Loop (Hamburg)
Loop is the name of a recreational circuit for cyclists, joggers, skaters and pedestrians in the Hamburg districts of Wilhelmsburg and Veddel . It was expanded as part of the International Building Exhibition, IBA Hamburg, 2006–2013 .
Route
The first construction phase of 5 km in length was opened in late summer 2013. The asphalted area is 3.5 to 4.0 m wide and there are additional walkways in sections. The loop is cycling road provided, along the route are blue markers squares applied and milestones at a distance of 200 m to facilitate sporting activities. Two sections on which simultaneously a bicycle route from Hamburg-Harburg to Old Elbe Tunnel or the new bridge over the Elbe and the cycle path running between Hamburg and Bremen run are as bicycle road reported. On a subordinate side street, the loop has right of way over car traffic. The costs for the preparation of the first construction phase were 3.5 million euros.
On the section between Industriestrasse and Dratelnstrasse, a disused port railway line was converted for the cycle path.
A second, 1.4 km long section of the loop has already been developed on the grounds of the International Garden Show (igs) , but has not yet been prepared with the features characteristic of the loop. Originally planned was a further 17 km long section, which should have opened up predominantly on existing roads and paths also to the agricultural east of Wilhelmsburg. No concrete planning is known for this.
The loop goes back to a suggestion by the Wilhelmsburg entrepreneur Michael Grau, who got to know similar projects in the USA and commissioned an expert opinion at his own expense, the results of which were taken up by the IBA. The name refers to the Low German word for run, but also the English word for loop.
Award
The loop was proposed for the German Bicycle Prize in January 2014 under the heading Creating an exemplary route connection for local transport . He was one of three nominees in the field of everyday mobility and won the award worth 5,000 euros on February 20. "The nationwide competition" The German Bicycle Prize "is a joint project of the Federal Ministry of Transport and Digital Infrastructure ( BMVI ) in cooperation with the Working Group for Pedestrian and Bicycle-Friendly Cities, Communities and Districts in NRW eV ( AGFS ), the Zweirad-Industrie-Verband eV (ZIV) and the Verbund Service und Fahrrad geV (VSF) for the implementation of the National Cycling Plan ".
criticism
In an article in the Wilhelmsburger Inselrundblick it is stated that although the loop is advertised that new planned cycle paths should be designed according to its model, the loop itself is predominantly a sidewalk in terms of traffic law that is only allowed for cyclists, and not a “cycle road ". The right of way is only given on a spur road with little traffic, but not on other, more important road crossings. The crossing on Dratelnstrasse is even "life-threatening". After all, the lack of winter service , as indicated by the signs , means that cyclists cannot use the loop all year round on the advertised routes to the train station or for shopping.
The Hamburger Morgenpost describes the loop as a "luxury cycle path". The Radverkehrsppolitik blog goes into numerous details on the fact that at least the German Bicycle Prize would not be appropriately awarded, whereby the signage is primarily criticized as incorrect or legally ambiguous and the predominant use of common areas with pedestrians is criticized.
Web links
- Map of the first sections on Hamburg.de (PDF; 4.8 MB)
- Article from the district office of Hamburg-Mitte, with photos and GPS data
- Loop as a practical example on the pages of the National Cycling Plan
Individual evidence
- ↑ ADFC article on the opening in the Internet Archive ( Memento from April 24, 2014 in the Internet Archive )
- ↑ Morgenpost article on the opening
- ↑ Elbe-Wochenblatt, article on the opening ( memento of November 11, 2013 in the Internet Archive )
- ↑ Abendblatt article on the opening
- ↑ The German bicycle price
- ↑ Press release on the award ceremony
- ↑ The loop under the microscope. WE tested the new "bicycle circuit". In: Wilhelmsburger InselRundblick 10/2013
- ↑ Unearned award for the Hamburg LOOP ( Memento from March 13, 2014 in the Internet Archive )