How to Design a Rather New Cycle Track Useless Step by Step - or how to Waste Money

For several month a rather new Hamburg cycle track close to my home was veiled behind a construction site. Now the cycle track is born again since a few weeks. Another Hotel completes the site, now four hotels are next to the cycle tracks, and in front of each hotel the sidewalks are so tiny that pedestrians are always on the cycle tracks. The road lanes are not affected of course.

Latest redesigned part of the cycle track at new hotel.

At the newest hotel the parking lots are widened, cycle track is moved towards the new building and the sidewalk became smaller, a bench to watch cyclists and some flower buckets.

Hotel site with the straight road lanes.

Some years ago on the opposite side some advertisement was placed just between cycle track and road lane at a crossroad, where now visibility between cyclists and car drivers is affected. The City and the police don´t want to remove advertisement. Since 2007 I am waiting for the first victim.

The cycle track close to the buildings.

Some years ago with the former straight running cycle track.

Billboard covers visibility.

Billboard hides cyclists coming up.

The hotel-line, the cycle track along the hotels is often affected, and the sidewalk too of course.

The planning guidelines for cycle tracks of the City of Hamburg:
PLAST 9
"Eine verkehrssichere Radverkehrsführung in Knotenpunkten wird erreicht durch hohe Anforderungen an die

* Erkennbarkeit
* Übersichtlichkeit

[...]

Grundsätze für die Radverkehrsführung in Knotenpunkten

[...]

Gute Sichtbeziehungen zwischen Radfahrer/innen und anderen Verkehrsteilnehmer/innen sind für die Verkehrssicherheit von entscheidender Bedeutung."

Untitled from Stefan Warda on Vimeo.