KCan you close two out of four lanes to cars on a four-lane main traffic artery like Offenbacher Waldstrasse and only allow bicycles and buses on them without causing the traffic to collapse in permanent traffic jams? You can, says Offenbach traffic department head Sabine Groß (The Greens).
It is based on the initial study results that traffic scientists from Darmstadt University presented on Tuesday in an interim report on the test, which is taking place on a section of Waldstrasse in the section between Bleichstrasse and Hessenring/Friedrichsring.
In fact, there were no typical traffic jam symptoms at traffic lights on the test route, as Jürgen Follmann, a professor specializing in traffic planning at Darmstadt University, said. One could speak of a traffic jam when drivers have to wait at a traffic light for two cycles. Such symptoms have not been observed so far.
The narrowing also did not lead to a shift in traffic to parallel streets, as Thomas Marx, a research assistant at Darmstadt University of Applied Sciences, said. Both were fears that were also expressed on social media by Offenbach residents and commuters.
On the other hand, the citizens' initiative Radentscheid Offenbach is calling for Waldstrasse, a central traffic axis in the city in a north-south direction, to be made safe for cycling. This basically fits in with the city's transport transition towards more environmentally and climate-friendly mobility, which also includes adapting the infrastructure more closely to cycling.
More bicycle traffic by setting up bicycle lanes
The city has been pursuing this goal since 2018. Under the title “Bike Offenbach” they began to set up a nine-kilometer bicycle road network and six bicycle axles. However, Offenbach still cannot currently be classified as a cycling city, as Follmann continued. At ten to 15 percent, the share of the total traffic volume is comparatively low. However, there is much to suggest that this proportion can be improved by further promoting cycling.
For department head Groß, it makes sense to make Waldstrasse, with its current four lanes, more usable for bicycle traffic, especially since the Albert Schweitzer School, a daycare center, and a number of companies and traders are located on the street. Groß pointed out that not a single parking space would be lost with the bicycle lanes.
In the experiment, the Darmstadt scientists found that the newly established cycle lanes were often used illegally by drivers. When counted, around 720 of 2,500 cars would have driven on the patrols.
However, this could also be due to the fact that the newly applied yellow stripes were not immediately recognized as the obligatory traffic guidance, especially by people outside the area. In addition, it was not yet possible to refresh the markings because the temperatures were too low.
When observing traffic, the people of Darmstadt also noticed that many students at the Albert Schweitzer School cross the busy forest road very often without using the pedestrian crossing. They therefore recommend a speed limit of 30 km/h there during the day.
According to Groß, this is already in the works, the signs are just not finished yet.
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