{"id":5316,"date":"2016-06-13T20:19:18","date_gmt":"2016-06-13T08:19:18","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/willandrewsdesign.com\/?p=5316"},"modified":"2018-06-19T20:08:42","modified_gmt":"2018-06-19T08:08:42","slug":"cycling-in-berlin","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.willandrewsdesign.com\/?p=5316","title":{"rendered":"Cycling in Berlin"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Typical<\/a><\/p>\n

Typical Berlin scene<\/p>\n

We stayed in Neuk\u00f6lln, an inner suburb of Berlin, for a few weeks and looked at cycling infrastructure and how cyclists seemed to be faring.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\"Berlin<\/a><\/p>\n

(Above) It\u2019s certainly different from what Cate and I are used to in New Zealand and Ireland.\u00a0 Here\u2019s a typical Berlin scene- Dad and his wee daughter, negotiating a huge and very busy intersection in Neukolln. \u00a0He does have an air of concentration about him, and a kids\u2019 helmet dangling from his hand, but he seems to be happy to have her cycling independently- and she\u2019s less than five I reckon!<\/p>\n

\"CargoMan+Kids\"<\/a>
CargoMan+Kids<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

(Above) Dad isn\u2019t alone.<\/h3>\n

All round Berlin we saw relaxed, carefree cycling providing transport for all ages, all genders, and all types.\u00a0 Little ones on baby seats and young kids cycling under supervision are extremely common; the \u2018school run\u2019 at 3pm or so was a study in the many ways of carrying kids on bikes- cargo bikes, trikes, trailers, baby seats and many more.\u00a0 See photos below.<\/p>\n

[print_gllr id=5398]<\/p>\n

\"Mum+Kid-Footpath<\/a><\/p>\n

(Above) The gender balance is very close to 50\/50, and as we\u2019ve seen there\u2019s a huge proportion of kids on bikes.\u00a0 Two very healthy indications of confidence in the safety of this transport mode.<\/p>\n

\"TypicalCyclists-1\"<\/a><\/p>\n

(Above) As further evidence of cyclists\u2019 confidence I\u2019d reckon helmet use ratios at well less than a third; my one very unscientific count picked up 88 cyclists, 12 of whom wore helmets or about 14%.\u00a0 I don\u2019t remember seeing ANY hi-viz clothing worn by bikers, even during our few night rides.<\/p>\n

\"GermanCitiesModeShare\"<\/a><\/p>\n

The interesting thing is that this situation has been created quite recently; almost 1 in four of these cyclists have been \u2018converted\u2019 since 2008 and Berlin\u2019s mode-share is actually not that spectacular compared with other German cities (above). \u00a0This uptake is reflected in the stats- a City survey in 2014<\/a> found that, within the U-bahn ring (basically the inner suburbs and CBD) bike modal share is 18%, with private motor car use at 17%.\u00a0 The central Mitte district is at 21%! (Below)<\/p>\n

\"BerlinModeShareMap\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\"Mum+Kid-Footpath<\/a><\/p>\n

But -as for many European cities- there was virtually no provision for cycling on Berlin\u2019s reunification in the early 1990s, particularly in the former East.\u00a0 How has such spectacular growth happened so quickly?\u00a0 Could it be due to excellent bike lanes?<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Here\u2019s a look at the infrastructure we saw-<\/h3>\n
\"Typical<\/a>
Typical transition from on-road thru junction to footpath<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

(Above) Footpaths appear to be the backbone of Berlin cycling. \u00a0Width allowing, a metre\u2019s width of the path is marked out by coloured paving or just painted lines. \u00a0Pedestrians wander onto this territory at their peril -yells and assertive bell-ringing often result. \u00a0This gives cyclists, particularly the slower and more cautious, a reasonably good path. \u00a0However construction standards are not too rigorously enforced: widths can be compromised due to varying footpath width, street furniture or other factors. \u00a0The recession has seen cutbacks in maintenance, too; poor surfacing and missing markings are common.\u00a0 Of 1,000km total length of claimed<\/a> \u2018facilities\u2019, 662 are purpose-built paths, and 174km are on-road marked lanes.\u00a0 This is infrastructure at its most basic and economical<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"BuildingFootpathLane\"<\/a><\/p>\n

(Above)\u00a0 Footpath bike lane under construction.\u00a0 In a compact city of three million,\u00a0both cyclists and pedestrians seem resigned to sharing what\u2019s inevitably limited space.\u00a0 Cyclists must move that bit more slowly, while as a pedestrian you quickly learn to tolerate bikers and keep off the designated bike path.<\/p>\n

\"Footpath-Junction-Lights<\/a><\/p>\n

\"TypicalJunction\"<\/a><\/p>\n

(Above) At junctions, you\u2019re dropped onto the general road surface and expected to mix it up with motor traffic.<\/p>\n

\"PaintedLane\"<\/a><\/p>\n

There\u2019s also some use of painted on-road lanes (above).<\/p>\n

As well as \u2018carrots\u2019 for cyclists, there were infrastructural \u2018sticks\u2019 to encourage careful car use- 30km\/h zones are extremely common, even applying to 17% of the main road network, and these would typically have no cycle lanes marked – bikers share with cars.\u00a0 Shared zones included \u2018home zones\u2019 and \u2018cycle streets\u2019 where cars and bikes share, and -on narrow footpaths- sections where cyclists and pedestrians are expected to share.\u00a0 Here are some snaps-<\/p>\n

[print_gllr id=5388]<\/p>\n

(Above) \u00a0The various \u2018share the road\u2019 signs and configurations offer lots of flexibility and benefit those using bike rather than car.\u00a0 And those bike traffic-lights don\u2019t keep you waiting an inordinately long time. \u00a0So traffic calming has been deliberately embraced as a policy. \u00a0This is \u00a0a recent development:\u00a0ADFC activists told me that the footpath-based infrastructure was built in the late 1970\u2019s and early 80\u2019s (before which cyclists were hardly catered for at all), but most of the traffic calming measures have been rolled out since the 2004 Strategy<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"DualCarriageway-3\"<\/a><\/p>\n

(Above) Finally on infrastructure, you may well find yourself thrown completely at the mercy of bigger vehicles.\u00a0 Cate and I did experience respect and patience from car drivers, even on this divided-highway style street, but Cate certainly didn\u2019t feel comfortable. \u00a0In fact, we found many of our day-to-day rides a bit disjointed by inconsistency, large junctions and variable route quality. \u00a0Poor surfacing and failed maintenance also prevented an easy hassle-free ride, and we found the junction layouts sometimes confusing.\u00a0 Progress was quite slow, 10km taking us an hour (maybe made slower by my feeble map-reading!)<\/p>\n

So, Berlin definitely doesn’t offer the perfect roading environment for cycling. \u00a0Local\u00a0advocates<\/a>\u00a0also\u00a0feel that routes could be a lot better. \u00a0However it has to be said that these issues didn\u2019t ultimately put us off getting round by bike.\u00a0 They obviously don\u2019t stop the locals, as we’ve seen.<\/p>\n

So with quite scruffy infrastructure, are there other causes of the recent growth? \u00a0The city’s high density may have helped-<\/p>\n

\"Boehm_Berlin_1862\"<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

(Above) The 1862 Boehm Plan laid out the city in large blocks of six- or seven-storey apartments along existing arterial roads -a contrast with -say- London\u2019s lower-density development of two-storey houses along railway lines.<\/p>\n

So this may be a factor, but, in place for over 100 years, doesn\u2019t explain why there\u2019s been such a resurgence since the 1990’s.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Driver behaviour<\/h3>\n

As well as traffic calming, we found driver behaviour to be strikingly different from that we see in New Zealand and Ireland. \u00a0Public-information campaigns and cyclist-specific training programmes have been carried out and these, perhaps combined with the \u2018strength in numbers\u2019 effect (and an existing driving culture) ensured that respect and patience were the order of the day. \u00a0Certainly Berliners seemed to love their cars- souped-up machines and loud acceleration were common, but when it comes to cyclists they are considerate and prepared to compromise.<\/p>\n

\"RightTurns<\/a><\/p>\n

(Above) For example, the driver of the black car, waiting to turn across cyclists’ straight-ahead path, held\u00a0patiently in position while cyclists passed on the right (in NZ this would be on the left).\u00a0 Some junctions had marked turning or \u2018left-hook turn\u2019 lanes and stop lines. \u00a0Speeds are lower, and drivers more tentative about manoeuvres, always looking out for cyclists.<\/p>\n

\"BerlinBehaviourPoster\"<\/a><\/p>\n

(Above) Behaviour change advertising campaign from 2013 (translation Burkhard Horn).<\/p>\n

All in all we found that using a bike round Berlin you generally feel safe, normal and respected, though you have to be on your toes to use the infrastructure. \u00a0Road user behaviour is obviously a major factor.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

So what are the lessons?<\/h3>\n

This all strongly suggests that imperfect-but-legible infrastructure coupled with imperfect-but-respectful road user behaviour can bring about huge positive change.\u00a0 It also suggests that moving forward, even imperfectly, on all fronts -encouragement, education, engineering and enforcement- is critical to bring the results we\u2019re looking for.\u00a0 Infrastructure alone can\u2019t do it, you might say \u2018te whenua, te whenua, te whenua\u2019 is the critical factor – changing hearts and minds of road users.<\/p>\n

This is what CAN has been advocating and acting on for 20 years and, from what we\u2019ve recently seen, what the NZTA\u2019s cycling team are aiming for.<\/p>\n

Implemented with energy and intelligence it will bring huge benefits to all New Zealanders.<\/p>\n

\"Berlin<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

ends<\/strong><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Links-<\/strong><\/p>\n

Please also see Prof. Glen Koorey\u2019s excellent\u00a0article on Munich<\/a>\u00a0and his other posts on European cities.<\/p>\n

Max Robitzsch\u2019s 2012 post on Bike Auckland\u2019s site- \u00a0https:\/\/www.bikeauckland.org.nz\/european-cycling-berlin\/<\/p>\n

Criticism of German standards, compared to Dutch- http:\/\/www.aviewfromthecyclepath.com\/2010\/05\/german-cycle-paths-vs-dutch-cycle-paths.html<\/p>\n

Berlin set a comprehensive\u00a0cycling strategy<\/a>\u00a0in place in 2004, revised it in 2013, and backed it up with action.<\/p>\n

http:\/\/www.stadtentwicklung.berlin.de\/verkehr\/politik\/index_en.shtml<\/p>\n

http:\/\/www.stadtentwicklung.berlin.de\/verkehr\/politik_planung\/zahlen_fakten\/entwicklung\/index_en.shtml<\/p>\n

https:\/\/nationaler-radverkehrsplan.de<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Typical Berlin scene We stayed in Neuk\u00f6lln, an inner suburb of Berlin, for a few weeks and looked at cycling infrastructure and how cyclists seemed to be faring.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[43,15,19,22,5,42,18,7],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.willandrewsdesign.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5316"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.willandrewsdesign.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.willandrewsdesign.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.willandrewsdesign.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.willandrewsdesign.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=5316"}],"version-history":[{"count":75,"href":"http:\/\/www.willandrewsdesign.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5316\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5506,"href":"http:\/\/www.willandrewsdesign.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5316\/revisions\/5506"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.willandrewsdesign.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=5316"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.willandrewsdesign.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=5316"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.willandrewsdesign.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=5316"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}