–
The approximately eleven kilometer long footpath and bike path along the Main should be more accessible and safer
More and more people walking and cycling use the popular Main Cycle Path in their free time or for their daily commute. As a result, usage requirements are also increasingly changing – be it the desire for a wider path, better lighting in some places or more rest areas and information boards. The Offenbach magistrate has now decided on the extensive, in part structural, measures required for this. First and foremost, the quality and safety of one of the most important local mobility routes in the Offenbach city area are to be increased.
Planning and traffic department head Paul-Gerhard Weiß on the growing demands: “For several years we have been recording an increasing use of the Main Cycle Path, especially by cyclists. At the same time, many Offenbach residents still use the route on the Main on foot. In order to ensure security and clarity for all users, comprehensive measures are required in the short and medium term, which the city is now getting on its way. “
The bicycle traffic officer Ivonne Gerdts from the Office for Urban Planning, Traffic and Construction Management adds: “The nature of the Main Cycle Path is partly no longer in relation to the use. Especially on nice days, when there is a lot going on and cyclists, walkers and sports enthusiasts are at the same time on the Main, it gets tight, sometimes places are not clearly visible and the route is sometimes difficult to see even in the evening hours. “
The planning of the measures is expected to begin in the spring of 2022. The current task is to obtain the city council resolution, which will be followed by the concrete tendering and awarding of planning services as soon as the Radnetz Deutschland office has received funding. The planned start of construction is at the beginning of 2023, the completion of the construction work is expected at the end of 2023. During the construction work it is planned to set up necessary diversions and to keep disruptions for pedestrians and cyclists as low as possible.
A total of seven fields of action were identified for the upcoming package of measures, which contribute to a significant improvement in the quality of use of the Main Cycle Path. These include the expansion width and surface quality, the elimination of bottlenecks and visual obstructions or measures to increase the quality of stay. The aim is to continue to offer the increasing pedestrian and bicycle traffic a good and safe route along the Main in the future. Overall, cycling and local mobility should become even more attractive – this is the only way to increase the proportion of cycling and reduce transport-related CO2 emissions.
The budget for the package of measures is expected to be three million euros. It is gratifying that the Main Cycle Path is part of the Germany-wide cycle network, the so-called D routes. This means that up to 100 percent of the costs can be covered by nationwide funding from the federal government’s “Expansion and Expansion of the German Cycle Network”.
(Text: PM City Offenbach)
–
