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Moenchengladbach. Cyclists are given their own safe lane on the Hohenzollernstraße
One of the most important everyday routes for bicycle traffic in Mönchengladbach is becoming safer. The city’s first Protected Bike Lane is set up on Hohenzollernstraße (B57) in the Eicken district. This was decided by the Committee for the Environment and Mobility at its meeting on May 19, after prior consultation in the North District Council. Specifically, on the four-lane section of the B57 between Neuhofstrasse and Künkelstrasse, only one lane in each direction will be used for motorized traffic in the future. The other lane then offers enough space for cyclists with a width of more than two meters. A double dividing strip and regularly attached adhesive curbs will ensure a spatial separation of the lanes and make cycling safer. Thanks to reflections, glass elements enable the wheel track to be seen even in the dark. This is how a cycle lane with additional safety elements is created on Hohenzollernstraße – a so-called “Protected Bike Lane”.
Felix Heinrichs, Lord Mayor of Mönchengladbach, says: “In our overall urban strategy, we have made sustainable and climate-friendly mobility a priority. Increasing cycling is a very important lever to achieve this goal. Mönchengladbach’s first Protected Bike Lane proves that we mean business. I am very happy about another important step in the direction of mobility change.” The Protected Bike Lane is not only intended to be another direct connection in the planned network of inner-city express cycle connections, it also creates a connection to the planned express cycle route between Krefeld, Willich and Mönchengladbach. “With the Protected Bike Lane we prevent numerous dangerous situations for cyclists. At the same time, we are setting another piece of the puzzle for the high-speed cycle connection network and thus for the implementation of our urban mobility concept. In addition to leisure traffic, everyday traffic, such as that on Hohenzollernstraße, plays an important role,” emphasizes City Director and Technical Assistant Dr. Gregory Bonin. “I’m sure that the first Protected Bike Lane will be just as great a success as our first bicycle street, the ‘Blue Route'”.
In the past, bicycle traffic in the affected section was guided along the side of Hohenzollernstraße – separated from the sidewalk by a green strip. However, the cycle path has been severely damaged by tree roots and does not offer enough space for the width of more than two meters prescribed today. The city had already lifted the obligation to use the cycle path in 2017. Since then, cyclists have been able to use the right lane together with motorized traffic. The associated dangers are now banned with the Protected Bike Lane. Only in a small section, from the Saumstraße to the Bergstraße, will bicycle traffic take place together in the side area. A separate plan will be drawn up for the long-term routing of bicycle traffic in this section, which will then be implemented in a second construction phase.
Since the Protected Bike Lane is not being built in the side area, but by redesignating a lane, it ensures the highest safety standards in bicycle traffic with little financial outlay. Around 350,000 euros are estimated for the measure, which will be financed from funds from the cycle path network program. The economical solution was made possible by the fact that motorized traffic does not need two lanes in each direction in the affected section of road given the volume of traffic there. Both in the south from the direction of Bismarckstrasse and in the direction of Nordring, the B57 is already single lane.
