Cycle highways are an important component of promoting cycling and a beacon of hope for achieving climate targets in the transport sector. Their implementation requires cooperation between authorities and good involvement of citizens. For the high-speed cycle route between Ludwigsburg and Waiblingen (RS 8), both aspects are now much easier thanks to new digital formats.
Since completion of the feasibility study and confirmation of funding from the federal and state governments, preliminary planning by the participating districts (Rems-Murr-Kreis, Ludwigsburg district) and towns (Waiblingen, Remseck am Neckar, Ludwigsburg) has been in full swing. With the publication of a project website, the public will now be kept up to date and transparently informed about the construction project. The special feature: The various construction authorities are presenting the information jointly. "Even if different administrations are working on the realization of the sections in the background - for the public, the cycle highway is a whole. That's why our aim was to provide all the information together," says the inter-agency project team.
Interested parties can now find out more about the objectives of the construction project, design and routing as well as the timetable on the following website:
https://radschnellweg8-lb-wn.de
A suitable counterpart to the website is an internal work platform. The so-called "route scout" is an inter-office storage location for documents and protocols and offers the opportunity to view the current planning status of all construction authorities. It also provides a clear overview of the coordination requirements and status with the authorities, line operators and interest groups involved. In this way, the platform enables a direct digital exchange between the various stakeholders and planning offices of the districts and cities involved. The parties involved are looking forward to being able to further intensify the good cooperation to date through the route scout.
The next milestone, public participation, will also be realized with a low-threshold digital tool. On an interactive map, citizens can follow the planned route as clearly as possible and send localized suggestions and comments to the planning team. This information is fed directly into the route scout, where it can then be viewed and processed by the relevant planning office - thus keeping the organizational effort to a minimum. Helpful information can be incorporated directly into the planning process. The start of public participation is planned for summer 2023 and will be announced via the project website and the press.
The website, route scout and participation tool for the RS 8 are being implemented by FixMyCity. The Berlin-based start-up develops digital applications for administrations in the field of transportation transition. It enables cities and local authorities to better plan and communicate transformation processes in the transport sector. The products created are part of a research project funded by the Federal Ministry of Transport called "Modular building block system for fast cycle connections". The solutions developed here can later also be used for other cycle highway projects.
