Tel Aviv-Yafo Gears Up To Double City’s Bike Paths By 2025

The Tel Aviv-Yafo municipality has approved a strategic plan which aims to double the length of bike paths in the city from 140km to 300km by 2025.

The municipality says it plans to add 11 pedestrian streets. This will be done as part of an overall urban policy that prioritizes pedestrians and cyclists and encourages local trade.

Other points of the plan include paving 10 kilometers of new bike paths to create an uninterrupted and safe bike path network; installing bicycle ramps on public stairs to facilitate walking a bicycle up or down the stairways; creating innovative bicycle parking facilities such as the installment of bicycle docking stations in the courtyards of private buildings; and continuing to cooperate and promote the use of shared electric vehicles while improving the regulations in order to keep pedestrian and riders safe

The municipality announced the plan on World Bicycle Day 2020, a day to recognize the longevity, uniqueness, and versatility of the bicycle as an affordable and sustainable means of transport, which was declared three years ago by the United Nations General Assembly and is celebrated every year on June 3rd.

“The city of Tel Aviv-Yafo has undergone a revolution in recent years and bicycles and personal vehicles have become an integral part of the urban culture. We continue to work and pave additional kilometers of bike paths while keeping three main goals in sight: “returning” the streets to pedestrians; reducing traffic congestion, reducing air pollution,” said Tel Aviv Mayor Ron Huldai.

The municipality’s investment in improving the city’s biking experience is part of an overall upgrade that bicycle cities around the world have achieved. The benefits linked to these improvements include the reduction of traffic congestion, more bustling urban neighborhoods and high accessibility to faster, cheaper, and healthier modes of transport.

In addition, the implementation of the plan is expected to reduce traffic congestion in the city by 30 percent. People who depend on their vehicles will also profit from the improved infrastructures. The municipality also aims to reduce the number of accidents caused by cyclers by 40 percent.

“It is a revolutionary plan that for the first time turns segments of bike paths into one uninterrupted network,” said Meital Lehavi, deputy mayor for transportation at the Tel Aviv-Yafo Municipality. “The program is based on models designed according to cyclers’ demands and needs of accessibility while mapping the most crucial streets for bike paths, all staying in accordance with law enforcement guidelines. On top of that incorporating aspects of education, cultural and behavioral adjustments through the distribution of information and accurate law enforcement. There is no doubt that a good bicycle alternative can lower the cost of living and improve air quality and the environment for the city and its residents.”