I recently moved to Heidelberg and since moving here, I bike now more than ever before! I made this video to show off a few great features of the network here and to show how most of this infrastructure would be easy to implement in the US or Canada.
I also launched a Patreon with this video in order to provide a place for our community to grow. Don’t miss out on this great opportunity to join the Rural Urbanist Community. I’ll be posting Patreon-only updates, early access to upcoming videos, and will recognize Patrons in the video credits. We honestly have a lot in common and I look forward to interacting with you on Patreon!!!
https://www.patreon.com/TheRuralUrbanist
Finally, I’ve had an Instagram for the past few months where I put many of the stills that I cannot use in my videos. Enjoy!
https://instagram.com/the.rural.urbanist?igshid=OGQ5ZDc2ODk2ZA==
15 Comments
What a beautiful city!
Hey, what a great video!
That distinction of "cycle track" from "bike lane" is super helpful, and I plan to use it more!!
Lets goo new Rural Urbanist video
I would argue that Heidelberg is the most livable, most beautiful city in Germany
A big difference however is the German “cycle streets” doesn’t do much to reduce through traffic so the quality of them will vary drastically
me, a northerner, seeing that south germany does everything better🐈😭
Loved Heidelberg when I visited last year; a friend of mine is lucky enough to live there, and I'm very jealous!
The Ashville of Germany?
Not not for city cycling. The MTB trails at Königstuhl are simply awesome.
Might want to check out HD-Freeride e.V. if you want to explore Bike Trails in the Heidelberg area
So cool you moved here, hit me up, if you need someone to show you around a bit more…
The Plöck is such a nightmare. The number of pedestrians that cross the street without looking is mind blowing. I'm also originally from the American Midwest, so obviously HD blows that out of the water in terms of bike infrastructure, but Heidelberg is way more car-friendly than it needs to be. Just look at the construction on Rohrbacherstraße. It is being converted into a one-way street, but instead of building a separate cycle track, they decided to add angled street parking.
I really enjoyed Heidelberg when I was there! The castle is beautiful, the pedestrian area is great but a little too corporate, and the rest of the zentrum is quite nice. Not to mention the low mountains in the region that make it great to get out and ride, run, or hike. My biggest complaint is how much car traffic there is along the river and the lack of trees in the central square.
I lived in Heidelberg for almost ten years, and I cannot tell you how much I disagree with your praise.
Apart from newly developments, Heidelberg is doing jack shit to improve cycling. And even the bike "infrastructure" in the newly built (!) Bahnstadt is just a gutter in places.
The new intersection in front of the main station is also hella dangerous for cyclists, with wide curves for right turning cars that share your phase.
The old train dams are a very insulated feature and were only reused for biking because motorists did not lose out for it.
Speaking of motorists, they are absolutely unhinged. Bike lane parking is ignored by police and Ordnungsamt anyways. And you will get honked on or almost hit if you ride on a street without bike lanes.
Seriously, take other routes than the single connection from Patrick-Henry-Village to old town.