Esslingen relies on citizen participation: redesign cycling and walking!

Esslingen relies on citizen participation: redesign cycling and walking!

Movement is the order of the day in Esslingen! The city is working intensively on a new local mobility concept that will significantly improve conditions for pedestrians and cyclists. The idea behind this concept is to create a comfortable, safe and continuous network for walking and cycling. To achieve this, there was extensive online participation where citizens had the opportunity to comment on existing main and secondary routes on maps and suggest improvements. According to reports from Stuttgart News Almost 2,800 people from Esslingen took part in this campaign and submitted almost 700 suggestions.

The collected feedback has now been viewed and forms the basis for updating the walking and cycling network in Esslingen. Some of the ideas have already been incorporated into the network plans. Even the updated plans are already available online and can be viewed by citizens. However, the participation process is not yet over. Citizens' committees as well as associations and organizations for pedestrians and cyclists will be further involved in the process in the coming weeks. Interested parties can provide further information to their citizens' committee until July 8th in order to contribute even more to improving the path system.

The goal in sight: improvements for pedestrians and cyclists

The aim of the local mobility concept is for every district to offer a continuous connection to the city center. The city has been working on this project since the end of 2024 and will now implement the suggestions collected into a comprehensive program of measures. This should include standards such as minimum widths for cycle lanes and the barrier-free design of footpaths. The challenge is clear: it is not enough just to improve the existing network, but also to identify new routes and close gaps in the existing system in order to promote the use of walking and cycling and to relieve the burden on motorized traffic.

A similar project is currently being launched in Rödermark. A walking and cycling concept will be created here by summer 2026, in which citizens can also actively contribute to the planning. The “VAR+” planning office has received the contract for this and is also collecting the ideas and suggestions from the population via an interactive map. As in Esslingen, the focus here is on promoting walking and cycling in order to reduce noise, CO2 and other pollutants and to make the places even more livable. The districts of Rödermark should also better cover the needs of users. It remains to be seen which concepts will ultimately receive the most support, but one thing is clear: the voices of citizens are more important than ever Rödermark shows.

Perhaps the committed citizens will take part in the further design of their living environment before the planned completion of the work in summer 2026. The city of Esslingen is on the right track and hopes that the new local mobility concept will soon be visible and noticeable throughout the city.