Category Blog

One year ago, the first pop-up bike lane was established in Berlin at Hallesches Ufer. Many more followed - especially in the district of Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg (for an overview: infraVelo).

Air quality measurements on Kottbusser Damm show that cyclists are now exposed to less air pollution in the form of nitrogen dioxide (NO₂) than before the pop-up bike lanes were set up - independent of the pandemic situation[1]Becker, S., von Schneidemesser, D., Caseiro, A., Götting, K., Schmitz, S. & von Schneidemesser, E. (forthcoming). COVID-19 infrastructures as real-world experiments for sustainable ... Continue reading. It can also be proven with data from Strava, an online platform that tracks sporting activities such as cycling, that Kantstraße, Kottbusser Damm and Petersburger Straße have been used significantly more frequently by cyclists since the creation of the temporary bike lanes[2]https://www.pressebox.de/inaktiv/strava-inc/Strava-macht-Strava-Metro-den-weltweit-groessten-Datenpool-fuer-urbane-Mobilitaet-erstmals-kostenfrei-zugaenglich/boxid/1024297 [25.03.2021]. Furthermore, a scientific study that examined 106 European cities concludes that temporary cycling infrastructure leads to more cycling in the city. This is also associated with significant benefits for citizens’ health[3]Kraus, S., & Koch, N. (2020). Effect of pop-up bike lanes on cycling in European cities. arXiv preprint arXiv:2008.05883 Retrieved from: https://arxiv.org/pdf/2008.05883 [25.03.2021].

The results of various citizen surveys are similarly positive. In an opportunity sample, around 94% of cyclists were in favour of pop-up bike lanes, especially because of the (subjective) safety gained, the space to overtake and keep their distance, and the decreased time needed to reach their destination due to the better quality of the bike lanes[4]Götting, K. & Becker, S. (2020). Reaktionen auf die Pop-Up-Radwege in Berlin. Ergebnisse einer explorativen Umfrage zur temporären Radinfrastruktur im Kontext der Covid-19 Pandemie, Institute ... Continue reading. The ADFC new member survey showed that many cyclists feel safer on the temporary bike lanes and would like them to become more permanent. In addition, there is less potential for conflict with other cyclists as well as with motorists[5]https://adfc-berlin.de/radverkehr/infrastruktur-und-politik/964-adfc-berlin-befragt-neumitglieder-mehr-pop-up-radwege-bitte.html [25.03.2021]. As part of the ADFC Cycling Climate Test 2020, the pop-up bike lanes were even honoured with a special prize in Berlin[6]https://www.tagesspiegel.de/berlin/fahrradklima-test-des-adfc-sonderpreis-fuer-berliner-pop-up-radwege/27009302.html [25.03.2021]. At the time of their creation, some Changing Cities activists even gave tulips to the construction workers[7]https://www.zeit.de/mobilitaet/2020-04/radwege-berlin-popup-bikelane-coronavirus-verkehrswende-radfahrer [25.03.2021].

Even beyond the cycling community and outside of Berlin, there is more approval than disapproval. The representative Germany-wide bicycle monitoring of the Federal Ministry of Transport and Digital Infrastructure shows that 70% of respondents find the pop-up bike lanes positive or very positive[8]https://www.bmvi.de/SharedDocs/DE/Anlage/StV/fahrrad-monitor-deutschland-corona-befragung-2020.html [25.03.2021].

However, a survey by the ADAC Berlin-Brandenburg came to mixed results[9]https://www.tagesspiegel.de/berlin/verein-stellt-umfrage-vor-adac-fuer-mehr-fahrradstrassen-in-berlin-autoverkehr-soll-nicht-mehr-wachsen/26701690.html [25.03.2021]. There, 23% of the 120 respondents were very much in favour (with ranking 1); at the same time, 23% of the respondents were very much against the pop-up bike lanes (ranking 6). So pop-up bike lanes seem to be a polarising issue among some road users.

The temporary bike lanes are also controversial among the parties. Members of parliament from the Left, the Greens and the SPD are demanding - and in many places filing for - more pop-up bike lanes[10]https://www.linksfraktion-marzahn-hellersdorf.de/aktuelles/beitraege/detail/news/linke-spd-und-buendnisgruene-fuer-pop-up-radwege-in-marzahn-hellersdorf/ [25.03.2021][11] https://www.linksfraktion-neukoelln.de/aktuelles/nachrichten/detail/news/pop-up-radwege-auch-fuer-die-hermannstrasse/ [25.03.2021][12] https://www.spd-berlin-mitte.de/meldungen/pop-up-radwege-in-mitte-einrichten/ [25.03.2021][13] https://www.abendblatt.de/hamburg/harburg/article230927724/Popup-Radweg-fuer-die-Bremer-Strasse.html [25.03.2021], even if in the SPD there is occasional criticism of the low level of citizen participation and insistence on improvement[14]https://www.tagesspiegel.de/berlin/zu-wenig-buergerbeteiligung-berlins-spd-fraktionschef-warnt-vor-aktionismus-bei-pop-up-radwegen/25978960.html [25.03.2021]. Some CDU and FDP MPs, on the other hand, initially condemned the "instrumentalisation of the pandemic for the transport transition" and "pop-up actionism"[15]https://taz.de/Neue-Rad-Infrastruktur-gegen-Corona/!5673510/ [25.03.2021][16]https://www.berliner-zeitung.de/mensch-metropole/cdu-will-magnetschwebebahn-flusstaxis-und-wohlfuehloasen-li.88511 [25.03.2021][17]https://www.t-online.de/auto/recht-und-verkehr/id_89572322/pop-up-radwege-wie-sinnvoll-ist-das-konzept-debatte.html [25.03.2021]. At least the Berlin CDU now wants to keep some of the pop-up bike lanes[18]https://www.berliner-zeitung.de/mensch-metropole/cdu-will-magnetschwebebahn-flusstaxis-und-wohlfuehloasen-li.88511 [25.03.2021]. In contrast, nothing has changed with the AfD: AfD MP Frank Scholtysek filed a complaint against the pop-up bike lanes in June 2020 and continues to state that he wants to take action against what he sees as the "red-red-green car-hate policy"[19]https://www.spiegel.de/auto/berlin-verfahren-gegen-pop-up-radwege-eingestellt-a-dbae54b0-aed8-43e2-8fe8-71e77dce5f69 [25.03.2021].

The complaint has since been withdrawn at the Administrative Court and the proceedings discontinued after the Senate Department for the Environment, Transport and Climate Protection submitted supplementary documents on the danger prognosis, accident statistics and traffic counts as justification[20] https://www.tagesspiegel.de/berlin/rechtsstreit-um-verkehrspolitik-des-senats-klage-gegen-berliner-pop-up-radwege-zurueckgezogen/26934154.html [25.03.2021][21] https://www.spiegel.de/auto/berlin-verfahren-gegen-pop-up-radwege-eingestellt-a-dbae54b0-aed8-43e2-8fe8-71e77dce5f69 [25.03.2021]. But criticism of pop-up bike lanes may nevertheless be appropriate as they do not rectify all the failures of transport planning in recent decades. Temporary bike lanes are built into an infrastructure that predominantly favours the car and still contains a large number of traffic junctions that are dangerous for cyclists. This is shown, for example, by the fatal collision at the intersection of Petersburger Platz and Mühsamstraße. There, a right-turning truck driver ran over a turning cyclist who had previously been riding on the temporary bike lane[22]https://www.rbb24.de/politik/beitrag/2020/06/wie-gefaehrlich-sind-pop-up-radwege-berlin.html [25.03.2021]. Improvements must be made here as quickly as possible in order to achieve the Vision Zero anchored in the Mobility Act: zero traffic fatalities[23]https://www.berlin.de/sen/uvk/verkehr/verkehrspolitik/verkehrssicherheit [25.03.2021].

The fact that in many places neither the infrastructure nor the responsible offices are prepared for the establishment of pop-up bike lanes is also shown by the example of Nuremberg. While there is sufficient funding, there is a lack of staff to plan and implement routes[24]https://www.sueddeutsche.de/bayern/kommunen-nuernberg-begeisterung-fuer-pop-up-radwege-flaut-in-bayern-ab-dpa.urn-newsml-dpa-com-20090101-210228-99-624802 [25.03.2021]. Furthermore, there are many gaps in the cycling network there that cannot easily be filled by temporary infrastructure. As a result, only a few cyclists used the new pop-up bike lanes, so they have been removed for the time being. Nevertheless, as SPD city councillor Nasser Ahmed emphasised to the online news service nordbayern.de, a lot could be learned from this low-cost experiment[25]https://www.nordbayern.de/region/pop-up-radweg-in-nurnberg-experiment-hat-ziel-nicht-erreicht-1.10562909 [25.03.2021].

It is precisely this learning effect through real-world experiments that makes the pop-up bike lanes so interesting for the transport transition. Temporary infrastructure offers the opportunity to test new concepts in practice - and, if necessary, to improve them before they become permanent. It is helpful if a mobility law, as in Berlin, democratically legitimises new cycling infrastructure and transdisciplinary actor coalitions (from politics, administration, science and civil society) already exist [26]Becker, S., von Schneidemesser, D., Caseiro, A., Götting, K., Schmitz, S. & von Schneidemesser, E. (forthcoming). COVID-19 infrastructures as real-world experiments for sustainable ... Continue reading. Then all that is needed is "strong political will and agile administrative structures" to implement many temporary projects in the shortest time possible[27] https://nationaler-radverkehrsplan.de/de/forschung/schwerpunktthemen/die-berliner-popup-radwege [25.03.2021]. Like in Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg, where the first pop-up bike lanes are now being transformed into permanent protected bike lanes[28]https://www.berlin.de/ba-friedrichshain-kreuzberg/aktuelles/pressemitteilungen/2021/pressemitteilung.1065698.php [25.03.2021]. But even without these optimal conditions, pop-up bike lanes can be implemented and made permanent. In April in Munich, for example, the temporary bike lanes from last summer will now become permanent[29]https://www.muenchen.de/verkehr/aktuell/pop-up-rad-wege-muenchen.html [25.03.2021].

In order to establish pop-up bike lanes in as many other cities and municipalities as possible, Deutsche Umwelthilfe provides a toolkit on its website to help citizens apply for pop-up bike lanes[30]https://www.duh.de/pop-up-radwege-jetzt [25.03.2021]. Previously, it had already sent 244 applications to cities and municipalities, also based on proposals from citizens[31] ... Continue reading. How many of these will ultimately be implemented remains to be seen and depends on many different factors. The hope is growing that many cities and municipalities will be encouraged by the positive reactions and experiences and take the transport transition a step forward through temporary infrastructure.

Footnotes

Footnotes
1, 26 Becker, S., von Schneidemesser, D., Caseiro, A., Götting, K., Schmitz, S. & von Schneidemesser, E. (forthcoming). COVID-19 infrastructures as real-world experiments for sustainable transportation in European cities: an inter- and transdisciplinary case study of Berlin’s pop-up cycling infrastructure
2 https://www.pressebox.de/inaktiv/strava-inc/Strava-macht-Strava-Metro-den-weltweit-groessten-Datenpool-fuer-urbane-Mobilitaet-erstmals-kostenfrei-zugaenglich/boxid/1024297 [25.03.2021]
3 Kraus, S., & Koch, N. (2020). Effect of pop-up bike lanes on cycling in European cities. arXiv preprint arXiv:2008.05883 Retrieved from: https://arxiv.org/pdf/2008.05883 [25.03.2021]
4 Götting, K. & Becker, S. (2020). Reaktionen auf die Pop-Up-Radwege in Berlin. Ergebnisse einer explorativen Umfrage zur temporären Radinfrastruktur im Kontext der Covid-19 Pandemie, Institute for Advanced Sustainability Studies (IASS) [25.03.2021]
5 https://adfc-berlin.de/radverkehr/infrastruktur-und-politik/964-adfc-berlin-befragt-neumitglieder-mehr-pop-up-radwege-bitte.html [25.03.2021]
6 https://www.tagesspiegel.de/berlin/fahrradklima-test-des-adfc-sonderpreis-fuer-berliner-pop-up-radwege/27009302.html [25.03.2021]
7 https://www.zeit.de/mobilitaet/2020-04/radwege-berlin-popup-bikelane-coronavirus-verkehrswende-radfahrer [25.03.2021]
8 https://www.bmvi.de/SharedDocs/DE/Anlage/StV/fahrrad-monitor-deutschland-corona-befragung-2020.html [25.03.2021]
9 https://www.tagesspiegel.de/berlin/verein-stellt-umfrage-vor-adac-fuer-mehr-fahrradstrassen-in-berlin-autoverkehr-soll-nicht-mehr-wachsen/26701690.html [25.03.2021]
10 https://www.linksfraktion-marzahn-hellersdorf.de/aktuelles/beitraege/detail/news/linke-spd-und-buendnisgruene-fuer-pop-up-radwege-in-marzahn-hellersdorf/ [25.03.2021]
11 https://www.linksfraktion-neukoelln.de/aktuelles/nachrichten/detail/news/pop-up-radwege-auch-fuer-die-hermannstrasse/ [25.03.2021]
12 https://www.spd-berlin-mitte.de/meldungen/pop-up-radwege-in-mitte-einrichten/ [25.03.2021]
13 https://www.abendblatt.de/hamburg/harburg/article230927724/Popup-Radweg-fuer-die-Bremer-Strasse.html [25.03.2021]
14 https://www.tagesspiegel.de/berlin/zu-wenig-buergerbeteiligung-berlins-spd-fraktionschef-warnt-vor-aktionismus-bei-pop-up-radwegen/25978960.html [25.03.2021]
15 https://taz.de/Neue-Rad-Infrastruktur-gegen-Corona/!5673510/ [25.03.2021]
16, 18 https://www.berliner-zeitung.de/mensch-metropole/cdu-will-magnetschwebebahn-flusstaxis-und-wohlfuehloasen-li.88511 [25.03.2021]
17 https://www.t-online.de/auto/recht-und-verkehr/id_89572322/pop-up-radwege-wie-sinnvoll-ist-das-konzept-debatte.html [25.03.2021]
19 https://www.spiegel.de/auto/berlin-verfahren-gegen-pop-up-radwege-eingestellt-a-dbae54b0-aed8-43e2-8fe8-71e77dce5f69 [25.03.2021]
20 https://www.tagesspiegel.de/berlin/rechtsstreit-um-verkehrspolitik-des-senats-klage-gegen-berliner-pop-up-radwege-zurueckgezogen/26934154.html [25.03.2021]
21 https://www.spiegel.de/auto/berlin-verfahren-gegen-pop-up-radwege-eingestellt-a-dbae54b0-aed8-43e2-8fe8-71e77dce5f69 [25.03.2021]
22 https://www.rbb24.de/politik/beitrag/2020/06/wie-gefaehrlich-sind-pop-up-radwege-berlin.html [25.03.2021]
23 https://www.berlin.de/sen/uvk/verkehr/verkehrspolitik/verkehrssicherheit [25.03.2021]
24 https://www.sueddeutsche.de/bayern/kommunen-nuernberg-begeisterung-fuer-pop-up-radwege-flaut-in-bayern-ab-dpa.urn-newsml-dpa-com-20090101-210228-99-624802 [25.03.2021]
25 https://www.nordbayern.de/region/pop-up-radweg-in-nurnberg-experiment-hat-ziel-nicht-erreicht-1.10562909 [25.03.2021]
27 https://nationaler-radverkehrsplan.de/de/forschung/schwerpunktthemen/die-berliner-popup-radwege [25.03.2021]
28 https://www.berlin.de/ba-friedrichshain-kreuzberg/aktuelles/pressemitteilungen/2021/pressemitteilung.1065698.php [25.03.2021]
29 https://www.muenchen.de/verkehr/aktuell/pop-up-rad-wege-muenchen.html [25.03.2021]
30 https://www.duh.de/pop-up-radwege-jetzt [25.03.2021]
31 https://ga.de/verlag/anzeigen/advertorials/presseportal/deutsche-umwelthilfe-startet-zweite-stufe-der-mitmachaktion-pop-up-radwege-jetzt-buergerinnen-koennen-online-umwidmung-konkreter-strassen-beantragen_aid-56822775 [25.03.2021]
EN