Abstract
Members of the Working Group for Bicycle-Friendly Municipalities in Northrhine-Westfalia, Germany, have been experimenting with new kinds of bicycle lanes since the 1990s, creating bicycle route networks covering their whole areas. Based on this experience, road traffic regulations as well as their pertaining administration regulations were amended in 1997, reflecting a new attitude towards bicycle traffic and adding new bicycle rules. Bicycle lanes now are implemented by re-organising existing road space, namely by re-organising roads, easing of road traffic regulations and re-organising pedestrian space. This helps to avoid investing big sums of money or a lot of effort. Additionally, directions signs and other services help to create an attractive bicycle network. By implementing such a traffic system, the town of Troisdorf managed to increase bicycle traffic while decreasing motor vehicle traffic, making their traffic more environmentally friendly.
