Bicycle climate test
These are the most bicycle-friendly cities in Germany
Where in Germany is it best to ride a bike?
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In which cities in Germany do cyclists feel most comfortable? A survey by the General German Bicycle Club provides the answer.
"The bicycle is so much more than just a means of transport. I want cycling to become more energy, enjoyment and joy of life again." Andreas Scheuer (46), Federal Minister for Transport and Digital Infrastructure, is campaigning for bicycles and honoring the 25 most bicycle-friendly cities in Germany. To this end, the General German Bicycle Club (ADFC) started a survey in advance and has now published the results of the 2020 bicycle climate test – with some surprising results.
Munich and Berlin are catching up
Especially in times of the corona pandemic, many commuters try to avoid public transport as much as possible. The alternative is often the bicycle. 230,000 cyclists voted for Germany's most bicycle-friendly city. There were 1,024 cities to choose from. In the big cities with more than 500,000 inhabitants, Bremen (grade 3.6) came out on top, closely followed by Hanover (3.7) and Frankfurt in third place (3.7).
Karlsruhe (3.1) made it to the top in the "Cities with more than 200,000 inhabitants" category. Göttingen is meanwhile the most bicycle-friendly city with more than 100,000 inhabitants (3.3). Berlin, Munich, Stuttgart and Düsseldorf could not win a flower pot in the direct rankings, but they still caught up in terms of bike-friendliness. According to the survey, cyclists found "solid signals for more bicycle-friendliness" in the corona pandemic. Keyword: pop-up cycle paths, cycle lanes, traffic-calmed zones or bollards to protect against through traffic.
In many places, however, there are construction sites for cyclists. 80 percent of the respondents also find the bike paths in their city to be too narrow. Andreas Scheuer remains optimistic and assures that a "record sum" of 1.46 billion euros will be made available by 2023 to improve cycling in Germany.