Germany : access all areas
This story is part of our youReport series.
It is common in German towns and cities to provide widespread pedestriansation in centres. City centres in Germany seem to be alive, teeming with people, shopping or whiling their time away, enjoying the atmosphere and surroundings. It is also common to provide a fair amount of cycling access…
The photos below show some examples from North Germany that I have collated over the past years. It covers Braunschweig, Wolfenbüttel, Hanover and Bremen (in no particular order). This comes highly topical at a time when we managed to get sight of a report, commissioned by Newcastle City Council, that categorically recommends to trial cycle access on Northumberland Street between 17:00 and 10:00 (am).
Photo 1 – Hanover, unrestricted bike access
Photo 2 – Hanover, unrestricted bike access
Photo 3 – Braunschweig, unrestricted bike access
Photo 4 – Braunschweig, unrestricted bike access
Photo 5 – Wolfenbüttel, unrestricted bike access
Photo 6 – Hanover, access between 19:00-11:00 (am)
Photo 7 – Wolfenbüttel, bike access between 19:00-08:30 (am)
Photo 8 – Braunschweig, bike access between 20:00-09:00(am)
Photo 9 – Bremen, weekday bike access 20:00-11:00(am), unrestricted weekends and bank holidays
And finally, here is a representation of cycle access in my hometown Braunschweig in its pedestrianised city centre:
Ultimately, there is something intrinsically friendly and welcoming about a city that allows access for bikes.