The planned German bike "autobahn"

[dasgeh]

It’s basically a very nice rail-trail.

[cvcalhoun]

@PotomacCyclist 130575 wrote:

http://www.bicycling.com/culture/advocacy/germany-opens-bicycle-only-autobahn

“The route will eventually include more than 60 miles of bike highway, and could take 50,000 cars off the streets each day”

Hmm, if they don’t allow autos, can it still be an autobahn?

[ursus]

@cvcalhoun 130650 wrote:

Hmm, if they don’t allow autos, can it still be an autobahn?

It’s only called that in the article since the German word Fahrradbahn wouldn’t make sense to most English readers while Autobahn has entered the English language. Bahn means railroad, so Autobahn actual means railroad for cars, and Fahrradbahn, railroad for bicycles. You can google Fahrradbahn to get a lot of pictures and articles in German.

[PotomacCyclist]

@cvcalhoun 130650 wrote:

Hmm, if they don’t allow autos, can it still be an autobahn?

I thought about that myself. But I had similar thoughts as ursus, that another German word wouldn’t make any sense to most Americans (me included).

We have our own mislabeling in transportation too. A big one is the Highway Trust Fund. While that may be the official name of the umbrella structure, it doesn’t accurately account for what actually happens with that fund. (Transit spending makes up a significant amount of annual expenditures but the name doesn’t reflect it, except for a sub-organization name.)

[PotomacCyclist]

On a different note, it’s similar to the name Mount Midoriyama used on NBC’s American Ninja Warrior program. “Yama” apparently means “mountain” in Japanese so it’s silly for them to say Mount Midoriyama. That means Mount Midori Mountain.

[GB]

@cvcalhoun 130650 wrote:

Hmm, if they don’t allow autos, can it still be an autobahn?

I think it becomes an auto-ban.

[Fairlington124]

How about schnellfahrradweg? Fast bike path.

[PotomacCyclist]

@dasgeh 130644 wrote:

It’s basically a very nice rail-trail.

Still something to celebrate if it is actually built. The potential utility and the width of the trail could merit a different description than just a nice rail trail though. The W&OD Trail is our own local long-distance rail trail. But it doesn’t connect major metro areas as well as it could. It passes near Tysons and Dulles but doesn’t provide a direct connection. The western end is mostly rural other than in Leesburg.

Imagine if there were a similar trail between DC and Baltimore with a connection to Annapolis. And an extension to Philadelphia. All paved with only limited crossings of roads. The East Coast Greenway project is trying to make that a reality, but existing routes fall far short of the ideal. Baltimore is close enough for many amateur cyclists to bike to, if only occasionally. The trail would make it much easier for many in that part of Maryland to bike to and from DC, Baltimore and Annapolis. The WB&A Trail doesn’t actually connect with any of those cities. It probably won’t for many years, if ever. But I hope some progress can be made.

The few threads I’ve seen on the forum about biking between DC and Baltimore don’t make the trip sound appealing at all. I rode around some parts of that area over the past month, but I relied on MetroRail, buses and their front bike racks to travel between DC and Maryland. Those bus bike racks are very convenient. I’ve known about them but I never used them before. They are easy to use after you figure it out the first time. But it would still be nice to have the option to have a low-stress bike route from DC to Baltimore too.

[KLizotte]

Also, it sounds like only cyclists would be able to use the German trail, unlike the W&OD.

[TwoWheelsDC]

@KLizotte 131199 wrote:

Also, it sounds like only cyclists would be able to use the German trail, unlike the W&OD.

But what about ELFs??

[cvcalhoun]

@TwoWheelsDC 131201 wrote:

But what about ELFs??

Has the word “ELF” not been banned in these quarters? If not, then why not?

[Author]

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