CITY cycling
JOHN PUCHER
for EVERYONE
IN SPITE OF THEIR AFFLUENCE AND HIGH RATES OF CAR OWNERSHIP, countries in northern Europe have achieved a high overall rate of bike shares in their urban travel; ranging from almost ten percent of trips in Belgium and Germany to about 20 percent in Denmark, and 30 percent in the Netherlands. What is equally impressive is Northern European women cycle as often as men, and all age groups make a considerable percentage of their daily trips by bike. That is quite a contrast to Canada and the United States, where only
(including Americans) )
about one per cent of trips are by bike, and most cyclists are young men. Two important aims of cycling policies in North America should be to raise the overall bike share of trips while simultaneously making cycling safe, convenient, and feasible for women
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as well as men, and for all age groups.
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their extensive bike parking, integration with public transport, comprehensive traffic education and training of both The most important approach to making cyclists and motorists, and the wide cycling safe, convenient, and attractive range of promotional events intended for everyone in northern European to generate enthusiasm and wide public cities is the provision of separate cycling support for cycling. facilities along heavily travelled roads At the same time, car use in and at intersections, combined with northern Europe is made expensive, less extensive traffic calming of residential convenient, and less necessary through neighborhoods. Safe and relatively a host of taxes and restrictions on car stress-free cycling routes are especially ownership, car use, and parking. Their important for children, the elderly, land use policies also foster relatively women, and for anyone with any sort compact, mixed-use developments that of disability. Providing such separate generate more bikeable, shorter trips. facilities to connect practical, utilitarian In this first article, the focus is placed points of origin and destinations also on the various types of cycling rights of promotes cycling for work, school, and way. I chose to start here because having shopping trips. This contrasts with the a place to ride is the most obvious and mainly recreational cycling in Canada basic prerequisite for cycling. There and the USA, where most separate are many different kinds of cycling cycling facilities are along urban parks, facilities, and cyclists vary in their rivers and lakes, or in rural areas. preferences of one type of facility over As noted in this series of three another. These should not be viewed as articles, separate facilities are only mutually exclusive alternatives, however, part of the solution. Northern but rather as complements to each European cities reinforce the safety, other, permitting as many choices as convenience, and attractiveness of possible to satisfy a wide range of cyclist excellent cycling rights of way with preferences.
TOP 5
1
MOST
BICYCLE FRIENDLY CITIES
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Amsterdam, Netherlands population: 750,000
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Amsterdam, the bike capital of the world, has 40% of all traffic movements by bicycle. An extensive network of safe, fast and comfortable bicycle routes has been developed, the road safety of cyclists has been increased, a theft-prevention program was set up as well as the number of bicycle sheds increased. Amsterdam is undertaking an ambitious capital-improvement program that includes building a 10,000-bike parking garage at the main train station.
bike paths and lanes From the mid-1970s to the mid-1990s, separate facilities expanded greatly throughout northern Europe. In Germany, for example, the bikeway network almost tripled in length, from 1976 to 1996. In the Netherlands, the bikeway network doubled in length during the same time period. Nationwide, aggregate statistics for the mid 1990s to today are not available, but data for individual cities suggest continued expansion, albeit at a much slower rate than previously. The main focus now appears to be on improving the specific design of cycle paths and lanes to improve safety. Even much smaller cities, however, have extensive cycling facilities. The bicycling networks in all these cities include numerous off-street shortcut connections that run between streets and traversing blocks, and enable cyclists to take the most direct possible route. The result of all these facilities is a truly complete, integrated system of bicycling routes that allow cyclists to cover almost any trip either on completely separate
Portland, Oregon population: 533,492
Portland has a varied bicycle network that connects all parts of the city. Portland also has a strong bicycle culture where all types of cyclists can find opportunities to enjoy riding a bicycle. Portland’s Create-a-Commuter program is the first project in the United States that provides low-income adults with commuter bicycles as well as a session on commuter safety. The bikes come outfitted with lights, a lock, a helmet, a pump, tool kits, maps and rainwear.
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Copenhagen, Denmark population: 1,800,000
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The city with the sixth-highest quality of life in the world is also home to the world’s most successful community bicycle program. For many years Copenhagen has been known as ‘the city of bikes’. Currently 32% of workers bicycle to work and 50 percent say they cycle to work because it is fast and easy. The city’s bicycle paths are extensive and well-used. Bicycle paths are often separated from the main traffic lanes and sometimes have their own signal systems. Already one city neighborhood, the notorious commune Christiania, is completely car-free.
Boulder, Colorado
population: 101,500
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Boulder has great public programs that help promote safe biking and encourage its use such as Boulder Safe Routes to School pilot program and Boulder’s Bike to Work Day, which more than 4,000 people participate in. At least 95 percent of arterials have bike lanes or trails on them. Boulder has spent an average 15% of its transportation budget on building and maintaining bicycle traffic over the past five years.
Davis, California
population: 65,000
Davis was one of the first cities in the U.S. to actively start planning for and incorporating the bicycle into its transportation infrastructure. Davis residents enjoy an extensive network of bike lanes, bike paths, and grade-separated bicycle crossings. The flat terrain and temperate climate are also conducive to bicycling. Davis has a comprehensive local bike map with tips and resources on the back. Davis has more bikes than cars and is the only place to earn platinum status on Bicycle Friendly Community’s list of top cities.
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how to make cycling safe and convenient for everyone
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traffic calming
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to ensure d e v o r p im ontinually c e v a h sing year. s e c a p n a h n c e a t e h ain cycling wit lity, and m a e u iv q t , c n a r t ig t s a Their de , and more t n ie n e v n e co safer, mor
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to slower speeds and cannot rush bicyclists or otherwise interfere with them. Traffic calmed residential neighborhoods, car-free city centres, and special bicycle streets greatly enhance the overall bicycling network in all Dutch, Danish, and German cities. Most importantly, they offer much safer, less stressful cycling than streets filled with fast-moving motor vehicles. Since most bike trips start at home, traffic calming of neighborhood streets is crucial to enabling bike trips to start in a safe, pleasant environment as cyclists make their way to the separate bike paths and lanes that serve the rest of the trip. All available evidence shows that traffic calming improves overall traffic safety. The benefits tend to be greatest for pedestrians, but serious cyclist injuries also fall sharply. Moreover, all studies report large increases in overall levels of walking and cycling. There are, of course, many different kinds of traffic calming and it is conceivable that one or another specific kind of traffic calming measure (perhaps traffic circles or speed bumps) might detract from cycling safety in some circumstances. Overall, however, there is overwhelming
evidence that traffic calming enhances both pedestrian and cyclist safety by reducing speeds on secondary roads.
intersection modifications While bike paths and lanes help protect cyclists from exposure to traffic dangers between intersections, they can pose safety problems while crossing them. Thus, Dutch, Danish, and German planners have worked continuously on perfecting the designs of intersections to facilitate safe cyclist crossings. The extent and specific design of intersection modifications vary from city to city, of course, but they generally include most of the following: ▪ Special bike lanes leading up to the
intersection, with advance stop lines for cyclists, far ahead of waiting cars.
▪ Advance green traffic signals for cyclists, and extra green signal phases for cyclists at intersections with heavy cycling volumes. ▪ Turn restrictions for cars, while all turns allowed for cyclists. ▪ Highly visible, distinctively colored bike lane crossings at intersections. ▪ Special cyclist-activated traffic lights. ▪ Moving bike pathways a bit further away from their parallel streets when
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routes that allow cyclists to cover almost any trip either on completely separate paths and lanes or on lightly travelled, traffic-calmed residential streets. Not only has the network of separate cycling facilities greatly expanded since the 1970s, but their design, quality, and maintenance have continually improved to ensure safer, more convenient, and more attractive cycling with each passing year. In addition, most cities have established a fully integrated system of directional signs for cyclists, colorcoded to correspond to different types of bike routes. All large cities and most mediumsized cities provide detailed maps of their cycling facilities. Some cities have recently introduced internet bike route planning to assist cyclists in choosing the route that best serves their needs. In Berlin and Odense, for example, cyclists can enter
overall cycling route network. Thus, Dutch, Danish, and German cities have their point of origin and destination, as engineered traffic calming on most well as a range of personal preferences, streets in residential neighborhoods, such as speed, on-street or off-street reducing the legal speed limit to 19 mph facility, avoiding major intersections and and often prohibiting any through traffic. heavy traffic, etc. The internet program In addition, many cities—especially shows the optimal route on a map and in the Netherlands—have introduced provides all relevant information about considerable alterations to the streets time, average speed, bike parking, and themselves, such as road narrowing, public transport connections. raised intersections and crosswalks, The provision of separate cycling traffic circles, extra curves and zigzag facilities is the cornerstone of Dutch, routes, speed bumps, and artificial Danish, and German policies to make dead ends created by mid-block street cycling safe and attractive to everyone. closures. Cycling is almost always They are designed to feel safe, allowed in both directions on all such comfortable, and convenient traffic-calmed streets, even when they for both young and old, for are restricted to one-way travel for cars; women as well as men, this further enhances the flexibility of and for all levels of bike travel. cycling ability. Virtually Related to traffic calming, almost all studies of the impacts of all cities have created extensive carseparate facilities confirm that free zones in their centres, mainly most cyclists prefer them. Separate intended for pedestrian use but generally paths, in particular, are perceived as permitting cycling during off-peak hours. being much safer and more pleasant In some Dutch cities, these car-free zones than cycling on the roadway, thus specifically include cycling facilities such leading to significant growth. as bike lanes and parking. Another kind of traffic calming is the “bicycle street,” which has been traffic calming increasingly adopted in Dutch and It is neither possible nor necessary German cities. These are narrow streets to provide separate bike paths where cyclists are given absolute traffic and lanes on lightly travelled priority over the entire width of the residential streets, but they street. Cars are usually permitted to use constitute an important part of the the streets as well, but they are limited
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they approach intersections to help avoid collisions with right-turning cars.
Given the very nature of roadway intersections, it is virtually impossible to avoid all conflicts between motor vehicles and cyclists, but Dutch, Danish, and German planners have done a superb job of minimizing these dangers.
making all roads more bikeable
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FOR CITIES ARE
K STAR
CYCLISTS
YS ROC A S ,
Jebediah Reed
David Byrne—that intense, herky-jerky fellow who sang “Burning Down The House” and various other songs you know from the 80s—says it used to be considered very uncool to ride a bike in New York. It certainly was at the time when, as a budding young pop icon in the early Reagan years, he adopted his childhood bike as “a principle means of transportation” around the Big Apple. Clearly the world has changed in his direction. Today, tooling around a bit eccentrically on two wheels is almost expected for some cerebral young rock star. Maybe Byrne deserves some credit as a cultural visionary. But he definitely deserves credit for physical bravery, as riding in NYC at that time was a dicey business back then, with no bike lanes and no shared understanding that cyclists had any claim at all to urban asphalt. After decades of urban cycling, he’s come to believe that cities are best seen and understood from a cyclist’s-eye view, which hits a perspectival sweet spot, “faster than a walk, slower than a train, and often slightly higher than a person.” The results are almost mystical, he says in his new book, Bicycle Diaries: “Riding a bike through [a city] really is a trip inside the collective psyche of a compacted group of people. One can sense the collective brain–happy, cruel, deceitful and generous–at work and at play.” And that’s without drugs! The Bicycle Diaries are wide-ranging, but most speak in some respect to his central theme that healthy cities are cities that are bicycle-friendly. Byrne is also perfectly ready to discuss vast societal transformations, including a hundred year plan for New York, for example. The revolution Byrne wants is one that creates and protects accessible, interesting, human-scale urban spaces–places where people can get around by foot or bike without feeling like deer during hunting season. He quotes Enrique Penelosa, the former mayor of Bogota, who worked a remarkable transformation of that city, speaking to this: One common measure of how clean a mountain stream is is to look for trout. If you find trout the habitat is healthy. It’s the same with children in a city. Children are a kind of indicator species. Which is to say, if you see kids partaking easily and freely of a city’s public spaces then things are going well.
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No major North American city even comes close to providing a complete and fully integrated system of separate cycling facilities. Thus, it is crucial that roads be made safer and more convenient for cycling. That includes proper design of drain grates, wide outside lanes and shoulders, repair of potholes, and cleaning up debris on the roadway and shoulders. Roads should also offer clear signage of convenient bike routes and reminders to motorists to share the road with cyclists. In short, roads should be designed for use by cyclists and not just by motorists. Bicycling is obviously not appropriate on certain high-speed, high volume highways. Nevertheless, cycling is both possible and legally permitted on the vast majority of roads in both Canada and the USA. Cycling remains a marginal mode of transport in most North American cities because it is widely viewed as requiring special equipment and training, physical fitness, and the courage and willingness to battle with motor vehicles on streets without separate bike lanes or paths. Cycling is a mainstream mode of urban travel in Northern Europe precisely because it does not require any of those things.
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