Climate activists build temporary bicycle protection strips on Berlin Sonnenallee in Neukölln

Climate activists build temporary bicycle protection strips on Berlin Sonnenallee in Neukölln

Climate activists from the "Sand in the Gearer" group have built a temporary bicycle protection strip in Berlin-Neukölln. In the night of Wednesday, they paint a section of the Sonnenallee with red-orange lime paint and bicycle symbols. The activists noticed passing people on the street and informed the police.

According to the information from the police, the activists converted a lane into an approximately 100 meter long bicycle strip by placing warning cones and marking it with color. The bike path stretched from the S-Bahn station in Köllnische Heide to the intersection between Sonnenallee and the cancer.

The emergency services started three activists with warning vests on site and recorded their personal details. The activists were reported for property damage and the police state security.

The "Sand in the Gearer" group is a reaction to the "cycle path stop" by traffic senator Manja Schreiner (CDU). Shortly after taking office, the senator had temporarily stopped numerous cycle path projects to subject them to a review. "It only helps one thing now: building cycle paths yourself and showing how easy it is," said a spokeswoman for "sand in the gear". In the campaign, the activists see the opportunity to show the need for bicycle paths and at the same time increase the pressure on those responsible to implement them faster.

The action of the climate activists caused a sensation in the media and led to discussions about the prioritization of bike paths and how to deal with the demands of the climate activists. The debate about the importance of bicycle infrastructure and the promotion of bicycle traffic in the city is thus continued. It remains to be seen what consequences the action for the decisions of the traffic senator and the implementation of cycle path projects will have.