Main road network

The road network in Aachen has a length of 902.1 km (as of 1.1.2015). Of this, the "classified road network" accounts for 168.8 km, divided into 27.5 km of highways, 40.2 km of federal roads, 70.7 km of state roads and 30.4 km of district roads. Of these, 102.7 km are located within the local thoroughfares under municipal responsibility. In addition, there are 733.3 km of municipal roads, 473.9 km of which are within the local thoroughfares.

On main roads, motor vehicle traffic should be bundled and, if possible, prioritized. With the "Guidelines for Integrated Network Design" (RIN 08), a set of rules for the systematic derivation of a main road network has been available for several years and was first applied in Aachen.

According to the City of Aachen's rules of responsibility, the Mobility Committee decides, among other things, "on road law measures, insofar as these have cross-district effects". The assignment of the roads is based on the "Road List" in the appendix to the rules of responsibility, which shows the supra-district significance of roads in such a way that they are the responsibility of the "Traffic Management Committee" and not the district councils.

The allocation of roads is relevant, among other things, for the redrafting of the land use plan (FNP) of the city of Aachen. Here, the question of which roads should be designated as "important roads" needs to be clarified. The currently valid FNP essentially shows the so-called "classified" roads, which differ from the list of roads with "supra-district effects".

The demarcation of a main road network is also important in other contexts: When roads are rebuilt or reconstructed, local residents share in the costs. The amount depends on the type of road. The city has made the distinction in the "Statutes on the collection of contributions in accordance with Section 8 of the Municipal Tax Act (KAG) for the state of North Rhine-Westphalia - KAG - for road construction measures in the city of Aachen dated 11.12.2015".

When valuing the road network as part of the infrastructure assets, the type of road category is also taken into account in addition to the condition of the road. In the balance sheet of the City of Aachen as at December 31, 2013, a value of € 282.9 million was determined for the entire road assets of the City of Aachen.

Other meanings exist with regard to the assessment under traffic law, possible prioritization for winter road maintenance and street cleaning or the classification under funding law.

Procedure

In various expert commissions, which meet with experts from the administration, public agencies and political representatives as part of traffic development planning, the desire was expressed to review the main road network. As a result, an expert opinion was commissioned that dealt with the definition of the main road network. The RIN 08 of the Road and Transportation Research Association (FGSV) form the basis for traffic network planning. The administration commissioned Prof. Hebel from Aachen University of Applied Sciences, who is a member of the FGSV working committee responsible for the RIN, to carry out the work. The final report (see Appendix 2) is the first step in the drafting of a main road network for motor vehicle traffic in accordance with RIN 08.

It is also necessary to consider the local public transport and cycling networks. The network for local public transport is derived from the local transport plan and in Aachen includes the roads on which bus services are operated. For cycling, the overall cycling network is currently being revised as part of the work on the cycle priority route network.

Definition of main road

According to the technical regulations of the FGSV, main roads are largely characterized by their connecting function. According to the "Guidelines for the Design of Urban Roads" (RASt 06), they are defined as follows:

"Main roads are always important urban planning and traffic axes and spaces, but at the same time they are often also sections of supra-local road networks with regional or city-wide local public transport. They connect districts and neighborhoods of different sizes and structures and, if they are built on, are also the main access roads of such settlement units." (RASt 06, p. 16). RASt 06 regulates how main roads should be designed.

To understand the results

The derivation of the road network is based on a centralized structure of the region and city. Based on this, so-called triangular networks and linear connections are formed, which are then transferred to the real, existing road network. This is done with the help of computer-aided allocation models, which are based on the directness of the connection (shortest route) or the travel time (fastest route). The present categorization of Aachen's road network for motor vehicle traffic thus represents a stock-oriented approach.

In addition, a target network can be developed that takes into account aspects such as the bundling of traffic flows, the relief of built-up areas or other areas worthy of protection and routing on traffic-safe routes.

The main road network developed for motor vehicle traffic in accordance with RIN 08 must be adapted following the completion of traffic projects of overriding importance (including the Eilendorf highway connection; Richtericher Dell main access road).

According to the present categorization according to RIN 08, roads within the ring of avenues are not main roads for motor vehicle traffic according to RIN 08. The city center within the ring of avenues was categorized as a central inner-city location. The network of main roads for motor vehicle traffic according to RIN 08 therefore starts at the ring of avenues and connects outwards to the highway junctions and the country roads in the out-of-town area. The roads in the city center serve to develop the inner city area and therefore have no connecting significance.

According to the present categorization according to RIN 08, 340.1 km of the existing 902.1 km of roads in Aachen are classified as main roads for motor vehicle traffic according to RIN 08.

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