On-site infrastructure | Regional cycle paths as a component of the mobility transition
All municipal climate protection programs rely on a mobility transition that drastically increases the proportion of cycling. Recurring everyday traffic offers great potential here, especially commuting to and from work. This is particularly true for Darmstadt; after all, Germany's commuter capital: In percentage terms, most employees commute into the city - mostly by car. If you want to increase climate protection and quality of life in the neighborhoods, attractive alternatives for everyday transport from the surrounding area must be created. Well-developed and continuous cycle paths from the surrounding area make an important contribution to this - in addition to the expansion of public transport. In order to take advantage of the opportunities that lie in regional cycling, the plans of neighboring municipalities must be coordinated and implemented in a coordinated manner, which proves to be difficult in practice.
Challenges: Shared responsibilities and funding jungle
Planning and implementing regional cycle routes is not one of the classic tasks of local administrations. It should also be noted that there are shared responsibilities for state and federal roads as well as forest roads. There are also requirements from related legal areas, such as nature conservation and water law. Translating regional cycling planning into concrete implementation measures therefore entails many additional tasks for employees in the municipal administration.
In addition, the financing of cycle paths - in contrast to car roads - is regulated through funding programs. The different requirements from the individual funding programs of the federal and state ministries must be taken into account and coordinated with each other.
For municipalities and cities, in addition to planning and implementation, there is also a jungle of different funding measures. All of this often appears to be an insurmountable hurdle. This situation is not only evident in the surrounding area of Darmstadt. Almost all regions in Germany face similar problems.
Starting point: action situation of those responsible on site
The administration responsible for implementation doesn't have it easy: it operates in an environment dominated by local politics and is dependent on the support of the political level. Success can only be expected if regional cycle path expansion is high on the political agenda and this is reflected in human resources and budget decisions. Experience shows that local initiatives, but also private individuals, can provide important impetus. But even if it is possible to create a supportive environment in this way, there are still enough legal and administrative as well as practical planning and financial hurdles to overcome.
Network for bicycle-friendly infrastructure: The district is continuing the activities
Insight
In the “Innovative Local Mobility” project, an interdisciplinary team analyzed the hurdles in expanding the regional bicycle-friendly infrastructure. The starting point was the observation that there is a cycling concept in the Darmstadt-Dieburg district; However, it was unclear how the implementation would work. The project therefore organized – following on from a “salon discussion” in the Schader Forum – an in-depth “workshop discussion” in which mayors and those responsible for cycling from the region took part. The experiences of the city of Offenbach and the neighboring municipalities provided important impulses. Interviews with those responsible in the administrations of the cities, municipalities and the district led to initial ideas: The use of cross-community project management would be advantageous. In addition, direct exchange and those involved in the region can be improved.
The project team, in coordination with the district's cycling manager, organized several network meetings in which the actors exchanged ideas and specific challenges emerged: For example, dealing with requirements from nature conservation and water law represents a hurdle to expansion.
Conclusion after one year of network development: The structure should continue to exist even after the end of the project. Those involved agree to continue the activities in the future under the coordination of the district. A new funding program from the state of Hesse is intended to support this.