Hundreds of thousands of cyclists took to the streets of Berlin in support of safer conditions for bikes. There is an urgent need for real cycle facilities, not just cycle streets where cars can drive and cycle paths which they park on. The traffic infrastructure need to support pedal powered vehicles and not just the fossil fuel users. Berlin needs to meet the needs of modern road users.
Sternfahrt is the one day each year when the potential of streets for pedal transport can be experienced first hand. Cycling on the Autobahn in the fresh air is so easy compared with dodging illegally parked vehicles.
Unfortunately the event was tainted by a massive releaseof balloonsdistributed to participants in the ride with the slogan ‘ride bike' on them. The high cost of such balloon releases to children, wildlife and rural animals seems to have gone unnoticed to those giving away these free balloons.
Ich sitze am Straßenhang.
Der Fahrer wechselt das Rad.
Ich bin nicht gerne, wo ich herkomme.
Ich bin nicht gerne, wo ich hinfahre.
Warum sehe ich den Radwechsel
mit Ungeduld?
I am sitting on the edge of the street.
The bicycle repair shop is changing the tire.
I don't like, where I come from.
I don't like, where I am going to.
Why do I view the changing of the tire
with impatience?
Safety in numbers
The more bikes are around, the less the risk for an accident. To provide safety for cyclist, cities should provide a sufficient bicycle infrastructure. This 2013 OECD reports on "Trends relating to fatalities, injuries and crash rates are presented alongside international data on levels of cycling."
In good cities one can cycle to work and education without stress. It appears 'normal' to go to the movies (Babylon) or an ADKconcert/ exhibition at the Brandenburg Gate by bike.
Celebrating International Women's Day. Clara Zetkin organised the first International Women's Day. "It was inspired by the struggles of women workers in the U.S.,
particularly textile workers in New York City, who organized a massive
march in March 1908." (source)
Where else could one find a public plaque of her but in Berlin Mitte.
The bear is the symbol for Berlin. Since 1280 it has been on the coat of arms. Bruno is believed to have been the first brown bear on German soil in 170 years. He was declared a Problembär ("problem bear") and was shot and stuffed. Knut was a celebrity polar bear that died of dysentery and encephalitis after lifelong captivity. Both bears generated a lot of revenue before they went into teddy heaven.
But there is still a real 55 ton problem....
Being in a car-centric environment dwarfs the human. Unmotorised people walking or cycling have to move with the dictate of the machines moving. They are forced to breathe the exhaust and the dust of the asphalt. They run for their lives to not be squashed by the ever bigger cars.
Unter den Linden ("under the linden trees") is a large boulevard in the Mitte (middle) of Berlin. There was a time when flâneur wandered in the shady place. At other times it was a playground for militarymachines and parades. Today, many trees have disappeared and the place is studded with building sites and pipes.
Despite all the obstacles of this car-centric city 'design', one can dodge most hassles with a bike on this multi-lane parade. There is always time for a cup at Café Einstein Unter den Linden.
This bike stands in the not yet 'developed' Postfuhramt. A beautiful 19th century post office that could house many horse-drawn postal wagons. Occasionally one can still hear the clip clop of (tourist) horse-drawn carriages on the cobbled streets of Mitte.
After 1989 a space-time of creativity arose. Bicycles were the dominant mode of transport in the area.
Once the old houses of the East where made trendy, people came from everywhere to live the life of a permanent party. The parties led to a lot of offspring and money flowed from the West to boost the project. With an influx of families and the associated capital the streets and footpaths were populated with inner city SUVs and family vans to cart the family and all its gear around the inner city. Many areas are like a big 24/7 creche now. A lot of cars are squeezing into the small streets and footpaths. The rest of the streetscape seems an endless row of child care, child speech therapist, child psychologist and child psychiatrist.
Bikes and digitalsociety go hand in hand in Berlin. A hub for Yes We Scan, data retention, ACTA, Open government, open data, information privacy, copyright, and net neutrality. A fossil fuel free mobility infrastructure and public transport deliver connectivity.
You can view and rate short films about bike culture at the "VELOBerlin Film Award 2015". We liked Havana Bikes, "A brief insight into Cuban bicycle culture and the importance of bike mechanics in Havana as we come across both riders and repairmen."
Sternfahrt in Berlin is the biggest bicycle demonstration in the world. This year's theme was 'more space for bicycles'. This video covers the section of the ride from Pankow to Neukölln including the Autobahn tunnel.
Every year in Berlin the 'star ride' takes place. About 250,000 cyclists converge on the city centre from the peripheries in a star formation, picking up ever more riders along the way. The main traffic arteries are freed from cars on that day creating an ambience of security and fresh air. Even the autobahn is dedicated for bicycles.
It is one day in the year when cyclists can experience the full potential of their bikes. On a 6-lane autobahnthere are no bumps and no problem overtaking another bike. Long distances can be covered easily in a short time while others roll along at a leisurely pace. Why are there no bike highways here? Why the special treatment for car drivers?
The main theme of the Sternfahrt this year was bicycle safety:
cyclists are forced to share roads with deadly cars which kill many cyclists very year.
cars cause enormous health damage to cyclists (and others) from their exhausts while the car drivers breath in far less poisonous gas and particles.
huge budgets are spent to make car driving safer while cyclists are left vulnerable to their arbitrary violence.
The Sternfahrt was a demonstration of the superiority of bicycles as transport. Without cars they are safe, unpolluting, quiet and generate a positive ambience among people. It showed how motorised transport infrastructure could be simply taken over for bicycles to facilitate a rational and safe transport system in modern cities.
Mobility without cars.
If travellers used their own energy to propel themselves around, they would not clutter up the public roads with heavy dysfunctional encasements endangering other road users in so many ways.
Welcome to sustainable mobility. Bi-pedalism, usually with the aid of bicycle pedals. Accessing social spaces without the pollution. Navigating urban topography (de) and cruising along beaches (au).
