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German cities are redrawing road markings to create “pop-up†cycle paths for the duration of the Covid-19 closure, as cyclists need more space to physically move away on their way to work.
The municipalities in Berlin’s Kreuzberg district tested a temporary widening of two cycle lanes on March 27 to help cyclists maintain the required 1.5 meters distance while car traffic is restricted due to coronavirus restrictions in Germany.
On Friday, the council declared the pilot a success because it had improved bicycle safety without disrupting traffic. An expansion of the project to other streets in Kreuzberg and in the Schöneberg and Tempelhof districts is planned for the coming weeks.
The council said it used removable tape and mobile signs to mark the extended lanes, which can be removed if the current restrictions on movement are lifted.
Residents in 133 other German cities have formally submitted applications for similar pop-up cycle paths to their local authorities as part of a campaign by the environmental NGO “Umweltaktion Deutschland†(DUH).
The campaign group cites new research linking air pollution to higher coronavirus mortality rates as an argument for redesigning infrastructure across the country.
“The corona virus shows us that clean air is an indispensable good,” said DUH chairman Jürgen Resch. “It is particularly important now to temporarily make safe cycling even more important. This helps improve air quality, enables exercise in the fresh air while maintaining a safe distance and avoids unnecessary accidents. “
Proponents of the program cite the Colombian capital Bogotá as an example, where the mayor Claudia López opened almost 117 km of new bicycle routes in mid-March in the hope of reducing traffic jams and personal contact.
In Berlin, opposition politicians from the business-friendly FDP described the pop-up cycle path plans as an “unnecessary provocation†of the cycle lobby, which would have little practical use.
The federal states have encouraged the use of bicycles despite current restrictions that prohibit gatherings of more than two people, with the exception of families.
“The use of bicycles enables citizens to meet the requirements for minimizing contact,” said a spokesman for the Ministry of Transport in Thuringia of the dpa.
In Germany, bicycle workshops are currently exempt from state-ordered closings due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Three federal states, Berlin, Saxony-Anhalt and Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, have also allowed bicycle sellers to stay open.
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