Another one of the projects we demanded has been realized by the city government: Kettenhofweg ist now a “Frankfurt Cycling Street” and thus joins Oeder Weg and Grüneburgweg (not completed yet) as another part of Frankfurt as a true cycling city.
What the city did
Turning the street into a “Fahrradstraße”, properly marked safety distances between the street and parked cars, a general reduction of on-street parking, redesigned intersections with bicycle parking – all of this contributes to the positive general expression. So far it is only paint, signs and bollards, but we are quite happy. In the medium term the city has to make the measures permanent.
Still, many people park illegally
Right now, many drivers seem to not understand the new rules and are thus parking illegally on the sidewalks or are still using the redesigned street as a secret path. But cutting through Kettenhofweg is no longer allowed; a new sign “Anlieger frei” restricts car traffic further on the street, so that bicycle traffic is even more prioritized here – as it should be on a “Fahrradstraße”.
We wish for strict controls during the next few month, such as drivers only passing through, to enforce the new rules. This is especially important for the bottleneck at the traffic light to Mendelssohnstraße. Clear punishments for illegal parking and curbing through-traffic are important to make and keep this new cycling street truly more safe and easily usable, thus ensuring acceptance.
Do you like it?
“I’m now on my daily travels taking a detour via Kettenhofweg, because it is so much more pleasant now” says Sebastian Kotek, living in Bockenheim and volunteering for the Radentscheid. “Kettenhofweg is an important connection for me, which is now much more safe, faster and nicer to use.” We hope that many more people feel like him – and that many more streets get redesigned soon.