Improved air quality through new cycle paths
For some time now, new cycle paths have been popping up on Berlin's pavement. At the end of April 2020, Charlottenburg's Kantstrasse, one of the most important tangents leading into the City West, also received a pop-up cycle path. The results have now been evaluated, with astonishing numbers.
In order to achieve pop-up cycle lanes quickly, some things have to change. The parking spaces that have been removed have been moved to the middle of the carriageway. Cars now park on a strip between the busy lane and the cycle lane. Now, for the first time, an evaluation has been made of the impact of this new cycle path on traffic as a whole. The result is encouraging: according to the German Environmental Aid (DUH), motor vehicle traffic on Kantstrasse has decreased by 22 percent. The number of bicycles, on the other hand, has increased from 1500 to 5100 bicycles a day since its introduction, more than tripling.
Barbara Metz from DUH also sees advantages for pedestrians, as the danger to the weakest road users from cyclists on the pavement decreases. Nitrogen dioxide pollution has also been reduced: Before the introduction of cycle lanes, between 33 and 35 µg/m³ were measured, now it is only between 21 and 25 µg/m³.
New cycle lanes of this kind are already planned in the German capital. Data is currently being collected for Kottbusser Tor/Damm, Frankfurter Allee, Hermannstrasse and Tempelhofer Damm, among others.
Whether more pop-up cycle lanes will reduce pollution in Berlin's air as a whole, and thus prevent new environmental zones and driving bans, remains to be seen.