‘Bicycle climate’: four minus for cycling in Eltville

Eltville, 17 June 2025. Again, not a good note for Eltville. The participants of the ADFC Cycling Climate Test 2024 rate the conditions for cyclists in their city at 4.15 on a school grade scale. This is a slight deterioration compared to the grade 4.0 in 2022. For the Rheingau-Taunus district, this result is almost the bottom line, only Idstein (4.25) and Taunusstein (4.35) score even worse. (Note: This sentence was corrected on 25.06.2025. Originally it was erroneously referred to Schwalbach.)

The municipalities of Wettringen in North Rhine-Westphalia, which occupies the absolute top position with a score of 1.55 in a nationwide comparison in the size class up to 20,000 inhabitants, show that things are completely different. Eltville has now fallen from 288th place in this group's 2022 survey to 341 (out of 474). Within Hesse, this ranks 57th out of 69 municipalities of similar size.

False parking as a problem also for cycling

The respondents in Eltville criticized above all that the dormant traffic is insufficiently controlled. The ADFC has been promoting good cooperation in road traffic for years and ensuring that all road users abide by the rules of the game. If you park on walking or cycling paths, in the second row, in car sharing and disabled parking spaces or on parking spaces for electric cars, you endanger or hinder other traffic participants and make the switch to climate-friendly means of transport less attractive.

Unfortunately, wrongly parked cars and vans are the order of the day in Eltville. ADFC member Elke Tegeler from Eltville said: "One example is the traffic-free area in front of Eltville station. False parkers are apparently tolerated there by the regulatory authorities. This leads to massive obstacles for buses and cyclists and very confusing and dangerous traffic situations.’ In Wilhelmstraße in front of the Eltviller station, there are the typical stop bays near the station and opportunities for short-term parking for up to two hours; they would be continuously misused for permanent parking. For quick tasks, drivers often parked in such a way that this endangered or hindered others.

Little advertising for cycling

In addition, the respondents believe that there is too little advertising for cycling. The city is committed to sustainability and was awarded the German Sustainability Award in 2021. ‘However, it does not live up to this claim in the context of the traffic transition’, notes the ADFC Wiesbaden/Rheingau-Taunus. As in previous years, the city took part in city cycling again in 2025, moreover, actions for the environmental network in Eltville were misrepresented.

Furthermore, Eltville performs very poorly with the traffic light circuits geared towards cyclists, the winter service on cycle paths and the lack of public bicycle leasing systems. However, the ADFC does not see this as a priority issue for a small town like Eltville.

Pros: Great location and easy access to the city center

The fact that the one-way roads were already opened a few years ago for cycling in oncoming traffic is credited positively to the city. This measure is now normal in Eltville, as in many other cities, and has proved its worth. The good accessibility of the city center by bike also gets a good touch. An opportunity that the city could make even more of.

All results of the ADFC Bike Climate Test 2024 can be found here: https://fahrradklima-test.adfc.de/

About the ADFC bike climate test

The ADFC cycling climate test is the largest survey on cycling satisfaction in Germany. It is held every two years by the cycling club ADFC with the support of the Federal Ministry of Digital and Transport and took place for the eleventh time in 2024. In order for well-founded results to be achieved, at least 50, 75 or 100 voting results must be available, depending on the size of the city. The survey is open to all, but is aimed specifically at cyclists and is therefore not representative of the population. However, the results of the test are highly informative due to the broad public participation and can help municipalities to improve the offer for cyclists in a targeted manner.