Safer and easier cycling on the forest road

Cycling in Offenbach is to become safer and easier. To this end, the city council decided at its most recent meeting that one cycle lane in each direction should be set up on Waldstraße between Bleichstraße and Hessenring/Friedrichsring for a trial period. If the city councillors follow the proposal, the trial operation will start in spring 2023 for a period of one year after the tendering and awarding of the marking and signage services. The project is part of the catalog of measures adopted by the city following the failed citizens' initiative Radentscheid Offenbach.

Mayor and Head of Mobility Sabine Groß explains: "An increasing number of people want to travel quickly and safely by bike and parents want to let their children cycle safely to school, the club or to visit friends, for example. More cycling also means less congestion, fewer air pollutants, less noise and more protection for the climate. All of these goals increase the quality of life in our city. That is why it makes sense and is necessary to provide adequate space for bicycle traffic in our city in addition to automobile traffic. With the trial operation on Waldstraße, we are implementing the first major project from the agreement with the cycling decision."

In a densely populated city like Offenbach, improvements for one type of traffic raise the question of how to redistribute the available space. The task for Waldstraße was to create more safety and thus more space for bicycles.

The city councillors decided to set up a monitoring committee to implement the measures from the cycling decision. This consists of representatives from politics, administration, ADFC, VCD, Chamber of Crafts, IHK, ADAC and the cycling decision.

For the meeting of the monitoring committee, the administration developed two alternatives for making Waldstraße between Hessenring and Bleichstraße more bicycle-friendly. Due to the spatial conditions, implementation is only possible by reallocating areas currently used for car traffic. One suggestion was to create space for a cycle path by removing parking spaces. The second was to make space available for cyclists by removing a lane for motorized traffic. The members of the monitoring committee discussed these two options and decided in favor of the option that eliminates one lane. The reason for this was that it would enable greater safety for cyclists. The traffic commission then dealt with the planning. The ideas put forward in the committees were incorporated into further planning. This mostly concerned markings and other details. A major issue was the question of whether public transport would be able to cover the route in the planned time if one lane was removed. The response to this was to allow buses to use the lane designated for cycle traffic in future.

"The implementation will initially take place in a trial operation. The effects will be monitored and examined," emphasizes Groß, pointing out that there are many interests to be weighed up in traffic planning: "The number of cyclists has increased continuously in recent years. We have precise figures from the counting station on the Main Cycle Path. While 509,345 cyclists were counted there in 2019, this figure had risen to 721,992 by 2022. The large number of signatures collected by the Offenbach Cycling Decision also underlines this. By redesigning Waldstrasse, we are responding to the concerns of this growing group in Offenbach. We are starting with a trial operation because we know from other projects: Traffic is always looking for ways to get from A to B as quickly and easily as possible. We want to carefully evaluate and monitor this change. That's why we're talking about a trial phase - only at the end of it can we decide whether the implemented solution should remain permanent."

During the one-year trial period, the measure will be evaluated and discussed and assessed again in the relevant committees. The knowledge gained will also be used as part of the development of the cycling concept.

"The rededication of a lane for cycling is an important step, especially for the many people who live, work, go to school or daycare on Waldstraße," emphasizes Jochen Teichmann, spokesperson for the Radentscheid Offenbach initiative. "Where cyclists were previously not offered any facilities at all, they will in future be able to ride on the wide cycle lanes at a sufficient distance from parked cars and will not be overtaken too closely. Cycling will only be used more if it is safe, comfortable and fast. We are pleased that the implementation of the planned measures to promote cycling is now gathering pace and that the first measure is becoming visible with Waldstraße."