The traffic routes in Munich are getting tighter - and the tone is sharper. The city is dense due to construction sites and rush hour traffic, and cyclists have to use footpaths.
- Munich is definitely not a bicycle capital . The infrastructure lags far behind the demands.
- The traffic routes in the city are becoming more and more crowded - this also increases the risk .
- Serious accidents happen almost every day , mostly between cyclists and pedestrians .
- Experts complain about the impairment of security and call on the city to take action.
Munich - cars against cyclists, cyclists against pedestrians: the tone on Munich's streets is getting harder and harder - the traffic is characterized by hectic pace and aggression. And everyone takes the space they need. The problem: The city is almost dense due to construction sites and rush hour traffic. Only those who have to use buses and trains during Corona. All of this means that the bike paths in Munich are now also overcrowded - and pedal knights keep turning to footpaths, especially to the detriment of senior citizens, who are more and more victims of serious accidents. How can this problem be solved?
Bicycle accidents in Munich: how often it crashes per year - pedestrians are often to blame
There are serious bicycle accidents in Munich almost every day - and pedestrians are often involved. In recent years, the number of serious accidents between the two parties has always been at least 200. For 2019, statistics from the city make it clear: In almost 60 percent of these accidents, pedestrians are the cause - in the other cases, cyclists. The traffic report by the police for 2019 shows: Around a quarter of the accidents involving pedestrians involved a collision with a cyclist.
And these days the issue becomes even more pressing. There are discussions in the city council about the dangers on Leopoldstrasse, on which a "bicycle motorway" is supposed to be built. There are a particularly large number of pedestrians here: They get off and on at temporary bus stops - because they use the replacement traffic for the closed subway. There are also discussions about the compulsory cycle path: In various places there is currently a dispute about whether cyclists are allowed to use the road, although there is a separate strip for them. In some such cases, the city even recommends the street for cyclists.
Cycling in Munich: situation more dangerous - also because of technical progress
Franziska Miroschnikoff heads the Mobility and Transport Committee in the state capital's senior citizens' advisory board . She knows: "The situation in Munich has changed and has become more dangerous - because bicycle traffic is also constantly increasing." Many bicycles are now highly technical and drive faster than we used to know. “In addition, electric scooters often drive on the sidewalk. Unfortunately, this results in some problems for seniors. "
In city traffic, cyclists are more and more often the cause of accidents and pedestrians are the victims , Richard Kramschuster (59) observed. The expert from the General German Bicycle Club (ADFC) in Munich does not believe that cyclists have generally become more aggressive. “These accidents are also related to the fact that the proportion of cyclists has increased significantly, but their place has no longer become. This situation has become extreme since Corona. "
Nonetheless, it seems that many urban cyclists often do not stick to red lights. An alarming study recently showed frightening numbers:
Munich: "Cycling infrastructure in the region is largely out of date"
Specifically, according to the ADFC , the proportion of bicycle traffic in Munich has increased steadily in recent years to around 20 percent today - and continues to grow. "Due to the corona, significantly more people in Munich cycle, they use the bike more often and for longer distances," says ADFC spokeswoman Martina Tollkühn.
Richard Kramschuster sees short-term cycle paths in the city as "basically positive", but the implementation is "rather provisional". There are often parking spaces right next to them and drivers have to cross. Cycle paths that end in the middle of the street are also problematic. Only continuous and sufficiently wide cycle paths are safe.
The bicycle club has been complaining for some time: “The bicycle traffic infrastructure in the Munich region is lagging far behind the development in terms of bicycle use. For the most part, it is out of date, clearly undersized, often interrupted and sometimes neither safe nor convenient to use. This leads to an increased risk of accidents. "
But the city wants to change this situation: by 2025, more than one billion euros is to be invested in the Munich bicycle network. (THI / KF / PF)
