Fast cycle connections

Cycle highways are characterized by a particularly high standard of construction:

• Cycle highways are particularly long: total distance at least 5 kilometers
• Cycle highways are particularly wide: in one-way traffic at least 3 meters, in two-way traffic at least 4 meters, in combination with agricultural traffic even 5 meters
• Cycle highways have a high quality surface: asphalted or concreted throughout
• Cycle highways usually run separately from motor vehicle and pedestrian traffic (see further information in the question "And what about pedestrians?")
• Cycle highways have sufficiently large curve radii to minimize the risk of accidents in curves and allow faster cycling
• Cycle highways have the lowest possible gradient
• Cycle highways should run as far as possible without intersections

In the quality standards for fast cycle routes in Baden-Württemberg, binding standards are defined for different types of route. These should be adhered to as far as possible along the entire route; only in exceptional cases is it possible to deviate from a reduced standard or the target network standard for RadNETZ Baden-Württemberg.

The Baden-Württemberg Road Act regulates the classification of roads, which are divided into different groups according to their traffic importance. Recently, this classification also applies to cycle highways. Like roads, these are dedicated as state, district or municipal roads.

This classification also determines who is responsible for construction.

The administrative unit that is responsible for the planning, construction and maintenance of the road (or in our case, the cycle highway) is referred to as the responsible body.

Whether a cycle highway is classified as a state, district or municipal cycle highway depends on its connecting function and the daily potential of cyclists. Routes with a supra-regional connecting function and a potential of more than 2,500 cyclists per day are classified as state cycle highways , while routes with a local connecting function and a potential of 2,000 cyclists or more per day are classified as district cycle highways. If the potential is lower, a cycle highway can also be developed as a local cycle highway .

The decision is made by the regional council after consultation with the Ministry of Transport on the basis of feasibility studies commissioned by the rural or urban districts.

State cycle highway: The state is responsible for construction. For municipalities with a population of 30,000 or more: the local authority is responsible for construction within the district.

• For the RSV Bietigheim-Bissingen<>Stuttgart this means: The state of Baden-Württemberg and the municipalities of Bietigheim-Bissingen, Ludwigsburg and Kornwestheim are responsible for construction within the local thoroughfares

District cycle highway: The district is responsible for construction. For municipalities with a population of 30,000 or more: the local authority is responsible for construction within the local thoroughfares.

• This means for the RSV Vaihingen/Enz<>Stuttgart: The district is responsible for construction, as none of the municipalities concerned has more than 30,000 inhabitants
• The RSV Ludwigsburg<>Waiblingen (RS8) was also classified as a district cycle highway

Community cycle highway: The municipalities are responsible for construction.

How can you actually imagine a cycle highway like this? How many people ride there, is it even possible to cross it on foot? To give you a better idea, we have visualized cycle highways with three different potentials. In each case, the so-called "peak hour" is shown. This is defined as 1/10 of the daily traffic volume (DTV). The simulations were created by Schlothauer & Wauer on behalf of the Ludwigsburg District Office.

prepared by the Chair of Traffic Planning and Traffic Control Engineering, Institute of Road and Transportation Engineering at the University of Stuttgart

in cooperation with the Baden-Württemberg Ministry of Transport

The responsibility for funding lies with the public authorities (click here for the relevant question). If several public authorities are involved, they negotiate a corresponding distribution formula.

Of course, cycle highways initially involve high investment costs, but there are very good funding opportunities. For example, the federal government provides the federal states with financial assistance for planning and construction as part of the "Cycle Superhighways 2017-2030" program. In combination with funding from the federal state, the funding rate is up to 90 percent of the eligible costs.

A resounding yes!

A project is always worthwhile if the benefit-cost factor (comparison of the investment costs and the expected economic benefits) of the construction measure is above 1.0 . The economic benefits include, for example, savings in environmental costs, improved health, savings in the operating costs of other infrastructure, travel time and a reduction in the mortality rate. The costs include construction costs and maintenance costs.

• Benefit-cost factor for the RSV Bietigheim-Bissingen<>Stuttgart: 5.1
• Benefit-cost factor for the RS 8 Ludwigsburg<>Waiblingen: 1.9

The expected economic benefit is therefore significantly higher than the costs for both cycle highways.

The RS8 is already in the planning stage.

Planning for the other high-speed cycle connections can begin as soon as funding is secured . The first step is therefore to apply for funding from the state and federal government. As a rule, this is carried out by a construction authority for the entire cycle highway.

When the construction of the cycle highways will be completed depends on many different factors, e.g. the completion of the final planning, negotiations with landowners for possible land acquisition, the availability of construction companies etc. Of course, all those involved are striving to implement the cycle highways as quickly as possible.

Some stakeholders, the so-called TÖB (public interest bodies), must be included in the planning process. These include, among others:

• Municipality
• Traffic authority
• Environmental authority
• Agricultural authority
• Forestry authority

Associations such as nature conservation organizations or farmers' associations as well as affected property owners should also be consulted.

In addition, citizens' initiatives, active associations such as the ADFC or the general public can also be involved. Such public participation consists of information and the opportunity to comment on the plans presented.

A clear no: To date, all high-speed cycle connection projects in the Ludwigsburg district are still in the (preliminary) planning phase, in which no route has yet been defined.

In the course of the feasibility studies carried out, the potential volume of cycling traffic was forecast, route variants were examined and - in close consultation with the municipalities involved - so-called preferred variants were defined. Various criteria were taken into account when evaluating the route. In addition to infrastructural aspects, ecological aspects and the interaction between the various road users were also taken into account.

It is important to note that the resulting preferred route is only a recommendation from the planning office. The actual route will be specified in the later planning phase with all those involved, modified if necessary and finally decided by the political decision-makers. Public participation is also planned.

To ensure that cycle highways are actually used and that many people are persuaded to switch to them, the cycle highways must be connected to as many residential and commercial areas as possible.

Various feeder roads are therefore needed to connect the municipalities to the cycle highway. However, as the planning for the cycle highways has not yet begun, or is only in the initial phase for the RS 8, and therefore the exact route has not yet been determined, there are only initial considerations for the feeder roads. These can then be fleshed out as the planning progresses.

First of all: although it is called RadSCHNELLweg, this does not mean that speed is the top priority here. The most important goal is and remains to improve safety for cyclists and all other road users. The fact that you can make "fast" progress on cycle highways is not necessarily due to increased speed, but rather to the fact that cycle highways are wide enough to allow safe overtaking and that they have no detours and few junctions that force you to brake. As a result, and also due to the low gradients and the good quality of the surface, a higher average speed can be achieved and the overall journey time reduced.

The high-speed cycle paths should be designed in such a way that they can be used safely even at high speeds (30 km/h with a clear route). Taking into account time losses at junctions, an average travel speed of at least 20 km/h should be possible.

Yes, indeed: the aim of the cycle highway is to encourage more people to switch to bicycles. Including, of course, those who have previously traveled by car. If the cycle highway is well received, this also means that there are fewer cars on the road overall and the remaining cars can get through more easily. A cycle highway can therefore help to prevent traffic jams.

In the Netherlands, the "Fiets filevrij" project was even launched in 2006 for this reason. As part of the Dutch government's national anti-congestion program, the construction and use of cycle highways was actively promoted as a measure in the fight against traffic jams. In fact, 5 to 15% of those who commute by car could be persuaded to switch to cycling(source here). If we can also achieve this with the cycle highway projects in the Ludwigsburg district, a lot will have been done to relieve congestion on the roads.

In principle, cycle traffic should be routed separately from pedestrian traffic in order to prevent potential conflicts from the outset. Both routes should be as wide as possible and - if they do not run independently of each other anyway - separated from each other by structural separation (green or gravel strips) or wide separation strips.

Joint routing of bicycle and pedestrian traffic will only be possible in exceptional cases and only if there are only a few pedestrians (max. 25 people in the peak hour for bicycle traffic). As everywhere else in road traffic, mutual consideration applies to shared guidance !

However, it is also true that even if the name is reminiscent of an expressway, cycle highways should never be thought of as such, i.e. as impassable lanes in the landscape for all other road users. Crossing aids or even traffic lights for pedestrians crossing will not be needed. Even with high volumes of cycling traffic, there are always large gaps that pedestrians can use to cross safely.

Country lanes are often a good basis for cycle highways: They are often beautifully situated in the countryside, at the same time often parallel to major roads and are already paved or asphalted, so that less new land would have to be sealed . At the same time, however, these paths serve agricultural traffic and also have an important recreational function for walkers. To ensure that road users do not get in each other's way and that everyone can travel safely, sections of the route that are intended for simultaneous use by cyclists and agricultural traffic are planned with a generous track width of 5 meters. If a particularly large number of pedestrians are also expected, the width is widened to 6.50 meters.

There is an important reason for the consistent priority given to high-speed cycle connections: together with the minimization of intersections, it ensures the high travel speeds that make the switch to cycling attractive and thus make high-speed cycle paths an important building block in the traffic turnaround. However, this does not mean that cycling has a clear path at every junction and that all other road users are constantly slowed down.

Priority can be achieved in various ways and always depends on the situation on the ground. In addition to giving way by means of signage, traffic lights can also be switched to be cycle-friendly or central islands can be built. A very attractive but also more expensive alternative are so-called plan-free solutions, i.e. bridges or underpasses.

The specific requirement is: "The average time lost per kilometer due to stopping and waiting should not exceed 15 seconds (out of town) and 30 seconds (in town)." In the quality standards and model solutions for high-speed cycle connections in Baden-Württemberg, the lost times of the various solutions (traffic lights, traffic circles, bridges, etc.) are calculated.

As with any other construction project, the impact on nature, animals and the environment should be kept as low as possible when building cycle highways. To this end, a number of studies are carried out as part of the planning process and - where impairment is unavoidable - interventions in nature are compensated for by compensatory measures . This means that improvements are made elsewhere, e.g. new tree planting or unsealing.

As with any other construction project, the impact on nature, animals and the environment should be kept to a minimum when building cycle highways. To this end, a number of studies are carried out as part of the planning process and - where impairment is unavoidable - interventions in nature are compensated for by compensatory measures . This means that improvements are made elsewhere, e.g. new tree planting or unsealing.

In order to keep the impact on nature to a minimum, cycle highways are mainly planned on existing and already asphalted paths. In some cases, however, these must be widened in order to achieve the required minimum width of approx. 4-5 meters. This sealing must be compensated for elsewhere with compensatory measures (see also the question "What about nature conservation?"). However, it is also important to keep the larger goal in mind: The more attractive the cycle highways become, the more commuters can be persuaded to switch from car to bike. This reduces the volume of motorized private transport - a benefit for the environment and climate.

The elimination of individual parking spaces cannot be ruled out. After all, the space needed for the cycle highway must be saved elsewhere. Less motorized traffic is not only a benefit for the climate, but also for the citizens, who - especially in inner cities - have to endure less noise and exhaust fumes.

Studies have shown that the elimination of parking spaces in no way worsens the situation for retailers; in fact, sales often increase if the cycle path runs through the city center. On the one hand, cyclists also have purchasing power, and on the other, less car traffic increases the quality of stay and thus invites people to linger.

Cycle highways have priority in the "winter network" and should therefore be treated like main roads. This means completing the clearing work before the morning rush hour or before school starts. The road should always be passable in winter between 06:00 and 22:00. In addition, no snow should be deposited on cycle highways. Of course, this also includes year-round cleaning, which is very important in the fall, for example.

The regulations differentiate between urban and non-urban areas. In urban areas, the path should be illuminated - this is usually already provided by the existing street lighting. Out of town, lighting is only provided at problem and danger spots, such as bottlenecks, obstacles, junctions or underpasses, for nature conservation and economic reasons. If lighting is provided, it should be as insect-friendly as possible.

At all other points, the high-contrast double edge marking (white lane boundary line + green accompanying line) ensures that the path is clearly visible. Structural measures can also be implemented to reduce glare from vehicles, for example.

If lighting is required, it is important to take nature conservation concerns into account (keyword: insect-friendliness); dynamic, demand-controlled solutions, for example, are an option here.

Cycle highways are marked with a special StVO sign (sign 451). In addition, signs and pillars are installed at regular intervals to provide information on orientation and the entire route of the cycle highway. Ground pictograms and double edge markings (white lane boundary line + green accompanying line) ensure that the routes are easily recognizable.

As with roads, this is primarily ensured by regular inspection and maintenance. The inspection frequency is the same as for main roads. This includes a visual inspection of the surfaces (evenness, grip, potholes, cracks, etc.) at least once a week to maintain road safety. The signposting is checked twice a year.

In addition, a standardized condition survey and assessment (ZEB) is to be carried out every 5 years. This ensures that the cycle highway can be used properly at all times.

A - non-official - overview of all cycle highway projects in Germany can be found here: https: //radschnellwege.chilla.dev/. Incidentally, the creators are looking forward to receiving lots of feedback so that they can update the map even further.