Cycling in Berlin

monument

Here's a sample of cycling in Berlin...

Bicycle lights at eye level to cyclists on main routes and these go green before other traffic (or orange and then green as it is over there):





Full lane-sized bike lanes where there is room:



And room left for car doors (also note this is a three-laned 30km/h street):


On footpath cycle lanes only seem to be used where there is more than enough room for pedestrians (lanes segregated from both footpath and road were used too):



Some back streets with bike markings in the middle of the road:



Cyclists allowed both directions on all the one-way streets I noticed:





Signs on entry roads to these streets note that cycle traffic is both ways:



Traffic lights on larger roads for those making four-point turns (?) -- like the turning used in Denmark? ...



Construction works has road closed off to all traffic bar cyclists, which are given temporary lane markings (yellow) and bicycle traffic lights.



Bicycles allowed on U Bahn, S Bahn, and regional trains (with ticket, I think it's something like half price of a normal fare?)


DB have the bicycle carriages clearly marked, normally the carriages at both ends of trains:


Bicycles allowed to be cycled in parks, ok I only have a photo of them parked, but you get the idea:

What a depressing contrast to the images in the "Documenting dublin's cycle lanes" thread.

tomasrojo

Looks good. I saw a few ropey ones there myself, but on the whole I thought Berlin was very nice to cycle around.

monument

And:

30km/h zones in residential areas (some paved with stone, some not):


And 30km/h on larger streets (like the quays here in Dublin):





And to prove 30km/h is not just for the benefit of cyclists, segregated cycle lane still 30km/h:



Only a few I seen were marked as timed (as was another argument against 30km/h in Dublin):



Some back streets were marked with 10km/h:



And, others had mixed use sighs:

tomasrojo

In the Netherlands they tend to dispense with cycling facilities in 30 zones, because the speed disparity is so low.

Edit: I re-found a clip about 30 zones and facilities in the Netherlands. I thought it was quite interesting.

http://www.youtube.com/profile?user=markenlei#p/u/0/mIdQ8RMDtGM

monument

tomasrojo wrote: »

Looks good. I saw a few ropey ones there myself, but on the whole I thought Berlin was very nice to cycle around.

There were some, but the real reasons I noted them was on balance the cycle lanes are of a far higher standard than here.

tomasrojo

monument wrote: »

There were some, but the real reasons I noted them was on balance the cycle lanes are of a far higher standard than here.

Darn tootin'!

Caroline_ie

hey i ll be in berlin all next week i ll have a look at all this :P

keenan110

I'm going to Berlin during the summer, i'll definitely be keeping an eye out for this, looks great!

helimachoptor

I was in Aachen last year, its a big uni city and a whole lot of people cycle and the infrastructure there is unreal.

Dandelion6

Another big difference is that you can lock your bike to itself in Berlin and expect it to still be there when you get back.

monument

Dandelion6 wrote: »

Another big difference is that you can lock your bike to itself in Berlin and expect it to still be there when you get back.

Really?

While I might have seen the odd bicycle just locked to it self outside shops etc in Berlin, I didn't see that many. Most I can remember were locked to stands.

Or maybe my notion of notable on this is twisted after seen streets and streets of bicycles only wheel-locked in Copenhagen. On the other hand, the Netherlands is noted for its large-scale bicycle theft.

Dandelion6

monument wrote: »

While I might have seen the odd bicycle just locked to it self outside shops etc in Berlin, I didn't see that many. Most I can remember were locked to stands.

Yes, when I was there last month I saw a lot of bicycles just locked to themselves. Discussed this with my friends who moved there from Dublin a couple years ago and they confirmed they do this all the time, not a bother.

Even the bikes locked to stands aren't locked up anywhere near as securely as they'd be in Dublin... one cheap cable lock seems to be enough.

Single Malt

Dandelion6 wrote: »

Yes, when I was there last month I saw a lot of bicycles just locked to themselves. Discussed this with my friends who moved there from Dublin a couple years ago and they confirmed they do this all the time, not a bother.

Even the bikes locked to stands aren't locked up anywhere near as securely as they'd be in Dublin... one cheap cable lock seems to be enough.

Don't let that testimony fool you. Bike theft is as bad, if not worse in Berlin. Thieves are a little more discerning, and steal higher value bikes (they have a hell of a lot to choose from), while the majority of poorly locked bikes are lower value city bikes. Aside, just because bike are locked poorly, does not mean they never get nicked.

BTW, one cheap cable lock is enough for the majority of bikes in Dublin too. I would wager that this exact discussion is also on a Berlin board on cycling, saying Dublin is a better, safer, less theft prone city to cycle in, where people lock using only cheap cable locks. The grass is always greener on the other side, and only people who care to securely lock their bike notice an abundance of "cheap cable locks"

Caroline_ie

Dandelion6 wrote: »

Another big difference is that you can lock your bike to itself in Berlin and expect it to still be there when you get back.

I arrived in Berlin today and I saw that a few times. I have to say the infrastructure is really good and there are lots and lots of bike rentals around the city. I haven't hired one yet as I am here for work and I had little time to do this today.
I also saw a 5 people circular bikes where everyone seems to be cycling around a circle? I asked the driver to explain to me the mechanics and he said "No idea I am only the driver".
I only saw one hipster on a fixie but lots of single speed bikes, some crappier than others.

Berlin seems to be inhabited by hippies ...

monument

Caroline_ie wrote: »

I arrived in Berlin today and I saw that a few times. I have to say the infrastructure is really good and there are lots and lots of bike rentals around the city. I haven't hired one yet as I am here for work and I had little time to do this today.
I also saw a 5 people circular bikes where everyone seems to be cycling around a circle? I asked the driver to explain to me the mechanics and he said "No idea I am only the driver".
I only saw one hipster on a fixie but lots of single speed bikes, some crappier than others.

Berlin seems to be inhabited by hippies ...

Is this something like the five person bike you seen?

http://media.techeblog.com/images/strangestbike_1.jpg



I think these are just usually rented.