Investment worth millions

City shifts into next gear with cycle path expansion

The Wienmobil rental bike is particularly popular in warm weather.

(Bild: Krone KREATIV/Stephan Doleschal)

Vienna has not (yet) found its way into the top lists as the most bike-friendly city. But a lot is being done - including against e-scooters.

The number of cyclists in Vienna is rising steadily - 12 million cyclists were counted in 2023 - an increase of 3 percent on the previous year. Nevertheless, Vienna lags behind in a nationwide comparison. According to the VCÖ, the cycling mode share in Innsbruck is 30 percent, in Bregenz 27 percent - in Vienna it is ten percent.

This also puts Vienna further down in the EU rankings, as a dataset from the European Cyclists' Federation shows. This is led by Copenhagen with 49 percent cycling share ahead of Amsterdam (35). Berlin has 13 percent and Paris only 5 percent. In order to boost cycling, the city is going all out.

Major investments
"Since 2021, a total of 129 million euros have been invested and 71 kilometers of new cycle paths have been built," reports City Councillor for Planning Ulli Sima (SPÖ). That's a lot in a short space of time. In October, the Court of Audit also praised the "good cooperation between the departments" and the "intensive exchange on the ongoing cycling projects" between all those involved. Up to nine municipal departments are involved in one cycle path.

(Bild: Krone KREATIV)

But: there is no monitoring of how cycle paths are working and where improvements need to be made. There is also criticism when it comes to traffic planning. This is because the main routes, such as the mega cycle highway, are planned by the town hall, but the lower-ranking cycle network is the responsibility of the districts. This means that the main cycle routes in the districts are bogged down.

Further expansion
Vienna's first mega cycle highway (see diagram), which runs from the Ring to Kagraner Platz in Donaustadt, is one of the prestige projects. The final section on Wagramer Straße is due to be completed this summer. Sima emphasizes that the districts were closely involved in the planning right from the start.

Also on the agenda this year is a two-way cycle path on Äußere Mariahilfer Straße and the conversion of Meiselstraße into a cycle lane.

Our goal is a cycle path network worthy of the name. Special focus is placed on closing gaps and cross-connections.

Planungsstadträtin Ulli Sima (SPÖ)

An end to scooter chaos
For a long time, rental e-scooters were a stumbling block on Vienna's streets in the truest sense of the word. In 2023, the city introduced stricter rules, the number of providers was reduced to two and the number of scooters from 9,000 to 3,000. Regular spot checks resulted in 50,000 administrative fines for operators and 500 e-scooters were towed away.

Viennese like to walk
This also pleases pedestrians. Incidentally, the Viennese have 383,039 square meters of pedestrian zones at their disposal (as of 2023). This area has more than doubled since the 1990s. The meeting zones, such as in Mariahilfer Strasse, have grown to more than eight kilometers in length. And the residential streets in which motorized traffic is prohibited have quadrupled in length since 1990 to 45,900 meters.

(Bild: Philipp Stewart)

So the city is doing a lot to make walking more attractive. After all, according to the 2019 Mobility Report, three quarters of Viennese walk longer distances several times a week. 81 percent of those surveyed are very happy to do so. But that doesn't mean there isn't room for improvement. First and foremost the traffic lights.

(Bild: Jöchl Martin)

Traffic lights as a nuisance
70 percent of Viennese are of the opinion that the green phases at pedestrian crossings should be significantly extended. No wonder, as on average pedestrians only have a fifth of the time available to drivers. In contrast to the green phase, the red phase is unusually long. Almost 60 percent would like to see it shortened.

Sprinting across crosswalks
Back in the summer, we reported on the most absurd traffic light circuits, for example at the corner of Brigittenauer Lände and Heiligenstädter Brücke. Here you have to sprint across the crosswalk in 7.7 seconds. According to the city, the Traffic Management 2.0 project is currently working on adapting the distribution of green times at individual traffic lights more dynamically in line with local demand.

Incidentally, pedestrians say they are most annoyed by cyclists and scooter riders. Drivers are only in third place.