Aalen in 17th place: Bicycle climate test shows significant progress!

Aalen in 17th place: Bicycle climate test shows significant progress!

Aalen, Deutschland - The bicycle climate test 2024, an initiative of the General German Bicycle Club (ADFC), presented Aalen in a new light. The test, which is supported by the Federal Ministry of Transport, took place for the eleventh time in autumn 2024. Over 215,000 cyclists from 1,100 locations in Germany gave their opinions to evaluate the bicycle friendliness of their cities. Aalen had an impressive progress and achieved 17th place among 113 cities with 50,000 to 100,000 inhabitants. This is a real jump to the front compared to 2018, where Aalen still ranked in the 76th place, as the Swabian reports.

with an overall grade of 3.67, Aalen has improved significantly and is even better than the nationwide average of 3.92. The city is rated differently in the different categories, whereby the accessibility of the city center with a grade of 2.5 stands out as the greatest strength. The good guide (2.9) and the possibility of cycling quickly (3.1) were also highly highlighted. However, the following also turns out: Construction site management and the width of the bike paths with notes of 4.7 or 4.3 are rather bad.

need for improvement and future plans

The political groups in the committee are pleased with the progress in cycling and are now calling for additional storage facilities for bicycles in order to further increase cycling friendliness. Dr. Mario Münzberg from the SPD emphasizes the need to clarify the cyclists over the statutory minimum distance of 1.50 meters when overtaking. The free voters, represented by Senta d’Unofrio, also praise the progress, but still see space for improvements.

In particular, the planned mobility station network has the potential to further improve the situation for cyclists in Aalen. However, the signage of the new paths and possibilities is still inadequate. Josef Fuchs from the CDU spoke out for a faster procurement of bicycle stands in Wasseralfingen. These optimistic voices show that Aalen is on the right track, but there are still some challenges to be mastered.

bicycle friendliness in Germany

The ADFC bicycle climate test, which is considered one of the largest surveys on the cycling climate worldwide, provides the cities valuable feedback about the satisfaction of cyclists. The survey took place in the period from September to November 2024 and the results can be viewed on the interactive results page of the ADFC. This commitment not only helps the traffic planners, but also the politically responsible to improve the infrastructures and to further promote cycling.

Mayor of the city of Aalen calls to achieve even broader participation in the next bicycle climate test and thus underlines the importance that this test has for future mobility in the city. The continuous improvement of the network of cycling paths, such as the redesign of Stuttgarter Straße and the new bike path in the Schafgärten, testify to a positive trend and a clear confession to cycling friendliness.

Aalen is on the right track, but as you can see, there is still something. Participation in the nearest bicycle climate test could help to give this development additional swing. With the right focus on improving infrastructure and acceptance, Aalen may soon be among the leaders in cycling.

For more information, the results and further details on the website of the ADFC are available as well as on the page of the Schwäbischen.