Cycle-friendly Herne
Since December 2007 Herne has officially been "cycle-friendly". It is one of 40 towns and cities in North Rhine-Westphalia to have been awarded the title of "cycle-friendly municipality" by the North Rhine-Westphalian Transport Ministry. The award came in recognition of the city’s efforts over the years to make cycling in Herne safe and attractive.
The network of cycle paths in Herne has a total length of 65 kilometres. A further 46 kilometres of pathways in green spaces and parks can also be used by cyclists. Almost 170 kilometres of Herne’s roads have traffic-calming devices with a speed limit of 30 kilometres per hour.
Attractive cycle trails
Herne also has attractive cycle trails such as the iron-ore track and the tow-path alongside the Rhine-Herne canal.
The city lies on the 230 kilometre long Emscher Park cycle route which goes through the Emscher valley between Duisburg and Dortmund.
The regional cycle paths in Herne are part of the "Industrial Heritage Trail", which takes you to a host of museums and exhibitions on the industrial sites of the last 150 years in the Ruhr. The overall trail network is about 700 kilometres in length.
Traffic volume on the rise
Cycle traffic in Herne accounts for 8 per cent of total traffic volume and is on the rise.
Efforts are made to promote cycling in the city, through both one-off actions (
e.g., "Cycle to the 2006
FIFA World Cup" in Gelsenkirchen’s Park stadium) and regular actions.
Chief coordinator for all matters concerning bicycle traffic, Thomas Semmelmann, ensures that the needs of cyclists are considered in all road-building measures.
You can purchase the Herne Cycling Map (Herne Radwegekarte) for 2.50 Euro.
A map of the water-themed adventure trail for cyclists can be downloaded (in german language), more information on the next page
Water X course.
You will of course also find Herne in the Bicycle Route Planner for North Rhine-Westphalia:
www.radroutenplaner.nrw.de
If you would like more information about cycling in Herne, please contact
umweltamt@herne.de.
