Pop-Up Cycle Paths in Vienna Stay Until November
The pop-up cycle paths in the Praterstraße, Lassallestraße and Wagramer Straße are staying until November due to their popularity. The party ÖVP is accusing the city council that the continuation is a "pure election campaign populism".
Three pop-up cycle paths have been extended unitl November. / Picture: © Flickr / In_Zukunft_Wien (CC BY-ND 2.0)
Vice mayor Birgit Hebein extended the duration of the pop-up cycle paths in the Leopoldstadt and Donaustadt as they were used very frequently by cyclists.
In spring, the city council changed car lines into cycle paths in order to react on the significantly increasing numbers of cyclists in the city.
About 5.4 million cyclists were on the streets of Vienna from January to July 2020. This is a rise of 14.7% compared to the previous three years average (2017-2019).
According to the counting of the TU Wien in June, there were 900 cyclists per hour using the path at the Praterstraße. At the Lasallestraße, there were 700 cyclists per hour.
The pop-up cycle path in the Hörlgasse, 9th district, however, will not be extended as it "has not been identified as the optimal solution for bicycle traffic".
The ÖVP is criticizing that instead of temporary cycle paths it is more important to focus on sustainable solutions as the expansion of Park&Ride facilities and the timely and cost-effective completion of the U2/U5.
"(Mayor) Ludwig must stop his vice-mayor, but he rather watches inactively", says traffic speaker Manfred Juraczka from the ÖVP.
Furthermore, it is important to him that the city council should include all road users in the traffic politics.