Berlin unveils 3,000 kilometer cycling network

One of the best cities for cyclists is getting even better. On Sept. 7, Berlin, a German city that consistently ranks amongst the top cities for cycling on the planet, announced a massive new redevelopment and expansion of its cycling traffic plan. The bicycle plan, dubbed Radverkehrplan, clocks in at an impressive 3,000 kilometers.

The focus of the cycling plan and the associated cycling network is the expansion and improvement of the existing cycling infrastructure that has been moving local residents on two wheels hither and yon since the ‘90s.
According to a press release issued by the city, the cycle traffic network, which builds on the existing 1,500km network, consists of three main planks as follows:
• An 865-kilometer priority network with the most important city-wide connections
• An 1,506-kilometre secondary network
• And a further 550 kilometers of cycle paths on main roads that do not belong to the actual cycle traffic network, but are also expanded according to the standards of the supplementary network in accordance with the Mobility Act (Section 43).

“With the new cycling plan, Berlin will become a cycling city in the coming years with a level of quality that is unique in Germany,” said Regine Günther, Senator for the Environment, Transport and Climate Protection. “With its stipulations on high standards and a dense network, the cycling plan is an important prerequisite for systematically promoting the expansion of the cycling infrastructure and building stringent cycling infrastructure in Berlin. Adequate financial and human resources must be made available for implementation. “

Berlin has long been a world leader in cycling. Decades ago, the city clocked half-a-million rides a day, or 13 per cent of traffic — one of the highest rates of bicycle commuting on the planet. One of the most unique bicycle paths in the city is the Berliner Mauerweg, a circular route that follows the former Berlin Wall. There are also seven long-distance cycling routes leaving the city.

Berlin is ranked 15th in the Copenhagenize index. The top-ranked German city is Bremen in the ninth position. By comparison, Montreal, North America’s top cycling city, has a 648-kilometer network and ranks 18th.

For commuters, one of the best things about commuting by bicycle is the ability to take them on public transit including S-Bahn and U-Bahn trains, trams, and night buses.

According to the German city government, in total, a comprehensive network of bicycle traffic connections with a total length of more than 3000 kilometers will be created in the coming years – twice as many and with significantly higher standards than in the previous plans. At the same time, the specific implementation of the cycle traffic network remains flexible if future, more refined planning steps recommend changes in detail.