[ad_1]
The administrative court of Berlin has granted an urgent lawsuit against the so-called emerging cycle lanes in the capital. Due to “serious doubts about the legality” of the eight temporary bike lanes, the corresponding signage will now be removed. The court forced the Senate Transit administration to do so, as a Monday message reads.
Danger situation was not explained
The reason for the decision is that the prerequisites for the installation of the additional bicycle infrastructure were not met. Temporary bike lanes can only be ordered by the Senate Chancellery when the safety and traffic load indicate “a very specific risk situation” and, therefore, the order is absolutely necessary, according to the court. The Senate Administration has not presented such a dangerous situation. The pandemic also could not be used as an occasion for orders, as it was not about “traffic-related considerations”.
When Sen. Regine Günther (Greens) initiated road markings in the crown crisis, she gave reason for wanting to ensure system-relevant mobility in the pandemic. Since most Berliners do not have a car and the minimum distance by public transport can hardly be observed, they decided to install additional cycling infrastructure by eliminating one lane of car traffic in many places.
20 percent of public transport drivers switched to bicycles.
Temporary cycle lanes have been created in many German cities. Berlin was the first, eight temporary cycle lanes were created here. The basic idea was that people should keep a distance from each other – at least 1.50 meters – to avoid catching the new virus and conventional cycle lanes are insufficient. Especially not, because more people got on the bike than usual during the crisis. Meanwhile, 20 percent of regular public transport passengers have switched, shows a mobility report commissioned by the Federal Ministry of Education.
Most of the temporary bike paths in Berlin will remain in place after the crisis. This is possible because they are “required by the Mobility Act anyway”, explains Felix Weisbrich, director of the office for roads and green spaces in the Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg district. It remains to be seen to what extent the court order will take effect in the meantime: the decision to remove the bike paths can now be appealed to the Higher Administrative Court of Berlin-Brandenburg.
