Austrian forays

Through Dad's German bank account I am registered to receive Radwelt (Bicycleworld) - equivalent to the CTC cycle magazine. This edition of Radwelt contained an intriguing article on Velo-City Vienna. It was discussing soft measures (promo particularly, as they do not get hung up about adult cycle training as much as we do in the UK) vs hard ones.


After describing a lot of promotional activities
such as (parades, readings, films), it reads like this.

The bicycle official Herr Blum is also aware of the dangers of an over-staging of cycling.  If the infrastructure doesn't not grow along all the intellectual events, then Vienna's bike-friendly bubble risks bursting. "You need both. The people have to feel that cycling is taken seriously by the city's decision-makers. And it is this visibility that we are aiming for" explains Blum.

Alec Hager explains how important this push is "We know that the majority of the strategic cycle routes, built in the 80s and 90s, are jammed up." For example Margaretenstraße:  the narrow two-way cycle paths is one of the arterial routes into the city centre. Since 2002, cycling levels have doubled. We are striving for 10% bike modal share, and that means that the number of people cycling will double again. "This is why Vienna must develop bike-highways of four metres width - like they have in Copenhagen." continues Herr Hager.

Newcycling had a lovely Vienna article this week too and Seville also a city of the same modal share of Vienna.

That's Austria covered. As for Germans? They are scared.




Thanks for Cyclist in the City for uploading and Vole O'Speed (for the tweet). If anyone wanted a translation, let me know.