and the Netherlands, the positive effects on the traffic behavior of the population are obvious. In the Netherlands, for example, it was observed that five to fifteen percent of car drivers switched to cycling after the construction of a cycle superhighway. In the spirit of supply and demand, more cycle highways could also encourage more people to switch to bikes elsewhere.

To ensure that cyclists feel safe, cycle highways must guarantee a number of essential aspects, which the ADAC defines as follows. Outside urban areas, cycle highways can either be built alongside the road or as separate cycle paths. In urban areas, they are also designed either as cycle lanes alongside the road, as a separate path in one or two directions or as an entire cycle lane with priority at junctions. Regardless of their location, they should have a minimum width of three meters. If they run in two directions, the minimum width increases to at least four meters. The ADAC considers cycle highways to be useful if they are at least five kilometers long. On this route, the road surface needs a high-quality surface and lighting, at least in urban areas.

But it is not only the design of the path that is decisive. The traffic routing must also give priority to cyclists. Appropriate traffic lights and the bridging of obstacles by bridges and underpasses must be taken into account when designing the route. A well-planned structure then guarantees users an average speed of at least 20 kilometers per hour. Additional equipment and services such as rest stops or repair facilities increase the attractiveness of cycle highways.

Germany is now also following suit. In Wuppertal, the 23-kilometre-long Nordbahntrasse links the city center and northern districts with almost no intersections and no significant gradients. There used to be a railroad line here, but it was abandoned in 1999. From 2006 to 2014, the WUPPERTALBEWEGUNG e.V. association worked to revive the old route. Today, five illuminated tunnels, brick viaducts and viewpoints with views of the city and surrounding area are highlights of the road connection. The road can be experienced by bike, on foot or on a skateboard. In the west and east, the Nordbahntrasse also connects to the supra-regional cycle path network and thus links the entire region.

In the far north, a former railroad line has also been repurposed as cycle route 10 since September 2019. Instead of freight trains, cyclists can now travel between Hassee and the Holstein Stadium in 20 minutes. The journey time by car for the same route would be significantly longer. Thanks to several cycle bridges over main roads and the highway as well as two road crossings without traffic lights, this fast connection is possible.

In Göttingen, a pilot project is currently combining the principle of the expressway with the use of electric bikes. The eRadschnellweg is the first of its kind in Germany to run centrally through a city and is intended to connect the train station and the north-east. A test route of currently four kilometers is being used to investigate the special requirements of electric bikes to which the infrastructure must respond.

The ADAC estimates that inner-city cycle highways can usually only be implemented at great expense or with lower standards, while it considers the chances of implementation outside urban areas to be more promising. Furthermore, due to the cost-benefit ratio, a cycle highway is only an option where a volume of at least 2,000 cyclists per day can be generated. However, as experience from the Netherlands and Denmark shows, usage increases with an attractive infrastructure. Fast cycle connections can therefore certainly be an instrument for driving forward the transport transition.

What other projects make cycling even more attractive? Read about the world’s longest cycle tunnel here, for example.