Munich can adorn itself with the title “bicycle-friendly municipality”. For the second time, the state capital has received the award, which has been presented every seven years by the “Arbeitsgemeinschaft fahrradfreundlicher Kommunen” (AGFK) since 2012.
Cyclists who despair of traffic in Munich every day might now ask themselves whether they have read correctly: Yes. The evaluation committee is not only concerned with how safely and comfortably cyclists get through the city, but also whether the city is making efforts to improve. And recognition for this was obviously in the foreground among the jurors, who consist of experts from the Bavarian Ministry of Transport, the AGFK and the ADFC bicycle club.
Mayor Katrin Habenschaden (Greens) therefore admits, despite her joy about the certificate: “We are aware that there is still a lot to do.” The city has to live up to the vote and make it even faster. “I will work to ensure that Munich becomes one of Germany’s most bicycle-friendly municipalities.” Mobility advisor Georg Dunkel also becomes clear about the demands and reality of Munich cycling: The award is “an incentive to continue working as an administration for a safe and comfortable cycling infrastructure”.
No question about it, something is happening on Munich’s streets, even when there are lots of construction sites and a lot of traffic jams. Almost two dozen people – jurors, city councilors, administrative staff and mayor Habenschaden – take the practical test on wheels on Thursday afternoon. The entourage with three cycling policemen rolls from the valley to the Isartor as protection. At the intersection of the Altstadtring, drivers push into Zweibrückenstrasse, they block Radfurt to Thomas-Wimmer-Ring.
When the test cyclists carefully roll over the clogged intersection on the green, a taxi driver rushes past the traffic jam from the left and almost rams two cyclists. A few meters behind the life-threatening intersection, the urban cycling expert Florian Paul raves about the fact that a section of the future Altstadtradlring with a width of almost three meters has been “very generously” expanded. However, Munich is only implementing the demand of a two-year-old citizens’ initiative, which the city council has taken over in full.
The city council has decided on 40 measures to meet the demands of the Radentscheid referendum
Just around the corner in Maximilianstrasse, it becomes clear what Paul previously described in the town hall as a “courageous route” and a “real urban jungle”: a narrow bike lane that practically ends in nowhere on the Isar. The three policemen noticed that it was going to be dangerous here too, and secured the intersection for cyclists. It now goes upstream on the Isar cycle path, past a bicycle service station with an air pump, “which even works,” as Paul says. Shortly afterwards, he and the bicycle committee stop at the Cornelius Bridge. It actually looks pretty good: Trixi mirrors are supposed to prevent accidents with cyclists, the intersection has red bike lanes. However, the background to the newly created security measures is: An eleven-year-old boy died at this point in 2019 after being hit by a truck.
It is important to pause here. Because the city is trying to defuse dangerous spots and make cycling much safer. Between 2015 and 2021, 100 million euros were invested in walking and cycling through the local mobility allowance. The city council has already decided on 40 measures to meet the demands of the Radentscheid referendum. It is about safe and wide cycle paths (minimum 2.3 meters wide), safe crossings, a concept for the right of way for cyclists in designated streets and the expansion of bicycle parking spaces throughout the city. 13 new positions were advertised, the employees should only take care of cycling. But the corona pandemic and the tight budget have delayed the schedule for implementing the wish list.
But there are many construction sites in the city center that show that progress is being made. In the Fraunhoferstraße there have been wide red bicycle lanes for up to 10,000 cyclists a day since 2019, but cars are always parked here, half on the sidewalk and half on the bike path. Until recently, the Blumenstrasse was a route that could be life-threatening for cyclists. You can now drive safely on a small section. A highlight of the two and a half hour round tour is the Arnulfsteg, which has been connecting the Schwanthalerhöhe with Neuhausen since last December. The construction project, which cost 26.2 million euros, is not yet completely finished: In Landsberger Strasse at the level of Bergmannstrasse, cyclists once again find themselves in a construction site. A crossing is currently being built there so that pedestrians and cyclists can safely cross the four-lane road including the tram route.
For Munich’s top full-time cyclist Paul, Blutenburgstrasse is also a successful example of how the streets in the city can be made safer. A cobblestone mogul slope has now become a bicycle street. One city councilor, however, mumbles: “Some drivers still behave like wild boars here.” This afternoon, the drivers are largely peaceful, which is perhaps also due to the three cycling policemen who are now blocking every cross street the group passes. Only on the corner of Maillingerstraße is a car with hazard warning lights on the street – directly on the large floor marking for the bicycle street.
The bicycle parade stops at Odeonsplatz for the last time before it comes back to the town hall to announce that Munich is bicycle-friendly. Martin Singer from the Bavarian Ministry of Transport is not entirely happy with the current confusion of routes for cyclists and pedestrians at the entrance to the Hofgarten. As a member of the expert committee, he demands that improvements should be made. Singer also urged speeding up the construction of the cycle superhighways into the Munich area, even though he admits: “There are of course a lot of things to consider – from environmental protection to residents.” Paul nods, says: “We still have a lot of construction sites” and continues cycling.