For a very long time Poznan has appreciated the role of bicycle traffic. Already as far back as in 1934 the city plans, apart from a few kilometres of existing bicycle routes, some 34 km of new routes were approved, and the complete design provided for a network of 70 km. Bicycle traffic constituted a very essential element predetermining the city's economic development by enabling many people from suburbs to reach their work place.

Together with the expansion of motor industry, the role of bicycle was regularly depreciated, and bicycle traffic was on the decline, near extinction. The beginning of the nineties witnessed a renaissance of bicycle traffic. The first new bicycle route from Rataje to the city centre was put into operation with due ceremony in 1992.

The following directions and rules were used when constructing the system of bicycle routes:

• bicycle trip between any two sites in the city must be safe for the cyclist and his surroundings on the whole route distance;
• a separate bicycle route should be applied in the streets where the car traffic speed exceeds 30 km/h;
• safe bicycle use should be ensured 24h a day and basically the year round;
• bicycle connections should be as short as possible;
• realised bicycle routes should be easily noticeable and of high quality;
• principal bicycle routes should be offered as high priority as possible.

The accepted directions result practically in efforts to construct a relatively dense network of bicycle routes, and to create safe conditions for the bicycle traffic in the urban areas delimited by the network meshes. Areas of vegetation situated away from main streets are the best for tourist and recreation routes.

The following priority list of bicycle routes has been established, depending on their function in the general urban bicycle traffic:

• bicycle routes linking large housing estates with the city centre (radial routes) and providing connections between main housing units (bicycle rings);
• bicycle routes for larger urban areas, directing bicycle traffic to main bicycle routes;
• bicycle routes for short distance trips, being a supplement to the network of other bicycle routes.

The directives for city's physical development provide for directions of bicycle routes of primary importance for the general bicycle traffic. 

City, Tourist and Recreational Bicycle Routes
Tourist bicycle routes link areas of nature reservations, areas of special ecological values and areas of special, nature and cultural values [Nature Conservation Areas II and III]. All principal directions of bicycle routes are interconnected and build a ring of tourist bicycle routes permitting to organised long bicycle trips around the city. The ring of tourist city routes will be linked to the existing and scheduled rural bicycle routes.

International Bicycle Routes
Two international bicycle routes of EuroVelo network pass through Poznań. They are specified by the International Cyclists Federation as: the Route of Capital Cities no. 2 from Dublin to Moscow, and the Route Baltic - Adriatic no. 9 from Gdański to Pula. They pass through the most interesting urban areas: Old Town, Ostrów Tumski, Malta grounds.