Monday 3, July
8,000 cyclists demonstrate against Berlin bike path freeze
Berlin’s new government hasn’t been making too many friends lately. On Sunday afternoon, thousands of Berliners took to the streets to protest one of the new coalition’s most controversial decisions: the plan to freeze all planned new bike lanes – and even to close some which had already been completed.
Police estimated that 8,000 people turned out, while organisers put the number around 13,000. Either way, it was clear that many people are angry with the decision from Berlin’s new Transport Senator Manja Schreiner (CDU). For some, it might seem like a minor issue, but organisers were eager to stress that safe cycling is a matter of life and death: the route for the protest passed two “ghost bikes”, memorials erected for cyclists killed in traffic accidents.
It was already clear in their election campaign that the CDU would govern as much as possible in the interests of motorists – and this policy certainly reflects that. According to the traffic administration, the CDU’s plans will eliminate any planned bike paths which impact bus lanes, restrict public transport, commercial or delivery traffic or would lead to the elimination of multiple parking spaces. After all, who doesn’t visit a European capital city and think: if only there were more commercial and delivery traffic?
