Cycling Facilities in Europe

Signs of Acceptance by Low Cost

Prepared by Difu,
presented by Jrg Thiemann-Linden
Pardubice, 22nd February 2012

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 Content
1. Cycling facilities
types, outside settled area, maintenance
2. Bicycle Parking
in city center, in dense housing
3. Traffic calming
the safety issue, speed limits, mixing the modes
4. Outlook
Measuring cycling, sources

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 Introduction: Users Perspective

Other people cycling

Quick and simple from A to B
Feeling safe a condition for
experiencing the bike in daily
life (after having had good
experiences from leisure use)
Cycling is fun!
Visible signs of social and
political acceptance of cycling
Quality Infrastructure
= keeping the potential

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 Cycling Facilities
1. Balanced public space
2. Basic Types (sorted from
mixing to separation)
- cycle street
- advisory safety lane
- cycle lane
- cycle path
Hannover:
3. New elements
Former mandatory cycle path; new cycle lane
4. Maintenance
5. Outside settled area

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 New generation of guidelines
From FGSV e.V. German Transport and Road Research Association

Bases for ERA: 2010: RASt 06 Street design guidelines:

to design the street from the sides, not from the middle

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Ascain possible street cross section

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Advisory Cycle Cycle
safety lane path
lane

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 Choice of the adequate
type of cycling facility
Criteria for pre-selection
(to be confirmed in detail
construction plan)
Motorized vehicle
frequency per day
Car speed (V85)

I entire mixed
II mixed with assistance
III potential separation
IV separation

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 9

Cycle lanes
Visibility!
Quick and easy travel, cheaper than to build cycle paths
Adequate space at intersections
Self-explanatory design
Enforcement on parking!

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 Outside settled area

Separation because of driven speed

(but long time effort to create a
network priorities?)
Bicycle lanes outside ?
(not in Germany, but CH, NL, BE, FR)
Speed limit at 60-70 km/h
in minor roads without
cycling facilities?
Focus on entries to
villages

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 Road separator - for crossing and turning

Crossing in two phases

Substitute for traffic light
Necessary at the end of
a two way cyclepath

CMB Expert Seminar, Pardubice,

22nd February 2012
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 Visible sign of acceptance

e.g. bike box, indirect turning

(coloured lane in general)

CMB Expert Seminar, Pardubice, 12

22nd February 2012
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In future capacity oriented planning?

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 Dutch new tradition
of cycle streets and cycle highways
Reasons for national Cycle Highway
programm:
- increase commuter
distances cycling
- Improve health effect
- reduce work load of
public transport
during peak hour
- avoid congestion on
motorways

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Bridges, worth kilometers of cycle paths

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Tunnels, worth kilometers of cycle paths

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 Leisure route for inliners
and cyclists (Flmingskate, signed cycle street)

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Greenways on former rail tracks

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Copenhagen Green Wave,
cycle highways

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No passing cyclist in small roundabout
(but plenty of mistakes in detailled design!)

Gdansk bicycle roundabout

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 Requirements on Bicycle Parking

Stability: for locking the bicycle, no front wheel clip

Right location close
to shops
Dry under roof (if
parking for longer time)
Theft-proof: bright at
dark in public area
(guarded parking)

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 Neighbourhood Bicycle Garages
Utrecht, Rotterdam (NL), Antwerp (BE)
Network of community garages (boxes, new shelters, former shops
Organisation by municipal garage company of civil society bureau.
Utrecht / Antwerpen: funding from municipal car garages assets
(due to public interest to memove any
barriers from cycle use)

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Copenhagen: capital of bakery bikes

Each fourth familiy with children in

central Copenhagen posseses one

1 box for 4 tricycles on 1 car parking lot

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Pedelec parking at work location
solar filling station

CMB Expert Seminar, Pardubice,

22nd February 2012
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 Parking capacity problems
(Mnster, DE); Red carpet for pedestrians (Groningen, NL)

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 City center bicycle parking
mostly for free; Apeldoorn, Den Haag (NL), Mnster (DE)

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 New station Alphen a.d.Rijn, NL (2010)
30,000 inhabitants, guarded parking + free parking in bicycle apple

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Houten, NL (2011); 50,000 inhabitants
3200 bicycles capacity in station hall

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 Safety a matter of cycling density

Exposure of the
single cyclist
Source: ECF

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 Thoughtfullness the rule,
not exception
Speed limit
of 30 km/h.
Closer to cycling
speed

The reasons
(from info on
new traffic
law in France):

CMB Expert Seminar, Pardubice,

22nd February 2012
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 Thoughtfullness the rule,
not exception
Speed limit
of 30 km/h !

Reasons:

CMB Expert Seminar, Pardubice,

22nd February 2012
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 New street law in France

fomal status
of street

maximum
speed

balanced traffic
/ local function

French Highway code since 2008

Zone de rencontre
Switzerland
Belgium
France
CMB Expert Seminar, Pardubice,
22nd February 2012
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 Hierarchy of streets:

Self-explaining roads
30 km/h in most streets
(EP 2011: the rule, not exception)
50/70 km/h in some streets
(with cycling facilities)
some Ped. Zone and 20 km/h streets

Key for good cycling condition:

>> balanced spaces for the modes
>> low speed of motorized modes

CMB Expert Seminar, Pardubice,

22nd February 2012
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 Shared Spaces squares
Duisburg / Ulm / Lneburg (DE), Haren (NL)
All driving at cyclist speed

CMB Expert Seminar, Pardubice,

22nd February 2012
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Mixing the modes in peaceful co-existance

CMB Expert Seminar, Pardubice,

22nd February 2012
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 Respect! Pedestrians Needs

Relaxed joint use :

Common green paths
with pedestrians:
sufficient space
Avoiding (mountain) bike
routes on high level hiking
paths
The cycling speed issue
Bicycle parkings and
handicapped pedestrians

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 Measuring Cycling

Simple methods:
Counting cyclists at central
spots (bridges) year by year,
or steadily for public awareness
Users satisfaction survey by
interviews
Point out problem spots on
open map (wiki mapping?)
Hands-up in school classes before,
after cycling to school action

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 Copenhagen
bicycle balance - users satisfaction

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 Netherlands
bicycle balance by test rides

Utrecht compared to Groningen

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 Bicycle portal www.nrvp.de
Public repository of pooled know-
how with 5000 entries:
federal initiatives and
funding measures,
(inter)national practical
examples
news updates
literature database
list of events
Internal working platform for English section www.nrvp.de/en
cooperation CyE download section
news updates
Newsletter to 1500 recipients international practice
examples
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 For sharing experiences with CMB
Cycling Expertise files on www.nrvp.de
(print & download, slides series, newsletter)

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 More Cycling Portals

ELTIS.org
Fietsberaad.nl
www.kk.dk/cityofcyclists
(and Danish Cycling Embassy)
PRESTO.Project!
ECF.org

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Manual From PSWE, Pomerania (PL)

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Thank you

Difu
Jrg Thiemann-Linden
Tilman Bracher
Zimmerstrasse 13-15
10969 Berlin
++49 30 39001-138

www.nrvp.de,
cycling-expertise@difu.de

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 Sources and Links
National Cycling Plan 20022012 Ride Your Bike: www.nrvp.de
(http://edoc.difu.de/edoc.php?id=YFGDITZ2)
Second German federal government cycling report on the state of cycling in
the Federal Republic of Germany, 2007:
www.bmvbs.de/Anlage/original_1018367/
Zweiter-Fahrradbericht-der-Bundesregierung-barrierefrei.pdf (in German)
Funding guidelines, application forms, bulletins: www.nrvp.de/foerderung-
bund/foerderung-nrvp/antragstellung.phtml (in German)
Measures supported within the context of the National Cycling Plan:
www.nrvp.de/foerderung-bund/foerderung-nrvp/massnahmen.phtml (in
German)

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 Sources and Links

Second German federal government cycling report on the state of cycling in the
Federal Republic of Germany, 2007:
www.bmvbs.de/Anlage/original_1018367/Zweiter-Fahrradbericht-der-
Bundesregierung-barrierefrei.pdf (in German)
www.nrvp.de/foerderung-bund/foerderung-nrvp/massnahmen.phtml (in German)
Mecklenburg-West Pomerania www.mv-bike.net
North-Rhine Westphalia www.fahrradfreundlich.nrw.de
Route planner www.radroutenplaner.nrw.de/RRP_home_02_en.html (in English)
NRW Cycling Network www.radverkehrsnetz.nrw.de/downloads/Rad_info_english.pdf
(in English)
Baden-Wrttemberg www.fahrradland-bw.de

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