Up in small steps: With the overall grade of 3.6, however, there is still a lot of room for improvement. Graphics: p
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The city should be re-experienced by 2021. The experts expect no less from the planned six bicycle roads and axes, which will then cover important connecting routes in Offenbach and the surrounding area. If it is all about the expansion of the infrastructure, Offenbach should actually catapult itself to the very front in the 2020 bicycle climate test. It remains to be seen how the cyclists rate all of this in the online campaign. You can take part until the end of November.
Offenbach – Offenbach wants to be perceived as a bicycle city – and seems to be on the right track: In the most recent ADFC bicycle climate test (2018), the city took first place in the catch-up category in cities with 100,000 to 200,000 inhabitants. Transport Department Head Paul-Gerhard Weiß accepted the award on behalf of the city. “The award is both recognition and motivation to do even more to improve the cycle paths and improve the traffic situation for cyclists,” said Weiß.
In 2018 Offenbach got a weak 3.63
The city will have to be measured by this. Because the predicate “catching up” is put into perspective when looking at the overall grade: A 3.63 was enough for 6th place in the city size category, while a weak grade is satisfactory for school grades. It is little consolation that the first place Göttingen only has a 3.35. Of course, things are much worse than on the Main: The city of Remscheid scores 4.71 for its cyclists and receives the red lantern in this category.
If you look into the details, the Offenbach participants rated the following points two years ago as positive: public (rental) bicycles, bicycles taken on buses and trains, bicycle funding in recent times. They viewed the theft of bicycles, the surface of (cycle) paths and obstacles on cycle paths, including the inadequate control of parking violations on them, as negative. The following is a legitimate question: has there been any significant improvements in this regard despite the expansion of the bicycle roads?
Offenbach does not want to bypass the needs
The ADFC bicycle climate test highlights where cities score points and where improvements need to be made. Paul-Gerhard Weiß welcomes the campaign: “The bicycle climate test gives us important information about what we as a city can still do within the scope of our possibilities. We don’t want to miss out on the needs of cyclists, which is why I ask Offenbach cyclists, whether they are frequent cyclists, bicycle commuters, leisure cyclists or citizens who have not yet ridden their bikes, to take part in the survey. For the city, the promotion of cycling as a sustainable and emission-free form of mobility continues to be of great importance. ”The municipality did not rely solely on the nine kilometers of bicycle roads. For them, this includes repairing the convoy (Kuhmühlgraben), which serves as an important link between Offenbach and Mühlheim. The bicycle traffic facilities have been expanded and expanded. For example, Bürgeler, Bismarck and Rumpenheimer Strasse were given protective strips. New Bike + Ride systems have been built at the Offenbach-Ost, Marktplatz and Ledermuseum S-Bahn stations. There the bicycles can be parked in covered parking facilities, protected from the weather.
Adapted traffic lights ensure more traffic safety in the urban area. The exit is signaled for cyclists coming from the pedestrian zone on Frankfurter Straße West. Red-colored Radfurten on Lämmerspieler Weg and in the area of the Rumpenheim ferry complement the measures to improve traffic safety.
By the way, around 170,000 citizens across Germany took part in the climate test in 2018. In Offenbach there were just 224 participants – here too there is clear room for improvement.
All Offenbach residents are called on until November 30th Website take part in the survey. The results will be presented in spring 2021.
From Martin Kuhn
Senefelderstraße is a kind of test laboratory on a 500-meter-long section: in 2018, the administration set up the first bicycle road. It remains to be seen how these and other measures will affect the 2020 Bicycle Climate Test. Cyclists are currently counted there.
© Kuhn
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