Speed Up the Bike Lane Hustle: Greens Call out Bloody Slow Progress
Exasperating Situation Unfolds: Details Revealed - "Greens Demand Accelerated Progress in Cycling Infrastructure Enhancement"
We're pedaling here, people! The Rhineland-Palatinate Green Party is pimping for a serious gear shift when it comes to the construction and planning of commuter bike routes. Stuck in traffic might as well be the unofficial motto for local cyclists waiting the damn years for the long-awaited commuter route to make an appearance, according to mobility policy spokesperson Lea Heidbreder. It's time to turn the pedals faster on all bike routes in the state. "We can't be spinning our wheels on this anymore - move from planning to action ASAP on every single route," Heidbreder said.
Administrators at the General German Bicycle Club (ADFC) in Rhineland-Palatinate are down with the program. Business manager Robert Wöhler is pushing for rapid-fire implementation of bike routes, echoing the Green Party's sentiment.
Line 'em up:Seven stripes are in the plans for commuter bike routes in Rhineland-Palatinate: from Bingen to Mainz, along the Upper Rhine between Worms and Karlsruhe/Wörth, from Konz via Trier to Schweich, from Landau to Neustadt/Weinstraße, from Kaiserslautern to Landstuhl, and from Koblenz north to the state border with North Rhine-Westphalia and south to Boppard.
These lanes are the baby of a 2014 study that scoped out the possibility of such routes. The deal was these stripes would connect big destination zones like employment centers, city centers, industrial areas, universities, administrative sites, train stations, and residential areas in densely populated areas, according to the State Mobility Authority (LBM).
But progress is, er, moving slow, to put it mildly...
...Way too slow, according to the Ministry of Transport headed up by Daniela Schmitt (GFDP): only a few segments are currently rideable, including the first section between Bingen and Heidesheim on the route from Bingen to Mainz, and consultations are currently underway for the remaining stretch to the state capital. Between Konz, Trier, and Schweich, small sections have been realized, but there's plenty of work left. The city of Trier is more focused on renovating the Mosel bike path, which the commuter route uses, than speeding things up.
Status updates for the Landau-Neustadt/Weinstraße corridor are on their way — the ministry is working on tests and consultations about joint use of agricultural economic ways and bike traffic, and a new bike bridge over the heavily traveled federal highway B10 near Landau is scheduled for completion by the end of 2024.
The status of the Landstuhl-Kaiserslautern corridor is iffy — work on a cooperation agreement between the two cities is still ongoing, and progress varies between partial sections of the route between Worms and Karlsruhe/Wörth. A feasibility study for the route from Koblenz south to Boppard is in the works, but nothing has been finalized yet for the route from Koblenz north to the state border.
- Traffic
- Rhineland-Palatinate
- Mainz
- Bingen
- Trier
- Koblenz
- Bicycle
- Commuter
- Worms
- Karlsruhe
- Wörth
- Landau
- Boppard
- Corridor
- Ministry of Transport
- The European Parliament, the Council, and the Commission must speed up the progress of funding for these commuter bike routes in Rhineland-Palatinate, as the delays are causing frustration among local cyclists who are stuck in traffic waiting for the construction to begin.
- To accelerate the implementation of bike routes in Rhineland-Palatinate, the European Parliament, the Council, and the Commission should consider the potential economic benefits of promoting sustainable transportation options, such as improved air quality, reduced traffic congestion, and increased tourism, especially in destinations like Mainz, Bingen, Trier, Koblenz, and other cities along the proposed routes.
