Investments in Cycling Traffic through the Special Program "City and Country"

The special program “City and Country” in Rhineland-Palatinate specifically promotes investments in cycling infrastructure to create a comprehensive, sustainable, and safe cycling network. Public institutions, especially municipalities and municipal associations, can apply for a grant covering up to 75% of eligible expenses – for financially weak municipalities even up to 90%. Funding is provided, for example, for the new construction, conversion, and expansion of cycle paths, the integration of safety islands, as well as specific safety measures. It is of central importance that the investment projects are planned flawlessly from a construction and traffic engineering perspective and implemented with due regard to cost-effectiveness and economy. Additionally, integration into an integrated traffic or cycling concept is required to sustainably increase the potential shift from motorized individual traffic to cycling.

The program supports measures that particularly promote inter-municipal city-suburban connections and the expansion of independent cycling infrastructures. Eligible costs include, besides construction expenses, necessary planning services and expenditures for safety and digitization measures. Within the framework of the special program, investments are to be made that would only be realized at a later date or not at all without federal financial participation. The requirements regarding traffic safety, cost-effectiveness, and accessibility represent central prerequisites. Furthermore, the project must have an independent traffic engineering significance so that not exclusively tourist traffic is served, but especially commuter and everyday traffic are promoted.

With regard to the goals of climate protection and sustainable mobility, the funding program also places emphasis on reducing CO2 emissions and improving air quality. The committed financial resources are intended to enable the expansion of a safe and segregated cycling network that increases the attractiveness of cycling in both urban and rural areas. It is essential that the planned measures can be operated permanently, safely, and barrier-free – also taking into account winter maintenance and other infrastructural challenges. The “City and Country” funding program thus offers forward-looking support to advance the shift from motor vehicles to bicycles and sustainably modernize citizens’ mobility.