Germany plans to build a 100-kilometer high-speed bike highway

Germany is actively developing a network of dedicated cycle roads, which, due to their suitability for fast movement on a bicycle, can be called a cycle highway. At the end of December, the first five-kilometer section of the future bicycle highway opened. If everything goes according to plan, then the total length of this road will be approximately 100 km.

The road will have to connect a dozen West German cities, including Duisburg, Bochum and Hamm, and four universities. Most of the road will run along abandoned railways crossing the deserted industrial Ruhr area.

Martin Toennes, head of the development group for the RVR region, claims that almost two million people live within two kilometers of this road. In the near future, they will be able to use an environmentally friendly highway without traffic jams, traffic lights, exhaust gases and smog.



Given the increasing popularity and availability of electric bicycles, the developers believe that this project will be able to reduce traffic congestion by 50,000 cars daily.

Bicycle paths, of course, already exist in Germany - but so far these are mostly narrow paths, the asphalt on which is often uplifted by tree roots. They also often cross roads or merge into public transport lanes. It is planned that the new bike roads will not be already four meters, and they will cross busy roads through tunnels or overpasses. They plan to cover them well and clean them from snow in winter.

Germany takes the issue of transplanting people to non-motorized transport seriously. In Munich, they are developing a project for the construction of a whole network of bike roads of 14 roads. In Berlin, calculations have begun on the project connecting the city center with the densely populated Zehlendorf district.



Not the last question remains the financing of such relatively large projects. So far, it is planned to spend € 180 million to build 100 km. the roads. Tonnes says that without government support, this project is not feasible. The costs of the pilot 5-kilometer section were divided among themselves by RVR, the European Union and the region itself, from budgetary funds. Discussions about how the costs of building the main part of the road will be divided are still ongoing.

The leader in mileage of bike paths in Europe is the Netherlands. There already exists its own bike highway (7 km). Denmark is slightly behind the country, in which there is a dedicated cycle road with a length of 22 km. In London, authorities are considering allocating € 900 million for the construction of a 30-km cycle road that crosses London from west to east.