A stretch of Vienna’s busy Neubaugürtel, a major ring road in the city, is getting a cycling upgrade. The city is converting part of a car lane near the Vienna West train station into a dedicated two-way cycleway, aiming to make cycling faster, safer and more direct.

Currently, cyclists navigating this area face lengthy detours, including two crossings of the ring road and multiple traffic lights. The new route will eliminate these barriers by providing a continuous, segregated cycleway protected by concrete barriers.

Cycling advocacy groups have long called for this change. The city estimates that cyclists will now travel just 250 metres at this pinch point instead of 400, significantly improving journey efficiency. The Austrian Automobile Club (ÖAMTC) described the change as “unproblematic for car traffic”. ÖAMTC traffic expert Matthias Nagler confirmed that “the theoretical capacity of three lanes remains adequate”, and that past experience during construction showed no major disruptions from losing a lane.

From mid-June, commuters and leisure cyclists on the Neubaugürtel will benefit from smoother, safer and more direct travel thanks to this improved and better segregated cycleway.

Claus Köllinger

Views and opinions expressed are those of the author(s) and do not reflect those of the European Commission.