A joint action week by the administration and police for greater road safety: this is currently taking place from Monday, March 9 until today, March 13, at the pedestrian tunnel near the Aachen-Richterich district office on Roermonder Straße. The aim is to improve road safety in the underpass and draw attention to the applicable rules.

Detour due to bridge renovation
The pedestrian tunnel connects Alt-Richterich with Roermonder Straße and is used by many people every day. Since the renovation of the bridge on Horbacher Straße, pedestrian traffic has also increased because the route over the bridge is currently no longer available. For cyclists, the signposted detour leads via the tunnel on Amstelbachstraße/Roder Weg. Despite this, many cyclists still use the pedestrian underpass. This repeatedly leads to dangerous situations. One factor is the gradient in the tunnel: The slope with a drop of around six percent ensures that cyclists quickly gain speed. A count on one day in August 2025 shows the extent of this: out of around 500 cyclists, only 140 pushed their bikes through the tunnel in accordance with the rules.

Action week at the request of the district
Following several complaints from the public and at the request of the district council, the Aachen-Richterich district office, the mobility and traffic department of the city of Aachen and the police organized the action week. District mayor Hans Peter Kehr explained at a press conference: "We don't want to pit road users against each other. We are all in the same boat in Richterich with the closure of the Horbach Bridge and the resulting detour. That's why we have to look out for each other and show consideration."

Information, approach and checks
The campaign week follows a clear principle: first inform and raise awareness, then approach people personally - and only as a final step do we consistently punish violations.

At the beginning of the campaign week on Monday, March 9, and Tuesday, March 10, employees of the city administration provided information directly on site. They distributed flyers, explained the situation and also placed temporary markings on the path to draw attention to the rules. On Wednesday, March 11, and Thursday, March 12, district police officer Thomas Pestner supported the campaign. He approached cyclists riding through the tunnel and told them to dismount and push their bikes. From Friday, March 13, the police traffic service will also be carrying out checks and imposing fines for violations.

Tunnel is part of school and nursery routes
The pedestrian tunnel is very popular and is located on an important school and nursery route. Head of the district authority Yvonne Moritz, who handed out flyers herself on site, reports a predominantly positive response: "Pedestrians and parents of school and nursery children are particularly pleased that we are drawing attention to the applicable traffic rules with this campaign week." Anyone using the pedestrian tunnel on a bicycle, pedelec or e-scooter must dismount and push the vehicle.