Munich: If you sow cycle highways, you reap cyclists

The Bavarian capital wants to construct a massive, city-wide cycling expressway system by 2025

Recently, the local government in Munich announced a new cycling infrastructure strategy, that will see the construction of six cycling expressways in the city, as well as a bicycle ring road around the centre. This massive expansion of the cycling infrastructure came after a 2019 citizen-led petition and a feasibility study from last year.

The city council approved the construction plans, with a lot of the projects scheduled to start this year. According to a statement by the city, the majority of the development will be finalised by 2025.

Munich’s Deputy Mayor Katrin Habenschaden expressed her support for the project, which will hopefully put the Bavarian capital on the map for cycling. With the ambitious project, reminiscent of the cycling expressway system in Hamburg, she expects Munich to become like Utrecht and Copenhagen in terms of sustainable mobility. As she put it: “Whoever sows cycle paths will reap cyclists.”

Fast and safe bike journeys – a competitor for the car

The first route that development efforts will focus on leads from the heart of Munich to the nearby commuter town of Markt Schwaben. The final route will be nine kilometres long and, according to the city, their new cycling highway standard calls for it to have a minimum width of 2.3 metres.

However, authorities have said that this route would have a width of 3 metres in every direction which will make the route both safe for higher speeds and more commuters. The city projects that it will carry some 6,100 daily users.

The Head of the Mobility Department, Georg Dunkel, was quoted in a press release, saying: “A high-speed cycle connection is a serious alternative to the car. Comparable distances can be covered safely and very quickly by bike. All cyclists get to their destination safely and comfortably and also contribute to the turnaround in traffic and climate protection.”