The end of 2021 is approaching – the days are shorter, and the future is coming at us at high speed. Let’s take stock at this particular moment in time. In the wake of the pandemic, there were many efforts in Berlin and many other metropolises to react to the new status quo and the changed realities.
Pop-up cycle paths were created almost overnight. Entire lanes were designed solely for cyclists. Streets that had been waiting for a bike lane for 20 years finally got one.
The data is encouraging
A year and a half has now passed. The data obtained from the research is impressive. In Berlin Charlottenburg, on Kantstrasse alone, the number of cyclists tripled and motor vehicle traffic fell by 22%. The big jump in the numbers makes it clear that the time is right.
Strava showed that the newly built cycle paths on Kantstrasse, Kottbusser Damm and Petersburger Strasse were used with great frequency and that the number of cyclists had increased significantly. Emissions of CO2 decreased significantly, cyclists felt safer, and the compacting of the space for motor vehicles did not slow down the flow of traffic.
Surveys have shown that 41% of Germans between the ages of 14 and 69 would like to use a bicycle or e-bike more often. As a result, the category of classic two-wheelers and e-bikes has the greatest growth potential for the next few years compared to all other means of transport.
As the saying goes, “Build it and they will come”. This is also the case for urban road traffic. We first have to create the conditions so that people can respond.
From awareness to action
The pop-up cycle lanes were a quick response to changes in traffic volumes and to the safety needs of people in the pandemic.
So they became like large experimental laboratories for the traffic transformation and, similar to many other metropolises in Europe, were designed on a widespread basis.
A traffic transformation on trial – some might say.
At Ampler Bikes, we actively promote two-wheeled mobility in the city and create super-lightweight e-bikes that allow you to ride longer distances with ease.
The car is (almost) no longer needed in the city centre. We are a supporting member of the ADFC Bicycle Clubs, and have been reporting on the urban traffic turnaround.
From pop-up cycle paths to permanent infrastructure
This rapid implementation of a forward-looking idea for transport brings minds together and provides space for discussion on the direction in which the city’s infrastructure should develop.
Now this discussion can be based on the facts and the facts speak quite clearly. In a survey, it was found that 70% of respondents considered the pop-up cycle lanes to be a very positive development.
The rapid establishment of the pop-up cycle paths has shown us just what is possible and was not imaginable in the decades before. After only a single year, they have developed into permanent cycle paths.
Berlin exemplifies an innovative mindset, an awareness of the necessity and a willingness to act in the transformation of our transportation culture. The speed with which the leadership is now moving is encouraging and provides some consolation for the hesitancy of the last few decades.
Public pressure has been mounting, and that was decisive.
The fast cycle lanes in Berlin become a reality
Things took off with the Mobility Act, which came into force in 2018 and was the first of its kind in the country. This defined the roadmap for the future. This law also provided a boost for bolder approaches.
For example, 10 extensive cycle motorways are being planned in Berlin. We previously reported on the feasibility studies of these, and there, too, the data paints a very positive picture.
The cycling motorways are extremely feasible.
Due to the unused areas under the overground-underground bridges in the Berliner Ring, there are even remarkably good conditions for integrating the new roads into the infrastructure. They still have completely untapped potential for improvement.
What is Berlin doing right?
It all sounds almost too good to be true. What happened in the city of late risers, where every revolutionary even 10 years ago sounded old-fashioned?
No, quite the opposite. The self-organised citizens’ movements are still influential today and they bring the debate into the public sphere.
Since 1992, Critical Mass has been making cyclists more visible in traffic by applying the legal provision that a group consisting of at least 15 cyclists can form a “closed group” and thus use an entire lane of traffic. Today, this movement is very active and well connected in Berlin, organising demonstrations against the expansion of the A100 motorway, as well as monthly rides and meeting points for people to exchange ideas.
During the summer, it was impossible to miss the many people collecting votes for the “Berlin Car-Free Referendum” in Berlin. A total of 50,333 signatures were collected in three months, ensuring the success of the petition. We have also signed the petition and believe that further discussions around a car-reduced future are necessary and important.
You can find event calendars related to cycling where interested people can meet and chat – such as the Velo Cafe, and various neighbourhood groups. A variety of Facebook groups and clubs have sprung up, such as Autofrei.Berlin, Bike.Berlin, the Berliner Radsport Verband e.V. and Radfahren in Berlin. For topics related to our e-bikes, you can find the Ampler Bikes Community Germany and the Ampler Bikes Community Global.
An initiative called “Stadtradeln” (city cycling) has been launched in many cities in Germany, in which teams can form to track their cycling routes in the city. Whoever has travelled the furthest distance together is the winner. This tracked the most-travelled routes by cyclists and created a database for the city’s future plans.
Here, too, the Ampler team pedalled energetically and showed where the most beautiful cycle routes in Berlin are.
A self-organised approach to the future
Doubts about a car-centred transport policy have been growing since the 1970s. Today’s clubs, associations and groups developed from protest movements of that time, and now officially help shape the city’s infrastructure and initiate discussions.
Feel free to write to us if you want to highlight your club and tell us what you are up to. Only by working together can we steer the traffic of our cities in the right direction and stimulate the appropriate discussions. The path to the future can only be built by working together. We want to move the city – and you.