- For two months last summer I lived in Berlin and commuted to work by bicycle.
- As a New Yorker who often cycles in the city, it was incredibly refreshing to live in a place with significantly better bike infrastructure and much more respect for cyclists' rights on the road.
- Most of the German capital is connected by well-marked bicycle lanes on streets and sidewalks, with traffic lights specifically for cyclists at busy intersections.
- And Berlin has boosted spending on bike infrastructure to €51 million annually - almost five times more than New York City spends.
- But bike traffic in Berlin is growing, and Germans are quick to say the streets are increasingly unsafe for cyclists.
- Here's what my bicycle commute looks like in Berlin.
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For two months last summer I lived in Berlin and commuted to work by bicycle.
As a New Yorker who often cycles in the city, it's been incredibly refreshing to bike in a place with significantly better infrastructure and much more respect for cyclists' rights on the road.
Most of the German capital is connected by well-marked bicycle lanes on streets and sidewalks, with traffic lights for cyclists at busy intersections.
Pedestrians also seem far less annoyed and terrified by their two-wheeled fellow commuters, while drivers in cars almost always respect the lanes and buses and trucks regularly wave cyclists ahead before making a right turn. Pedestrians look both ways before crossing bike lanes and jaywalk far less frequently than they do in most American cities.
Last summer, Berlin passed legislation mandating the city spend €51 million (about $56 million) per year on bike infrastructure. By 2025, Berlin wants one-third of all intra-city travel to be done on bike.
Meanwhile, in New York City, cyclist fatalities have spiked, prompting the city to boost spending on bike infrastructure to $58 million over the next five years, about 20% of what Berlin spends annually.
While Berlin's bike infrastructure is far superior to New York's, as bike traffic grows, Germans are quick to say it's far from perfect. Other smaller German cities are known for being even more bike-friendly. And some other European metropolises, like Copenhagen and Amsterdam, are even better places to cycle.
Here's what my bicycle commute looks like in Berlin:
