Day-glow marshals had even told people off for wheeling their bikes through the city
The bicycle prohibition in the Folkingestraat will now only be in force on Fridays and Saturdays, from noon to 18:00, and you may walk your bike through the shopping street. On all market days, the Vismarkt will be considered a pedestrian zone, reports the GIC.
Cycling was also prohibited on the Werkmanbrug near the Groninger Museum. The municipality has now decided that this prohibition will only apply at busy times between 07:30 and 09:30, and between 15:30 and 18:30. The bridge is will also be kept bicycle-free on Saturdays, from 13:00 to 18:00.
The cycling ban in Zwanestraat, Brugstraat and Vismarkt will be lifted. Everyone is called on not to cycle side by side and not to overtake each other.
To keep as much space in the city center as possible, the bicycle parking ban will continue to apply. Parking is allowed in marked out bicycle parks, and additional bicycle racks have also been placed. All bicycles outside these racks have been removed and taken to the temporary depot on the Ossenmarkt. You can pick up your bicycle there for free for now, by showing that you have the key.
The municipality recently announced the bicycle ban in the city center as a measure against the Coronavirus, and to help people keep distance whilst out in town. Shopkeepers, though, then saw a decline in turnover, because it remained very quiet in the city. According to the Groningen City Club, many shops depend on passing cyclists, who nevertheless get off their bikes to enter a store anyway. The GCC even feared that retailers would go bankrupt as a result of the ban.
Image via Wikimedia user Christian Mercat. License here.
