By 2030: New high-speed bicycle route from Hönow to Spandau

The plans for the longest high-speed bicycle route through Berlin are taking shape: The approximately 38-kilometre-long "East-West Route" is to be completed by 2030, and individual sections could be opened before then.

Construction of the two-part route, which runs from Hönow to Spandau through the city centre, is scheduled to begin in 2026, as the state-owned cycle planning company Infravelo announced at a press conference on Wednesday (April 06, 2022). The bicycle route consists of a 23-kilometre "eastern route" (Hönow to Tiergarten S-Bahn station) and a "western route" (Tiergarten S-Bahn station to Spandau) of about 15 kilometres.

From Hönow to Spandau by bike in 2.5 hours

Bicycles should be able to reach their destination as quickly as cars on the new cycle route. Around 6,700 car drivers are to be persuaded to switch to bicycles every day, and almost 1,000 tons of carbon dioxide are to be saved per year. The journey time from one end to the other should be about 2.5 hours. The total costs for the two parts of the route are estimated at around 58 million euros. The planning approval procedure for the west route will start at the end of 2023 and for the east route at the beginning of 2024.

Reduction of car lanes for new bike lane

The route runs along Frankfurter Allee, Straße des 17. Juni and Heerstraße, among others. For its implementation, the number of car lanes between Tiergarten S-Bahn station and Brandenburg Gate is to be reduced from six to four. The parking spaces there are to be converted into a bicycle path. The number of lanes on Heerstrasse is also to be reduced in sections.

100 kilometres of high-speed bicycle routes by 2030

According to the Mobility Act, Berlin is to have a total of around 100 kilometres of high-speed cycle routes by 2030. Planning on the "East-West Route" has progressed furthest so far, but it could be that other of the planned routes will be opened before then. The express route at Spandauer Damm is not being planned any further because it is only feasible in parts. The German Bicycle Club ADFC is in favour of a quick opening of the routes. In addition to the comprehensive planning and participation processes, it would make sense to already put the first sections into operation and then add to and extend them step by step, said spokesperson Lisa Feitsch.