New traffic routing Cyclists and motorists get in each other's way on Bonn's Viktoriabrücke

Bonn · The new traffic routing on the Viktoriabrücke is a horror for car drivers, but a blessing for cyclists. But turning off the bridge still leads to dicey situations and traffic jams. A one-way street regulation from the end of the year and a ramp could help. However, the latter is not scheduled to be built until 2025.

 You have to be careful that drivers turning right from the Viktoria Bridge do not get in the way of cyclists.

You have to be careful that drivers turning right from the Viktoria Bridge do not get in the way of cyclists.

Foto: Meike Böschemeyer

The new traffic routing of the Viktoriabrücke is a horror for motorists but a blessing for cyclists. While some complain about traffic jams because there’s no right turn allowed, others are happy that they can cycle across the bridge without obstructions. "We are currently receiving a lot of praise from cyclists about the situation. That doesn't happen often," says Axel Möhrer from the Bonn ADFC. In everyday life, there are always dangerous situations where cyclists are overlooked. "Nevertheless, it is better like this than before." A one-way regulation of Bornheimer Straße at the end of the year and a ramp to Thomastraße should ease the situation. According to the city, the latter will not be built until 2025.

A lot of cyclists and pedestrians wanted more space and their own lane on the Viktoriabrücke. How happy some people are about this could be seen at the beginning of May. "Thank you Katja" was written on green hearts stuck to the bridge railing. Lord Mayor Katja Dörner was touched by the gesture.

Cyclists are happy to "finally have more space" and feel "much safer". If you ask the car drivers who are stuck in traffic jams every day on the Viktoriabrücke because they have to wait when turning right towards Bornheimer Straße, the mood is different. "The provoked traffic jam makes for even more exhaust fumes," says one. On Facebook, people complain about near-accidents because cyclists going straight ahead are easily overlooked when turning right.

"The corner continues to be a bit tricky"

Both sides are true, says Axel Möhrer from the Bonn ADFC. "You can at last cross the Viktoriabrücke in peace. But the corner continues to be a bit tricky." He therefore appeals to cyclists to take care at the crossing and not simply overtake on the right when a car comes over the Viktoriabrücke and wants to turn into Bornheimer Straße. "Of course, car drivers also have to pay attention. With mutual consideration, it works."

The fact that the so-called free right-turning lane, which previously existed at the intersection and guaranteed motorists a separate lane for turning right, has been removed as demanded by the ADFC. "The main cause of accidents are turning accidents, also with pedestrians. If drivers have their own lane, they can turn unhindered and are usually too fast." Turning at the intersection, on the other hand, causes them to put on their brakes and drive slowly - at the expense of the traffic flow. Möhrer's ADFC colleague Werner Böttcher, however, disagrees with this statement: "It is not the flow of traffic that is affected, but the car traffic. Things are better for everyone else."

Accidents at the intersection

The accident commission has been looking at the intersection since 2007, and it has been an accident black spot for just as long. "But this was mainly due to the fact that vehicles coming from Bornheimer Straße wanting to turn left onto Viktoriabrücke collided with oncoming traffic driving straight ahead," says Andrea Schulte from the press office of the City of Bonn. The solution to the problem is a separate green arrow system without oncoming traffic. The city is only aware of two accidents between right-turners at the end of the bridge into Bornheimer Straße and cyclists in 2021. Nevertheless, the situation will continue to be monitored.

Construction work from the end of the year on Bornheimer Straße

Cars turning right will be a thing of the past at this location before the end of the year. That is when the city plans to start reconstructing Bornheimer Straße, which will become a one-way street from the city centre. Construction will take about two years in the section from the old cemetery to Ellerstraße, creating new green spaces and calming traffic in favour of pedestrians and cyclists.

The planned ramp between Viktoriabrücke and Thomastraße would be a relief for motorists. But because the two construction sites can only be completed one after the other and because work on Bornheimer Straße still has to start in 2022 due to subsidies, the ramp is on the back burner. "The planning approval procedure for the ramp has not yet been completed because of the change in the lane division on the bridge, so there is no building permission yet," says Schulte. But by the time Bornheimer Straße is finished, that should be done. "Currently, construction is expected to start at the beginning of 2025."

Anyone wanting to get to the city centre by then will either have to drive directly via Thomastrasse, use Hochstadenring and Kölnstrasse or find a sneaky route through the old town. In the long term, the traffic routing is planned in such a way that cars coming from Ellerstraße can continue to Hochstadenring, but would then have to turn right and use the planned ramp at the Viktoriabrücke to turn left towards the city centre.

In the opposite direction of travel from the old cemetery, motorists would no longer be allowed to drive through Bornheimer Straße from Hochstadenring according to the current traffic plans. They would have to turn right and could reach the Tenten-Carré taking a diversion of about 400 metres via Vorgebirgsstraße and Ellerstraße.

Original text: Nicolas Ottersbach

Translation: Jean Lennox

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