Munich Considering Bicyclist Super Highway

Munich wants to build a network of bike lanes running through the city and into the suburbs, in a bid to encourage car-free commuting

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By Alex Davies

Wired

GERMANY GETS A lot of things right. Huge beer mugs. Amusingly long words made up on a whim. And best of all, a highway system made for going as fast as possible.

Now, Munich wants to extend the thrill of the open highway to cyclists with a network of bike lanes running through the city and into the suburbs, in a bid to encourage car-free commuting.

The ambitious plan calls for a network of 14 two-way bike paths, each 13 feet wide and fully segregated from automobile traffic, that would spread out over an area of about 400 square miles. No crossroads, no traffic lights. It’s an autobahn for cyclists, or, as the Germans obviously call it, a Radschnellverbindungen.

Rush hour traffic into and out of Munich is a problem, says Birgit Kastrop, an urban planner working on the proposal. Public transportation is near capacity, so encouraging cycling is a logical way to ease the burden. “This might be a little solution for reducing this problem.”

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