Expanded bike storage and enhanced security measures
In the wake of the gradual increase in mobility in Düsseldorf and the coming weeks and months, the Greens have expressed a view that this situation is suitable for innovative traffic experiments. These experiments aim to promote sustainable and safe urban mobility, particularly for cyclists.
The Greens have not proposed temporary or partial closures of certain streets for car traffic or free rental bikes in the city center during the coronavirus crisis. However, their advocacy for increased bike lane infrastructure and the reprioritization of street space in favour of cyclists is well-documented in many German cities.
The ADFC (General German Bicycle Club) and the Greens have historically championed these causes, with a focus on sustainability and urban mobility goals. This has been part of a broader policy trend responding to COVID-19, where cities encouraged outdoor mobility and safer cycling by reallocating street space.
Düsseldorf, being a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, has an active bike-sharing ecosystem, with companies like Bolt operating bike-sharing systems within the city. The city also supports e-bike use through subsidies and infrastructure expansion, aligning with European efforts to promote sustainable transport modes such as e-bikes.
While no specific recent announcements were found about temporary car lane closures for bike lanes by ADFC and the Greens in Düsseldorf, such initiatives mirror broader trends in German cities during and post-COVID to promote cycling and allocate urban road space preferentially to bicycles.
The ADFC has proposed converting one lane for car traffic into a bike lane on the four-lane street Josef-Beuys-Ufer, Cecilien-Allee, Rotterdamer Straße, Am Staad. The Greens, on the other hand, have suggested offering free rental bikes for the first 30 minutes of use and creating provisional protected bike lanes as traffic experiments.
Norbert Czerwinski, spokesman for the Green city council fraction, supports these proposals for more space for safe cycling in Düsseldorf. He also suggests using this opportunity to give the bike more space in the city and making the rental bikes in Düsseldorf free for the first 30 minutes of use.
The ADFC has also demanded a city-wide speed limit of 30 km/h, a request that aligns with the Greens' preference for changes in favour of bike, bus, and train to be implemented gradually.
The Greens and the ADFC believe that these measures will not only promote sustainable transport but also improve the health and well-being of city residents by encouraging the use of the bike as the best and healthiest form of mobility. They cite Berlin as a good example for creating conditions for cyclists and prioritizing construction measures for bike lanes.
However, for the most current status or exact proposals by ADFC and the Greens in Düsseldorf, checking local government or ADFC Düsseldorf communications directly would be necessary.
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