City tour "Offenbach on the move": Citizens were given insights into urban mobility development

On November 13, around 20 interested citizens took part in a varied city tour on the topic of mobility, to which Mayor Sabine Groß and Loimi Brautmann, initiator of OFlovesU, had invited. Under the title "Offenbach moves", the participants experienced current projects and future visions of urban mobility development on a tour through the city center, from the Main cargo bike rental to the Offenbach Institute for Mobility Design (OIMD) and school route planning.

At the start, Mayor Sabine Groß and Loimi Brautmann welcomed the 20 or so participants at the artefakt bike store. Together with bike store owner Jürgen Bamberger, they gave a practical insight into the city's bicycle parking garage and free e-cargo bike rental service. Almost five years ago, the Office for the Environment and Climate, in cooperation with the Rhine-Main regional group of the Verkehrsclub Deutschland (VCD), purchased e-cargo bikes, which have been available to citizens free of charge ever since. "Today, there are eight rental stations available, and a utilization rate of 90 percent shows how great the demand is and how successfully the project has been received," says Mayor Sabine Groß. More information at: www.offenbach.de/e-lastenrad

At Berliner Straße, the participants learned more about its historical significance as a thoroughfare and the far-reaching changes made in the course of the construction of the S-Bahn in 1994. "This transformation marked a turning point - away from a car-friendly city and towards safe, modern mobility for everyone," explained Groß.

The tour continued to Mitte station, the future city library, and the former Kaufhof department store. Helko Thoma, project manager at OPG Offenbacher Projektentwicklungsgesellschaft mbH, gave a vivid description of the current status of the conversion work and the future use of the site.

Another highlight was a look behind the scenes of the former post office on Aliceplatz. Project manager Ulrich Lemke (OPG) gave a tour of the premises and explained the status of its future use. Prof. Dr. Kai Vöckler then introduced the Offenbach Institute for Mobility Design (OIMD) and reported on joint projects between the Offenbach University of Art and Design and the city. The institute develops methods and concepts for people-oriented and sustainable mobility.

We then moved on to the radraum, where Daniel Rese presented the concept of the café and studio. Jörg Schwarzwälder from the city parents' council presented the work on the school mobility plan for Offenbach. This is being developed together with schools, parents, the city and the police. It includes the development of safe school route plans, traffic education, school route guides and the analysis of critical points in the city.

At the end of the city tour, there was a short quiz round and an opportunity to chat over soft drinks in the Radraum. With the third "Offenbach gets moving" city tour, Mayor Sabine Groß once again created a direct exchange with the people of Offenbach about current mobility projects.