Bicycle Highways

Function:  Bike highways are wider than normal cycle routes. They integrate bicycles into the overall traffic concept of cities and agglomerations. As a supplement, they should above all support commuter flows of everyday traffic from the nearby region and agglomeration from distances of up to 15 km. The cycle lanes should be as straightforward as possible, have few and preferred crossings with other roads (e.g. through automatic and sensor-based preferential treatment of bikes at traffic lights), have a minimum width and be coordinated with the existing cycle routes in the region. The connection to the inner-city cycle traffic network is particularly important for the smooth flow of commuter traffic and the distribution to the main workplaces.

Advantages: Relief of the road network, lower space requirements (active traffic and passive traffic), reduction of emissions. At individual level: promotion of health, low acquisition costs, low usage costs.

Disadvantages: Expensive to implement, especially in spatially limited urban areas

Examples: Winterthur, Burgdorf, Chur, Bern and St. Gallen are in a test phase