More greenery, attractive recreational areas and a variety of uses - this is how the banks of the Rhine in Bonn will look in future. As a contribution to climate adaptation, the 1.5-kilometre section between Rosental and Zweite Fährgasse, which will be traffic-calmed in future, will become a boulevard for lingering and strolling. The ground-breaking ceremony on the Brassertufer on September 5, 2024 heralded the start of the extensive redesign of the banks of the Rhine. The first steps towards upgrading the area and calming traffic had already been taken beforehand with the creation of a cycle lane and the partial detour of motorized traffic. In the course of further construction work, the conditions for pedestrians and cyclists on the banks of the Rhine will be further improved. Comprehensive information on the redesign of the Rhine embankment promenade can be found at  bonn.de/rheinufer.

The central bus station at Bonn Central Station (ZOB) is outdated and needs to be rebuilt. The new bus station should be more comfortable, safer, clearer and barrier-free. A clear route for cyclists and pedestrians as well as a sufficiently large area for waiting passengers will contribute to this. Accessibility for people with (limited) mobility will also be ensured. Overall, the entire ZOB area will be significantly upgraded compared to the current situation and accessibility to the city center by public transport will become more attractive. Comprehensive information on the redesign of the ZOB can be found at  bonn.de/zob.

The street "Am Hauptbahnhof" is also getting on in years and is therefore being completely rebuilt and modernized: for the first time, it will have its own bicycle infrastructure and the streetcar stops there will be made barrier-free. In addition, the northern underpass to the central bus station is being asphalted.

Between Sankt Augustiner Straße in the east and Hermann-Wandersleb-Ring in the west, a comfortable and safe cycling infrastructure is being created step by step. Two important gaps have already been closed with the redistribution of the central Oxfordstraße through the creation of cycle paths and environmental lanes as well as the improvements between the streets Am Herrengarten and Reinold-Hagen-Straße. The next step is to make the cycle connection between Bertha-von-Suttner-Platz and Kennedybrücke and later to Konrad-Adenauer-Platz in Beuel safer. As the rescheduling is complex and major construction work is necessary, this section will take longer. In addition, the administration is converting the currently unattractive pedestrian tunnel at the old cemetery into a fully-fledged pedestrian and cycle underpass. This will create a direct connection between the west of Bonn and the east-west axis through the city center.

Further information on the individual construction phases can be found  here.

Bonn continues to grow in terms of population and jobs. In order to connect the districts on the right and left banks of the Rhine with a high population and job density, a cable car is to be integrated into Bonn's local public transport system as a sustainable means of transport. The planned route links important transfer points such as Deutsche Bahn stations, light rail and streetcar stops, thus creating a fast connection to the facilities of the University Hospital on the Venusberg, for example. The Bonn cable car would be the first urban cable car in Germany that is integrated into the public transport system and can be used with a normal local transport ticket such as the Deutschlandticket. The project is being jointly managed by the City of Bonn and Stadtwerke Bonn.

All information about the planned cable car can be found at  bonn.de/seilbahn.

The light rail network in Bonn and the region is facing fundamental changes. The light rail lines that run between Bonn, the Rhein-Sieg district and Cologne are being optimized to make them more punctual and effective. Thanks to the new concept, the trains on lines 16, 66, 67, 18 and 68 will run more reliably and more frequently in future. On the three most popular routes, a train will run every five minutes during peak times. As the lines often overlap, there will be even more frequent trains on some routes - so rail travel in Bonn and the region will be possible with almost no waiting time! Further information will follow.

As part of the urgently needed renovation of all supply lines on Bornheimer Strasse, the city of Bonn is undertaking a comprehensive redesign and modernization of this central link to the city centre. It will no longer be a mere thoroughfare, but will become a modern city street with a high quality of living and life. Wider sidewalks, barrier-free access, more peace and quiet and more greenery should significantly improve the quality of life. Road users will benefit from increased safety and better local mobility in future. The construction work is due to be completed in spring 2025. Comprehensive information on the redesign of Bornheimer Strasse as part of the Inner City Masterplan can be found  here.

With a parking strategy for the entire city area, the City of Bonn has developed guidelines on how parking space in the city should be managed. The aim is to relieve districts of high parking pressure, with the result that the limited parking space can be made available primarily to residents. An important aspect here is a minimum footpath width of 1.50 meters so that people with wheelchairs or baby carriages, for example, can move around safely and easily. Comprehensive information on the city's parking strategy can be found at  bonn.de/parken.

Stiftsplatz is also to be redesigned as part of the "Innere Stadt Bonn 2.0" master plan. Due to its location, it plays an important role in the development of the city center: as a central link, it connects Bonn's city center with the Beethovenhalle and the Rhine. By upgrading the design of the area, which was previously mainly used as a parking lot, Stiftsplatz offers great potential to become an open space and place to spend time that is close to residential and working areas. Details of the planning can be found  here. The adjacent Kölnstraße is also to be upgraded with wider sidewalks, space for outdoor restaurants, more greenery and safe cycle lanes.

The "Masterplan Innere Stadt Bonn 2.0" also includes other measures that will contribute to the mobility transition in Bonn. For example, an attractive connection will be created between the university, the pedestrian zone and the Rhine, which will offer pedestrians and cyclists in particular safe routes and quality of life in this central area. The separating effect of the previous road connection will be eliminated, so that the university and pedestrian zone will be reconnected. The first step has already been taken with the removal of motor vehicle traffic at this point. The redesign will also connect the popular Rhine cycle path to the north-south axis on the Belderberg and the city center. Comprehensive information on the individual measures of the "Innere Stadt Bonn 2.0" master plan can be found  here.

From winter 2024, 28 modern and fully air-conditioned streetcars will gradually be put on the rails in the federal city. The new streetcars (low-floor vehicles) will run on lines 61, 62, 65 and 68. 32 new light rail vehicles (high-floor vehicles) will then be added from 2026 on lines 16, 18, 63, 66, 67 and 68. New buses will also be equipped with modern technology and exclusively electric drives to improve local transport services in Bonn. The new buses and streetcars are an important means of further expanding local public transport, making it more reliable and attractive and thus motivating more people to leave their cars at home. Further information on the new light rail vehicles can be found  here.

Children and young people should be able to move around Bonn independently and safely. That is why the city of Bonn promotes independent mobility for children. To this end, it works closely with schools, parents and politicians, for example on the subject of temporary school streets. This involves schools using mobile barrier beacons and appropriate traffic signs to allow only authorized traffic on the access road to the school before the start of lessons. This significantly reduces the amount of dangerous traffic in front of the school. Comprehensive information on children's mobility can be found  here.

Whether over the Rhine, the railroad tracks or the highways: Bridges in Bonn are important connecting elements between the city districts and into the region. The planned cycle and footpath bridge in the west of Bonn is an important gap closure that will create a central route across Meßdorf Feld, through Nordstadt, to Nordbrücke and into the Rhein-Sieg district. It is to be built between Immenburgstraße and Heinrich-Böll-Ring/Thomastraße over the railroad tracks and will also make the innovation triangle planned there with areas for culture, commerce, offices and services more accessible. A completely new connection could be a fourth Rhine bridge for pedestrians and cyclists only and become an attractive alternative to the heavily used Kennedy Bridge. More information on this will be available in 2025.

As part of the  "Bönnsche Viertel - Lebendige Räume für Menschen" (Bönnsche Viertel - Vibrant spaces for people) participatory process, various activities took place in two model districts - the Innere Nordstadt and the Combahnviertel - in 2023 to engage in a conversation with local people about active, safe and barrier-free mobility in their neighborhoods. The aim of the process is to gradually relieve residents of through traffic and parking pressure, to strengthen alternative forms of mobility and to create new opportunities for encounters and social participation with the space gained.

Both model districts are currently receiving  parking space concepts in order to reduce parking search traffic, free up footpaths and offer space for alternative mobility. The parking concept has already been implemented in  Nordstadt. In addition, both districts are receiving so-called neighborhood concepts, which also incorporate the feedback from the participation process. The main aim is to reduce through traffic so that the quality of life in the district increases and people can get around safely and comfortably.

Accessibility is essential so that everyone can be mobile. This is why the city of Bonn is gradually making its bus stops barrier-free and lowering the kerbs. The city is now using so-called zero drops so that people with wheelchairs and walking frames can also cross the road without any problems. In addition, the aim is to create level crossings where the sidewalk continues over the road. Pedestrians will always have priority at such crossings and will be able to cross the road without any edges. This has already been implemented on Endenich Allee. Further information on barrier-free mobility in Bonn can be found  here.

The City of Bonn wants to convert the former Klangstation at Bad Godesberg station into a bicycle parking garage with public toilets. The aim is to offer cyclists theft-proof and weather-protected bicycle parking facilities with automated access control and digital monitoring.

Many people in Bonn are impatient: according to a Forsa survey from August 2022, the traffic turnaround is important or very important to 75 percent of Bonn residents. The city of Bonn is therefore working hard to strengthen walking, cycling and public transport to make our city safer, greener and more liveable.

This is a major task that cannot be accomplished overnight and depends on many factors in the planning and approval process. Planning procedures take time and must be coordinated and harmonized within the city. This requires work from many specialist departments such as traffic planning, the police, the fire department and the regulatory authorities. Funding for the expansion of projects must be applied for, staff positions filled and interests renegotiated. Coordination also takes place with neighboring municipalities and at state and federal level. And, of course, the citizens affected by the changes are involved in the process and must have their concerns heard.

Improvements will be implemented step by step, which is why the positive effects of the mobility transition will only become visible gradually.

Changes in road traffic in particular often take some getting used to for many people. The mobility transition measures that can already be seen and felt in Bonn are therefore moving too quickly for some citizens.

New traffic routing or new parking regulations, for example, have a direct impact on many people's daily journeys, which they first have to get used to. But new situations often also bring new opportunities to adapt one's own behavior, e.g. to use a nearby Carsharing car or to get around more environmentally friendly, healthier and often even faster by bike. So every change also brings advantages that people come to know and usually appreciate over time.

Ultimately, everyone benefits from the mobility transition, as it leads to fewer pollutants in the air, safer and quieter streets and more space in public areas for people to linger and meet in their neighborhoods and districts.

The car has many individual advantages - once purchased, it is always at our doorstep, ready to take us from A to B in comfort. However, these individual advantages have collective disadvantages in cities: road space is limited and the consequences for all road users are tangible - traffic jams, frustrating searches for parking spaces and stress.

Why does it make sense, especially in this tense situation, to reallocate traffic areas in favor of public transport, cycling and walking? The expansion of cycling and walking infrastructure encourages people to switch from car to bike, especially for shorter distances of less than ten kilometers. Every trip shifted from car to bike reduces the number of cars on the road and there is less congestion.

Not every journey is suitable for cycling and not everyone can or wants to cycle. People with physical disabilities, tradespeople, care services or delivery traffic are dependent on motor vehicles. However, if more people for whom this is possible switch to bike, bus or train, there will be more space on roads and parking lots for those who are dependent on a motor vehicle.

Bonn is one of more than 1,000 municipalities that have joined the  Livable Cities and Communities through Appropriate Speeds initiative (opens in a new tab). They are calling on the federal government to create the legal conditions for local authorities to impose a 30 km/h speed limit in urban areas where they consider it necessary. At present, this is only possible in Bonn in very specific places.

A speed limit of 30 km/h in urban areas can have a considerable positive impact on the city:

1. The streets will become much safer, which will particularly benefit those who are on foot, on a bike or have limited mobility.
2. The roads will be quieter - and life for the people who live on these roads will be much more pleasant and healthier.
3. By ensuring a good flow of traffic, the air in the streets can also become cleaner. This benefits everyone who travels here.
4. The roads regain their function as multifunctional places that are more than just connections from A to B.
5. The rules on such roads become simpler and easier to understand because there is no longer a patchwork quilt.

Studies show that a 30 km/h speed limit does not reduce traffic efficiency, but does noticeably improve the quality of life.

The term "environmental alliance" covers all environmentally friendly modes of transport, i.e. walking, cycling and public transport. The share of a mode of transport in the overall transport market is referred to as Modal Split.

In 2019, the city of Bonn declared a climate emergency and decided to become climate-neutral by 2035 at the latest. In 2018, transport in Bonn accounted for 26.8 percent of total greenhouse gas emissions. It was therefore decided that eco-mobility should account for 75 percent of all journeys (Modal Split) by 2030.

Space in the city is a limited resource and has been allocated primarily to car traffic in recent decades. However, if new, safe cycle paths are needed or the sidewalks are to be made barrier-free, and if everyone wants to be able to rely on the bus coming reliably and on time, the necessary space must be made available for these modes of transport.

We can't create new space, so we have to redistribute it in our city. After the car had priority in the past, pedestrians, cyclists and public transport must now be given more space again. In this way, the public street space will be more fairly distributed and also upgraded - and thus more liveable for all Bonn residents.

Strong local public transport is an important part of the mobility transition. Planning major infrastructure projects such as a new streetcar line takes a lot of time and money. Fortunately, public transport in Bonn is already very well developed. According to an  evaluation by "Agora Verkehrswende (opens in a new tab) " - a Thinktank for climate-neutral mobility - local public transport services in Bonn are very good.

Some aspects of public transport can be improved more quickly, such as speeding up buses and trains. This could mean, for example, that these modes of transport are given priority at traffic lights and that parking spaces and bottlenecks that repeatedly block public transport are removed. Prioritizing public transport over car traffic is necessary and cannot wait. This will make buses and trains more reliable and attractive for everyone.

To ensure that public transport in Bonn is affordable for everyone, the  student ticket (opens in a new tab) and the  social ticket (opens in a new tab) have been available for 19 euros per month since 2022. From spring 2023, there is also expected to be another good public transport offer for all users in the form of the 49-euro Deutschlandticket.

With the 2020 Transport Development Plan (VEP), the city of Bonn has an integrated cross-sectoral action plan that lays the foundation for sustainable mobility for people and businesses in the city that is adapted to ecological and economic conditions and is socially just. The further development and revision of this plan is pending, but is a major and long-term task.

You can find more  information on transport planning and the VEP 2020 here.

Scientific findings and experience in other cities and countries show that traffic calming is an opportunity for vibrant city centers. If the city center becomes more attractive for various forms of mobility, more people will come to the city. Opportunities to linger or play in public spaces also mean that people enjoy spending more time in the city. These qualities play an important role, especially in times of coronavirus and online retail.

This is also shown by an  international literature review (opens in a new tab) commissioned by the Zurich Civil Engineering Office in 2021: The results of this qualitative study show that the contribution of parking spaces to the economic prosperity of city centers is often misjudged. According to the study, city centers are more attractive if, in addition to a wide range of commercial, gastronomic and cultural offerings, they offer a high quality of stay in the street spaces, are easily accessible by public transport and are also directly and safely accessible for cyclists.

Many parking spaces in the streets make them less attractive and there is a lot of traffic looking for a parking space - both of which should be avoided. The study concludes that parking spaces should be concentrated in multi-storey parking lots.

This also applies to Bonn's city center, which is now home to one of the largest contiguous pedestrian zones in Germany. The days when cars were allowed to drive onto the market square and park there are long gone.

Bonn has a number of parking garages directly in the city center, which are very easy to reach by car. It will therefore still be possible to arrive by car. Information on the parking garages of Bonner City Parkraum GmbH  can be found here (opens in a new tab).

In Bonn, parking should be financed more by the users of the parking spaces and less by the general public. Reasonable parking fees also help to shift parking from the street to parking garages and garages.

Many people are unaware of the costs incurred by their city due to parked cars. These costs for the provision and maintenance of parking spaces are borne by the general public. For example, sidewalks are being built more frequently and need to be repaired more often.

If fewer drivers are looking for a parking space on the streets, noise and air pollution levels will decrease and traffic will become safer.  Parking space management is therefore being gradually introduced in all neighborhoods throughout the city. Exemptions will be offered at appropriate conditions for care services, tradespeople and delivery traffic. There will be sufficient parking spaces for people with disabilities.

You can become part of the mobility transition yourself. Find out about the offers in Bonn and try something new: Ride your bike into the city center instead of driving your own car or borrow a spacious  Carsharing car for bulk shopping at the furniture store or DIY store.

For further commitment, there are various initiatives in the city that are involved in the mobility transition.  You can find an overview (opens in a new tab) on the Bonn4Future sustainability platform.

Via the city's portal for citizen participation  bonn-macht-mit.de (opens in a new tab), all citizens can also get involved in certain processes - including topics relating to the mobility transition. Subscribe to the platform's  newsletter (opens in a new tab) to stay up to date on all participation processes.

One current major participation process, for example, is the "Bönnsche Viertel - Vibrant spaces for people" project  . With this concept, the city is working with citizens to develop sustainable mobility in Bonn's residential districts. The Innere Nordstadt and the Combahnv . With this concept, the city is working with citizens to develop sustainable mobility in Bonn's residential districts. The Innere Nordstadt and the Combahnviertel are model districts that form the starting point for a broad-based civic participation process.