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New cycle path on Wattenscheider Straße: Bochum boosts mobility!
The city of Bochum is testing new cycle paths on Wattenscheider Straße in order to create a better connection to Westpark in 2025.
New cycle path on Wattenscheider Straße: Bochum boosts mobility!
Something is happening on Wattenscheider Straße in Bochum: starting today, the city is starting a traffic trial that is intended to close the gaps in the cycle path network. The aim of this project is to create a direct connection towards the city center and the Jahrhunderthalle. A central component is the newly opened green strip on Hessenstrasse, which is intended to make it easier for cyclists to get in and out. To enable this new access, the parallel lane on Hessenstrasse will be closed to traffic. In this way, those responsible are responding to the increasing need for safe cycling routes.
Last week there was also a lot of work done: the shared footpath and cycle path between the A448 (Bochum-West) and Goldhammer Straße was widened to further increase safety and comfort for cyclists. These measures are particularly important because significant sections of the RS 1 cycle highway have already been completed. Until the entire route is finally completed in 2030, these temporary solutions will serve as a transition and pave the way for relaxed cycling trips.
Long-term planning of the cycle highway
The planning around the Ruhr RS 1 cycle highway is a comprehensive project that aims to sustainably change mobility in Bochum's city center. The feasibility study for its route could not be implemented on Deutsche Bahn's land, which is why a new route had to be found. The first steps to search for a route, including public participation and preliminary planning, were initiated in 2019 and entrusted to the BERNARD Group ZT GmbH. On March 9, 2022, the preferred option for this route was decided, which was defined as a “crossing-free route south of the DB”. This option adapts optimally to the spatial conditions and meets the high standards for cycle highways in the country.
Parallel to the planning, there is ongoing dialogue with the DB to examine route optimization between the Ehrenfeld S-Bahn station and the former Friederika Bahn. The city of Bochum's goal is to build a consistent, safe cycling network that not only serves the main traffic flows, but also includes useful additions to the downstream cycle network. An example of this are the new routes between Lohring and Akademiestraße and Oskar-Hoffmann-Straße between Universitätsstraße and Steinring.
Cycling strategy at national level
The project also fits into a larger strategy: The national cycling plan 3.0, which is to be funded by the federal government until 2030, pursues the overarching goal of making cycling more attractive and safer. A variety of initiatives aim to increase the number of kilometers traveled by bicycle. The plan defines four central pillars of cycling promotion, including the areas of politics, infrastructure, people and economics. Digitalization also plays an important role in further improving the cycling infrastructure.
The vision “Bicycle Country Germany 2030” serves as a guiding principle for everyone involved: Cycling should become an everyday form of mobility that is safe and pleasant. For this to succeed, both cities and municipalities must actively work to improve the cycling infrastructure, while the federal government acts as a coordinator and sponsor. Through these joint efforts in Bochum and elsewhere, cycling in Germany is gradually being made sustainable.
The measures on Wattenscheider Straße are just the beginning of a longer journey. It remains to be hoped that further planning and implementation will progress quickly and Bochum will become an even more bicycle-friendly place.