The city will soon be able to officially call itself a “bicycle-friendly municipality”.
After a tour of the Puchheim train station, an evaluation committee decided that the city deserves the rating despite individual shortcomings.
Puchheim - The award will be presented at the end of January.
So far, 26 Bavarian cities and municipalities have been recognized as bike-friendly.
During their full-day visit, the representatives of the ADFC bicycle club, the working group for bicycle-friendly municipalities (AGFK) and the Bavarian Ministry of Transport were initially informed by the administration. Then they made their own picture on bicycles (provided by the city).
A bunch of around 20 cyclists visited bicycle stands, streets and paths and were not even honked at, which is said to have happened elsewhere. However, the particularly busy streets were only touched on (Lochhauser Strasse) or left out entirely (Lagerstrasse). During the imperial weather on Thursday you could present yourself “in the best colors”, said Vice Mayor Manfred Sengl. However, the jurors assured that they had already been out and about in sleet and that their judgment would not be clouded by the weather.
The AGFK representative spoke of a good unofficial overall grade - the high level of commitment of the administration for cycling issues, aggressive public relations and extras such as cargo bike rental and senior citizen rickshaw, among other things.
The realistic self-assessment was also rated as positive: Puchheim is clear that many projects need perseverance.
The experts see a need for improvement in the provision of bicycle racks and in the visualization of bicycle traffic through markings and signs.
The local economy, especially the retail sector, should also be made more aware of the concerns of the non-motorized by the city.
The five-member evaluation committee also included the two local members of the state parliament, Hans Friedl and Benjamin Miskowitsch.
Friedl from the neighboring community of Alling spoke of an interesting day on which he was able to get to know a lot about Puchheim and finally announced the unanimous result: Puchheim is therefore bike-friendly and will remain so until another trip in seven years.
The award is linked to a (earmarked) bonus from the Free State of 5500 euros, for which other municipalities have, for example, purchased a permanent bicycle counting station.
The award will be presented to the new winners by Transport Minister Kerstin Schreyer.
OLF PASCHEN