Pop-Up Bike Lanes and the Fight Over Berlin’s Streets
New spaces created during the pandemic are coming under attack from politicians and the auto industry, while cycling advocates say the changes don't go far enough.
Berlin installed pop-up bicycle lanes to aid social distancing during the pandemic. Not everyone wants them to stay.
Photographer: Krisztian Bocsi/BloombergThe red and white poles dividing Berlin's motorists from cyclists have become a flashpoint in the city's efforts to reshape its transport system.
The city Senate Department for Environment, Transport and Climate began setting up the markers along Berlin’s roads during the coronavirus pandemic as part of a wide range of measures to establish more eco-friendly and accessible transportation in the city — a pet project of the local coalition government since its election into office in 2017. But not everyone is happy. Last month, an administrative court ordered the removal of eight of the new bike lanes, after a local politician launched a legal case against them. Berlin's transport department appealed, and the city’s administrative appeals court ruled the pop-up bike lanes can remain while the case is pending.