The cantons must ensure that plans for cycle path networks for everyday and leisure use are drawn up and that these are periodically reviewed and adapted. Existing and planned cycle path networks must be transferred to the plans.

Everyday bikeway networks provide access to residential areas, workplaces, schools, public transportation, shopping stores, and other facilities of public interest.

Recreational bikeway networks include appropriately connected roads, bike paths, trails, and signalized bike and mountain bike routes and similar infrastructure, and provide access to beautiful landscapes, points of interest, public transit stops, and tourism-related infrastructure.

Cycle route networks also include corresponding infrastructure. This includes, for example, parking facilities, information platforms or possibly even washing stations and the like.

The cycle path networks must:

… be coherent and continuous and include the important places (see above)

… have an appropriate density and direct routing

… be as safe as possible and as separate as possible from motorized traffic and pedestrian traffic

… be homogeneously developed

… be attractive and (especially in the case of leisure networks) have a high recreational quality

… be maintained

… be replaced if necessary (replacement in the event of removal).

Mountain biking is explicitly mentioned in the text of the law. Thus, cantons are obliged to ensure that there are attractive and high-quality, coherent, continuous, sufficient, safe and homogeneously developed mountain bike infrastructures.

A balancing of interests applies to the planning principles. For mountain bike infrastructures, “direct connections” and “high recreational quality” are often mutually exclusive. Likewise, it will hardly make sense to completely separate pedestrian traffic and mountain bike infrastructure. 

The cantons must ensure that plans for cycle path networks for everyday use and leisure are drawn up in a manner that is binding on the authorities and that these plans are periodically reviewed and adapted. Existing and planned cycle path networks must be transferred to the plans.

– Cantons must establish a procedure for creating and amending these plans and define the other legal effects

– They can delegate this work to the municipalities

– Plans are to be drawn up with public participation

Cantons are required to plan a network of cycle paths in a manner that is binding on the authorities within five years of entry into force and to implement this network no later than 20 years after entry into force.

If different authorities are responsible for cycle paths, they must coordinate their work and coordinate it with other spatially effective tasks across authorities. 

Cantons should designate a specialized office for bikeways. This can also be outsourced to private offices or associations. Cantons can also designate municipalities, which must designate their own specialized agencies.