Cyclist satisfaction increases in major German cities but room for improvement remains – survey

Many German cities have improved their cycling infrastructure in recent years, but the majority of cyclists in the country continue to consider road traffic to be unsafe for them, according to a survey by bicycle association ADFC. Bike users’ feelings on the cycling climate in cities like Bremen, Frankfurt and Hanover improved as authorities there have promoted pro-cycling measures, the ‘2022 cycling climate test’ showed. Widened cycle paths, allowing bicycles to go in the opposite direction in one-way streets, improved signposting and the possibility of taking bikes on public transport, as well as adding secure parking facilities and increasing rental bike offers are amongst the measures taken. Across the country however, most bike users rate the cycling climate as ‘still unsatisfactory’, with 70 percent saying they do not feel safe cycling in road traffic. Additionally, 80 percent find cycle paths to be too narrow and 72 percent are critical of the lack of controls on parking violations on cycle paths, according to the results. While the cycling climate has improved in metropolitan areas, rural areas have a lot of catching up to do, ADFC said. The association called local cycling infrastructure to be expanded across the board and for funding opportunities to be used.

Cycling is set to play an important role in the decarbonisation of the transport sector, whose emissions have remained stubbornly high for years. The government has created financing and planning security for municipalities to expand infrastructure as it aims to double the number of bicycle users in the car-proud country by 2030. “We want to make it easy for people to choose cycling,” transport minister Volker Wissing said. More and more people are using bicycles in their everyday lives, the survey showed.