Agreement on the cycling decision
11.08.2022
The Radentscheid Offenbach initiative and the City of Offenbach want to work together to significantly improve the infrastructure for cycling in Offenbach. Both sides have agreed to implement numerous smaller and larger measures over the next five years. In addition, an implementation advisory board with representatives from politics, administration, Radentscheid, ADFC, VCD, the Chamber of Crafts, IHK and ADAC is to be set up. The city council approved the agreement and the implementation committee in a resolution of principle on August 3. In this agreement, the city undertakes to make around 600,000 euros of its own funds available annually for planning and implementation in the form of markings, signage and, if necessary, construction measures. The ESO will also receive an annual budget for the maintenance of the cycle infrastructure, winter services and cleaning. An additional staff position in the Office for Mobility is also to gradually implement the specific measures and tasks - subject to the possibility of financing them. This will also involve many smaller and cost-effective improvements, such as making busy junctions safer for cyclists.
"As a city, we want to work together with citizens to make cycling in Offenbach more comfortable and safer," says Mayor and Head of Mobility Sabine Groß: "The city and the Radentscheid share the same interests in making it easier to switch to cycling in the face of climate change and the many traffic jams. We have therefore agreed to continue working closely together on the basis of the agreed objectives in order to align all measures with the needs of the target group. Public space is limited and we must ensure that we achieve equality between the different road users." Sabine Groß emphasizes that the city has already been investing in the necessary traffic turnaround for many years against the backdrop of climate change and air pollution control - for example in the expansion of cycle paths, cycle lanes and covered parking facilities. This also includes opening up one-way streets and pedestrian zones to cyclists.
"Due to the city's budget situation, these measures are understandably not going fast or far enough for many people," says city treasurer Martin Wilhelm. "Of course, the Radentscheid initiative had also hoped for much more, but in view of the city's budget problems, we cannot guarantee any more jobs or additional millions for the promotion of cycling for the time being." It is also important to invest in the maintenance of roads and sidewalks - for the benefit of all road users. "Thanks to the further cooperation we have agreed with the Radentscheid, i.e. with Offenbach residents who make many journeys by bike every day, we can use the city's limited financial resources for cycling in a targeted manner: wherever it is most important and makes the most sense for cyclists to make everyday life easier on their bikes and to be able to cover as many distances as possible without harmful emissions." Cycling measures are often 80 or 90 percent funded by the federal and state governments. The difference is borne by the local authority as its own contribution. Offenbach's annual budget of 600,000 euros is used for this required own contribution.
For Jochen Teichmann, spokesperson for the cycling decision, the agreement with the city is an important step towards a traffic turnaround: "Not all of our demands could be met. We have now agreed on very sensible measures for the next five years that will make it possible to build a continuous, efficient cycle network. bicycle network. This will enable and facilitate mobility for all cyclists, including children and senior citizens in particular. People with reduced mobility and specially adapted bikes and electric wheelchairs can also use these cycle paths more safely." In addition to the inclusive approach, Teichmann also considers the implementation advisory board to be a great asset: "Citizen participation is anchored here for the many people who are interested in the expansion of the cycling infrastructure," emphasizes Teichmann, referring to the around 4,500 valid signatures for the cycling decision. "We hope that the immediate measures in the agreement will be implemented in the near future and that we can look back on very positive changes after five years."
Lisa Wagner, a long-standing cycle traffic planner and a permanent member of the eight-person negotiating team for the cycling referendum, looks back on the intensive voluntary work of the past four months: "Together with the City of Offenbach's negotiating team, we were able to produce a good result for a bicycle-friendly city of Offenbach. I am convinced that a lot can be achieved even with limited financial resources and by making the right adjustments."
Expansion of the cycling infrastructure
The agreement contains numerous measures designed to make cycling safer and more comfortable. The following is an overview of the most important measures, all of which still need to undergo in-depth technical examination:
A dedicated cycle lane in each direction is to be created on Waldstrasse. Planning for a fundamental redistribution of the road space is to begin this year. As an immediate measure, a traffic test with the marking of a reserved lane for bicycles is planned. A dedicated cycle lane or at least protective lanes are also to be created on Frankfurter Strasse between Kaiserstrasse and August-Bebel-Ring. In order to alleviate the dangerous situation for cyclists on the streetcar tracks, longitudinal parking is to be banned at these points as an immediate measure. In the long term, a comprehensive renovation of Frankfurter Strasse is planned, possibly with or without a streetcar extension from the city limits.
A cycle path separated on both sides is to be built on Untere Grenzstraße between Ostbahnhof and the Clariant site. A cycle highway is planned on Mühlheimer Straße between Ulmenstraße and Untere Grenzstraße, and the markings for "protective lanes" are to be refreshed in the short term.
On Bieberer Straße, the one-way street between Marktplatz and Wilhelmsplatz is to be opened up to cycle traffic in the opposite direction. Smaller measures are also planned to increase safety at entrances and exits. The catalog also includes a cycle lane towards the city center. Further cycle lanes, cycle tracks or cycle paths are to be created on Aschaffenburger Straße, Seligenstädter Straße, Sprendlinger Landstraße, Landgrafenring, Friedrichsring, Erich-Ollenhauer-Straße, Schloßgartenstraße, Lämmerspieler Weg (Laskabrücke to An den Eichen), Eberhard-v.-Rochow-Straße and Bischofsheimer Weg.
In addition, numerous adjustments to the existing cycle paths are intended to reduce the sometimes heavy through traffic. Many measures are also aimed at increasing the use of the roads by cyclists by improving safety. For example, intersections are to be redesigned, parking spaces reduced, traffic lights adjusted and crossing aids created. The measures for cyclists are to be linked to existing bus lanes where available. All these and other measures need to be jointly examined and concretized in order to transform Offenbach into a bicycle-friendly city.
More and more people on bikes
The fact that the city of Offenbach attaches more importance to the interests of cyclists is also the result of increasing bicycle use. The bicycle counting station on the banks of the Main, for example, has recorded a significant increase in bicycle traffic since 2019. In 2019, there were a total of 509,345 cyclists, an average of 1,395 per day. In 2020, the number of cyclists rose to 690,205 (1,890 per day), and this year alone, more than 437,000 cyclists had already been counted by mid-July (around 2,230 per day). The "Mobility in Germany" study also shows that the cycling mode share is gradually increasing: from 9% in 2008 to 11% in 2017. "That is still not enough for us overall. We want to and must continue to increase this share in order to save the city from gridlock and reduce the harmful effects of car traffic on health and the climate. The prospects of achieving this are very good in Offenbach due to the compact urban area and the small differences in altitude," says Mayor and Head of Mobility Groß. "But you also need the right infrastructure to get to your destination safely and quickly."
Paul-Gerhard Weiß, Head of Building and Planning, also emphasizes the need to make cycling in Offenbach more attractive: "The city's infrastructure must be optimized for all modes of transport. This applies to cycling as well as public and private transport. The car is still important for many people to get to work. That is why the city will continue to renovate roads and sidewalks within its financial means and optimize the flow of traffic, for example through digital traffic light control. This will benefit everyone in traffic. However, the car can no longer play as central a role as it used to - our city would not be able to cope with that in the long term. That is why, together with the cycling decision, we are now placing a new focus on cycling," says Weiß.
Common framework for action instead of referendum
Weiß, Wilhelm and Groß praise the previous and ongoing cooperation with the cycling decision: "We have held constructive discussions at eye level and focused on the matter in hand. The stakeholders of the cycling decision have brought this agreement to fruition with great expertise and commitment. The result is a coordinated joint framework for action." The city is thus responding to the legitimate interests of the population, emphasizes mobility department head Groß: "Behind the cycling decision is a large number of people in Offenbach who would like to see greater promotion of cycling in Offenbach. It must be recognized and accepted that the cycling decision has collected around 4,500 signatures. This is a large citizens' movement in Offenbach, which is also reflected in the high level of participation in the recurring cycling demonstrations, in which many parents take part with their children." The agreement with the joint framework for action now replaces the citizens' petition originally sought. Although this petition could not be granted for formal legal reasons, the city council immediately agreed to work with the citizens' initiative to examine how the infrastructure for cycling in Offenbach could be further developed.