With the unveiling of a life-size cartoon, the express bicycle route F270 was officially opened Wednesday afternoon, June 12. The express cycle route connects Helmond and Eindhoven over a route of 13.7 kilometers, largely parallel to the railroad.

The route runs from the center of Eindhoven via hamlet Eeneind directly to the center of Helmond. An important new section of the express cycle route, between Eeneind (Nuenen) and Vaarleseweg (Geldrop-Mierlo/Helmond border), was officially inaugurated Wednesday. Helmond Alderman Arno Bonte (mobility), who is also chairman of the administrative steering committee, is extremely pleased. 'This express cycle path provides cyclists between Helmond and Eindhoven with a time gain of up to 10 minutes. This makes it a lot more attractive to take the bike to work'. 

Panels 

Alderman Sandor Löwik of Nuenen and deputy Stijn Smeulders of the province of North Brabant were also present at the opening. Together they unveiled four large panels near the bridge over the Hooidonkse Beek. The panels depict the express bicycle route and the beautiful locations along the route. "Every cyclist who is not in the car stays healthy and ensures a cleaner living environment in Nuenen, Eindhoven and Helmond" says Sandor Löwik of the municipality of Nuenen. 

Brabant accessible

"Cycling is healthy, fun and helps us to keep Brabant accessible," says Provincial Executive member Stijn Smeulders (mobility) "That's why as a province we are fully committed to a large network of express bicycle routes. This F270 is a fine example of that. We know from research that 1 in 5 users of an express cycle route previously used the car or public transport for the same route. So in the fight against traffic jams alone, this delivers huge gains." 

Most of the F270 is now complete. Only a small section is still missing at the Dommel Valley. This section is also expected to be completed by 2027 at the latest. Until then there will be a detour for this short stretch, with measures to make the route safer and more attractive to cyclists.