Emerging bike lanes in Berlin: court annuls temporary bike lanes; the Senate goes to the next instance

The emerging bike lanes built in Berlin must be dismantled. The administrative court of Berlin decided in an urgent procedure. There were “serious doubts about the legality of the bicycle lane facilities,” the administrative court said in a statement on Monday. Therefore, all traffic signs and lane markings associated with bike lanes should be removed. Berlin AfD MPs Frank Scholtysek and MP Marc Vallendar had complained.

The eight emerging bike lanes affected are as follows:

• Gitschiner Strasse / Skalitzer Strasse between Halleschem Tor and Kottbusser Straße
• Hallesches ufer between Halleschem Tor and Köthener Straße
• Kottbusser Damm / Kottbusser Strasse between Kottbusser Tor and Hermannplatz
• Lichtenberger Strasse between Holzmarktstrasse and Straussberger Platz
• St. Petersburg Street between Bersarinplatz and Landsberger Allee
• Tempelhofer Ufer between Schöneberger Strasse and Halleschem Tor
• Schöneberger Ufer between Potsdamer Brücke and Koethener Strasse
• Kantstrasse and Neue Kantstrasse between Messedamm and Budapester Straße

You can read the press release of the Berlin Administrative Court on the urgent procedure for emerging cycle lanes here.

Emerging bike lanes in Berlin: according to the court, the traffic administration has not presented any danger

In their justification, the judges did not declare that emerging bike lanes are fundamentally illegal. The Senate Traffic Administration could establish limited bike lanes without the need to partially retract the road. It is also harmless if the cycle lane is in the lane previously used by car traffic and that the cycle lanes are only enabled for a limited period.

Also read comment: Senator’s verdict on pop-up bike lanes is a failure

However, cycle lanes should only be installed where the volume of traffic and the course of the cycle pose specific risks to cyclists and therefore the arrangement is absolutely necessary. This should be proven by traffic counts or traffic violation data and accident figures. However, the Senate Traffic Administration had not presented such a dangerous situation, instead “incorrectly assumed that it did not have to justify a dangerous situation,” the justices ruled. The facts indicating a specific risk for bicycle traffic on the affected road sections could not be inferred from the justification of the order.

Thus, the court’s decision corresponds in principle to the results of a legal opinion drawn up by the Parliamentary Scientific Service of the Chamber of Deputies.

During the corona pandemic in the spring, the traffic administration established temporary bike lanes on several major highways in response to the expected increase in bicycle traffic. This has increased by around a quarter compared to the previous year in recent months. Meanwhile, more than 25 kilometers of emerging cycle lanes have been arranged in this way in Berlin.

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The Berlin Senate goes to the next instance

The Senate Transportation Administration (SenUVK), headed by Transportation Senator Regine Günther (Greens), announced on Monday a complaint against the decision in the Superior Administrative Court (OVG). “There are fundamental issues in the room that the administrative court did not adequately consider in its urgent decision from the SenUVK point of view,” the traffic administration reported. A decision by the OVG is required “to maintain future legal certainty for the subsequent procedure when organizing cycle lanes.”

The plaintiff was satisfied. “This is a victory for individual mobility against hatred of cars,” he said. AfD Scholtysek politician after the court decision is known. The other opposition factions also welcomed the verdict. The Senate now has to review each bike lane again, he said. The leader of the FDP parliamentary group Sebastian Czaja. “Only if this really contributes to improving traffic flow and eliminating dangerous situations, can the bike lane be stabilized, otherwise it must be eliminated immediately,” he claimed. The verdict was “a fiasco” for Transport Senator Günther, he found Oliver Friederici, CDU transport politician. The senator remains obligated to come up with portable solutions for growing bicycle traffic that will stand up to legal scrutiny.

Emerging bike lanes in Berlin – more on the topic:

How bicycle traffic has changed along emerging bike lanes

Enlarge chart