Where do Cyclists Belong in Germany’s Cities?

The days are getting shorter and the weather getting worse. Nevertheless, for a fair-weather cyclist like me, there is still enough sun to encourage me to leave the car and use my bike instead. But in my home city of Cologne, misfortune hits as soon as I reach the first cycle path.

This article doesn’t intended to address the conflict between road users – especially motorists and cyclists – for the umpteenth time. As a user of both modes of transport, I have empathy for each side. Rather, the crucial question is what optimal and equal participation can look like. How should users be considerate of each other? Can cycle paths minimize the potential for conflict? And in any city characterized by a wide variety of transport options, are they, in fact, obstacles?

In the 1920s, the goal in Germany was clear. The working class were increasingly using bicycles, disrupting car journeys as a result. The decision was made to introduce cycle paths, protecting people on bikes and keeping car lanes free of “obstacles”. Initially, the use of all provided cycle lanes was legally mandatory, only changing in 1989 when road traffic regulations were revised. Today, citizens have the choice between using some bike paths and the road. Use of others, however, remains mandated by the law, provided they can physically be used (assuming leaves, snow or ice have been sufficiently cleared and obstacles on the paths have been removed).

The Problem

This approach is problematic. Few cyclists (and even fewer motorists) know that the use of cycle paths is only mandatory if they are marked separately, and even then only if they are not blocked by obstacles or are completely impassable. This being Germany, the majority of citizens continue to cycle on bike paths in good faith, placing them in danger. In Cologne, this problem affects different road users in different ways.

The Bike Lane Opportunist

This road user sees the bike lane as a convenient parking space in the city. They only need to stop for a few minutes, so the inconvenience is not percevied to be great. Motorists aren’t the only opportunists, however. Cycle paths are seen as ideal spots to leave shopping trolleys, rubbish bins, scooters and – yes – even parked bicycles. For the typical citizen of Cologne, the marked line of the cycle path apparently intuitively creates a feeling that this is a space to park something. And this doesn’t only apply in Cologne. Hamburg-based blog thingsonbikelanes documents the wide variety of alternative cycle path use found in the city.

The King of the Bike Path

This species is often – but not exclusively – found around Cologne University. A slightly dreamy bike lane user who believes that they are the only person using the infrastructure correctly, considering it absolutely necessary to educate others. If necessary, the King of the Bike Path accepts that confrontation with stronger road users – i.e. motor vehicles – is part of their role. They don’t seem to notice that their behavior puts other cyclists at risk.

The Bike Lane Denier

Whether it’s the dog owner out for a walk, the angry boyfriend loudly talking with his girlfriend on the phone, or the elderly couple who absolutely want to walk next to each other. This species do not, or do not want to, observe that cycle lane marking. The Bike Lane Denier is any street user who overlooks the lane.

If you hadn’t realised, the groups outlined above are exaggerated stereotypes. But they do show what value is assigned to cycle paths by individual road users.

In addition to these temporary obstacles, there are also problems of a structural nature for which politics and local authorities are responsible.

The Cycle Path to Nowhere

There are bike paths that suddenly end in front of a wall – not a temporary construction site barrier, but an actual wall of a building. Other cycle paths lead into the road just before a roundabout, only to disappear entirely shortly afterwards. This swift, phased exit occurs elsewhere too: a solid red road marker turns into scattered red cobblestones until the bike path is gone completely. For German bike lane users, these paths introduce confusion and barriers to use, especially important when cycling on the sidewalk is – you guessed it – forbidden by law.

The Tightrope Walk

This seems to be an unusual mobility outcome unique to Cologne’s transport policy. Here, bike paths are sometimes so narrow that you almost have to cycle as if balancing on a tightrope in order to not leave them accidentally. And this is before considering the fact that it is practically impossible to avoid the surprise of a swinging car door or crossing pedestrian.

The Irrelevant

There are roads, footpaths, footpaths on which cyclists are allowed and designated bike paths. For Cologne’s politicians and authorities, the latter are apparently the most irrelevant transport routes. In addition to the problems already mentioned above, interest in prioritizing their care and maintenance is close to zero. There are torn-open bike paths without construction site markings. There are potholes so deep that even cars would probably break their axles. And then there’s the bike lanes where the form is one which pedestrians are literally forced to walk over in order to reach the pedestrian crossing button. At these locations, collisions are essentially pre-programmed.

Where do Cyclists Belong?

That’s the fundamental question for German cities. Do cyclists belong on the road with the motorized vehicles? Or are independent bike paths the solution? For those who believe and participate in Critical Mass, it is clearly the former. Once a month, participants draw attention to cyclists by joining road traffic, en masse, at an agreed place an time. But the ideas that began in Germany in ​​1920 aren’t bad. Not to protect drivers from cycling, but rather the aim of treating all road users fairly with respect to their individual characteristics. After all, bicycles are faster than pedestrians and cars are faster than cyclists. Additionally, their respective protection against collisions differs enormously.

It is up to politicians to decide on a concept and implement it consistently. A half-hearted patchwork of bike lanes is not good enough, only confusing road users and causing avoidable conflicts.

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Image: Thomas Schlosser