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The weather for cycling is not ideal at the moment, but the special program “City and Country”, which the Federal Ministry of Transport has launched, will run until 2023. The program is intended to promote the expansion of cycle paths and create a “nationwide cycling infrastructure in Germany”.
According to information from WELT AM SONNTAG, 660 million euros will be available for this over the next three years.
In total, the federal government will provide around 1.46 billion euros for cycling by 2023.
The program starts at the beginning of next week.
From then on, the federal states can apply for funding from the pot.
What is new about the process is that for the first time the federal government can support states and municipalities directly with the construction and expansion of the cycling infrastructure.
Where investments are made depends on the needs reported by the municipalities.
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"We set the framework, and the municipalities decide with the federal states which measures are most suitable on site," said Federal Transport Minister Andreas Scheuer (CSU).
“Together with the federal states, we will ensure that the money arrives quickly and unbureaucratically where it is most useful.
In other words, where people benefit immediately and quickly notice improvements. "
The General German Bicycle Club had repeatedly criticized that the National Bicycle Traffic Plan had not been implemented in key points.
Thanks to the new funding program, among other things, the federal government has tripled its investments by 2023, but the expansion of the cycle network is still going “far too slowly”, according to the ADFC.
With the funds from the immediate program, cycle paths that are as separate from road traffic as possible are to be expanded and built, as well as cycle roads, bridges, underpasses and parking facilities.
In addition, the promotion of networking between various modes of transport and cargo bike traffic is planned.
The projects are supported by 75 percent from the program; in financially and structurally weak regions it can be up to 90 percent.
Until now, due to the legal situation, it has not been possible for the federal government to directly support the cycling infrastructure of the federal states and municipalities - apart from cycle superhighways on federal highways.
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The 660 million euros now earmarked for this come from the climate package.
How much of this each federal state receives depends not only on the number of inhabitants and area but also on the share of CO2 emissions from road traffic in the respective state and the share of cycling in total traffic there.
In Germany, according to the Federal Environment Agency, 257 million journeys with a little over 3.2 billion person-kilometers are covered every day - eleven percent of the journeys and three percent of the person-kilometers by bicycle.
The trend has been increasing sharply in recent years.
Especially in the big cities.
In metropolises like Berlin, cycling now has a significant share in total traffic.
Within five years it has increased in the capital from 13 to 18 percent.
But in many cities and in rural areas, the infrastructure necessary for safe cycling does not grow with them.
In many cases, despite increasing demand, there are no cycle paths or they are in poor condition - not to mention a continuous network.
In addition, the cycle paths are often in the immediate vicinity and without any structural separation from car traffic.
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This text is from WELT AM SONNTAG. We will be happy to deliver them to your home on a regular basis.
Source: Welt am Sonntag