From failed rail to bike trail. The history of Wuppertal Nordbahntrasse

[@cityforall]

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[@Taladar2003]

I disagree with the conclusion. To me this is an example of how infrastructure like this needs citizens pushing very hard for it even though the benefits are numerous and should be quite obvious (as listed in the video) while car-oriented infrastructure is implemented no matter the cost and with basically no thought on benefits or downsides at all.

[@cityforall]

I tried to be positive, maybe too much :) But I also agree with your conclusion. Unfortunately, it is very difficult to change the established order of things.

[@kipuvi9181]

Great Video! This is an excelent example of a "rails to trails project" done RIGHT - so often these projects end up stoping future transit expansion or limiting the reintoduction of railway tarnsit to areas. But here is an example where the rail line truly wasn't necessary and an opportunity was taken to do something really special and not only creat an amazing piece of active infrastructure but also build comunity!

[@cityforall]

Thanks! I'm happy that you enjoyed this video! I'm curious how much cost were spent on the Rhine line construction. Cause as a result if we would count it Nordbahntrasse could become the most expensive and complex cycle path ever :)

[@Heimbasteln]

We have a similar bike route here in Kiel, Germany. ( Veloroute 10 ) It was an old railway that was unused for at least a few years and has been converted to a cycle path. The railway branch was also a dead end anyway and it would have been very unlikely to have been used for more than a few cargo trains a year ever again. They even extended it at one end over a newly built bridge over an Autobahn (the brige also carries car lanes to get to a shopping center). Its really nice, but its not enough to serve the whole city. Luckily our bike infrastructure isnt bad already and its getting better every year (although we definetly still have some bad examples).

[@mardiffv.8775]

Just a reminder that it took the Dutch 40 years to built their cycling infrastructure and they are still improving it. So with small steps each year bike infra will get better in Kiel. Saying hello from Utrecht, NL. I also speak German, by the way.

[@goldenstarmusic1689]

What I'm surprised about is how similar this is to the Midtown Greenway rail to trail conversion in Minneapolis; a disused freight and passenger railway that was abandoned in the 1990s, but converted in the 2000s into a grade separated pedestrian and bicycle urban corridor that is beloved by the city, and has ROW preserved for a future passenger railway line! There's many key differences but this video almost made me shed a tear at the similarities across the pond. Preserving iconic legacy infrastructure like this, even if trains will not ever use them again, is a bittersweet way of preserving the identity of cities in a way the public can benefit. Many Twin Cities iconic pieces such as the Stone Arch Bridge, Midtown Greenway and the plethora of statewide rail trails share a cousin story to this, and this video was as usual excellent.

[@mdhazeldine]

Great video! I follow dozens of urbanist channels and have watched about 6 different videos about the Schwebebahn but I'd never heard about this trail before. Well done for finding and highlighting something nobody else is talking about. I'm not normally a fan of converting railway lines into bike trails as I think we need more railways everywhere generally, but in this case it makes total sense and is a great re-use of old infrastructure. It gives me one more reason to visit Wuppertal some day...as if I needed one. haha

[@cityforall]

Thanks, nice to hear that :)

[@cityforall]

May be I should make a thumbnail with a "not just schwebebahn" motto?

[@golyj000]

That's a good example of reuse/revitalization actually. In my city people would demand to convert those abandoned tracks to car road

[@cityforall]

Car-brained people are everywhere...

[@JamesBond-ko7ky]

Great vídeo. Really well done thanks for the content!

[@cityforall]

Thanks! I'm happy that you liked it. Hope you've subscribed :)

[@BigBoomOfDoom2]

Amazing.

[@fever4764]

Looks the same dismissed railway conversion in the west liguria bike path