what i learned on my bike ride across europe

What Can We Learn from People-friendly European Street Design?

Pro Walk Pro Bike Pro Place | Pittsburgh September 10, 2014

Benchmarking & Bike touring 8 European Countries

Tom Bertulis, MS, PE, PTOEPrincipalTraffic engineering for Livable CommunitiesSomerville, MA

Urban Transport Benchmarking Project (UTBI)

Presentation Outline

I Designing for walking/biking

II European Countries

III Take-away – Points

–

Who's in the audience?

Cycletrack vs Bike Paths vs Protected Bike Lanes vs … ????

Source: People for Bikes

Cycletrack vs Bike Paths vs Protected Bike Lanes vs … ????

Once upon a time there was a genie in a lamp ...

My bike route across Europe

GlasgowGlasgow

Vilnius

Highly recommended: Hennessy Hammock (tent/hammock combo, very comfy/lightweight)

The 6 E’s

Education Enforcement Encouragement EvaluationEquityEngineering

Designing for–Walking

Source: Portland Bicycle Plan

(1) Reduce motor vehicle speeds and

(2) Reduce exposure (read: reduce xing distance)

Designing for pedestrian safety

18

Speed Affects Crash Avoidance

19

20

21

Median islands vs curb bulbs

•Designing for –Biking

Sou

rce:

Lon

don

Cyc

ling

Cam

paig

n

Source: Streetsblog SF

Source: Streetsblog SFSource: Peter Furth

26

Planning and Designing for Cyclists

Accessibility

and

Advantage

Headline Principle:

Invisible Infrastructurerefers to the idea that:

“Invisible infrastructure” refers to all sustainable transport policies, practices, and physical measures which contribute to a walk/bike-friendly environment but are not walk/bike-specific, such as:

- traffic calming

- land use policies

- congestion charging

- pricing parking

Taming the Automobile

“What do we do about the car?”

Get these “right” ...

- Density

- Proximity

- Mix of uses

- Transportation Options

“... and the car drops out of the equation.”

Gordon Price, former member of Vancouver City Council

Country or state

Population density (/km2)

Area (km2) Population

 Netherlands 393 41,526 16,866,900

 Belgium 337 30,510 11,007,020

 United Kingdom

256 243,610 62,262,000

 Germany 233 357,021 81,799,600

 Denmark 125 43,094 5,368,854

 France 111 547,030 63,601,002

 Scotland (UK) 68 78,387 5,313,600

 Lithuania 55 65,200 3,601,138

 Sweden 20 449,964 9,515,744

Area, Population, and Density

Per Capita CO^2 emissions?

Country Annual CO^2 Per Capita emissions

 % of world

emissions (kt)[7] total

 Lithuania 13561 4.378 0.04%

 France 361273 5.556 1.07%

 China 8286892 6.195 24.65%

 European Union 3709765 7.351 11.04%

 United Kingdom 493505 7.863 1.47%

 Denmark 46303 8.346 0.14%

 Germany 745384 9.115 2.22%

 Belgium 108947 9.977 0.32%

 Netherlands 182078 10.958 0.54%

 United States 5433057 17.564 16.16%

Per Capita CO^2 emissions

Current Account Balance (CAB)

Rank Country CAB (billion US

dollars)

Year

1  China 213.8 2012

2  Germany 208.1 2012

7  Netherlands 70.92 2011

13  Sweden 38.29 2011

18  Denmark 22.1 2011

35  Belgium 4.7 2011

127  Lithuania -1.225 2011

188  France -57.2 2012

191  United Kingdom

-93.6 2012

192  United States -440.4 2012

Bicycle use (share of trips)

Netherlands 27%

Sweden 13%

Denmark * 17%

Germany (1989) 12%

France – Grenoble 5%

France - Lyon 2%

Great Britain * 2%

Source: Hydén et al, 1999

* Trips longer than 500 meters

Car Ownership (per capita)

Source: World Bank, 2010

Global Rank Country Motor vehicles per1000 people

19  France 578

20  Germany 572

22  Lithuania 560

23  Belgium 559

27  Netherlands 528

29  Sweden 520

30  United Kingdom 519

35AmsterdamManchester

Historical Biking Levels (%)

Source: Copenhagen Bicycle Master Plan

Glasgow, Scotland

Unmarked bike contraflow, Glasgow

oo

“Modified mini-roundabouts” in Glasgow

Hull, England

Hull

- 26% of the road network covered with 20mph zones, which resulted in

- 56% casualty reduction- 90% death/serious injury reduction- Spent $9 million- Estimated savings of $70 million- To cover 60%, need to spend $22 million- Cycling split: 1% to 11%- “You can do amazing things by traffic

calming your city!”

Entire junction at roundabout raised 100mm

Hull, England

Home Zone

Hull, England

2003 Centerline Removal Study

Wiltshire County Council Before and After study of 12 roads 33% reduction in motor vehicle crashes

England

11 feet

Bi-directional5 foot

Bike lane5 foot

Bike lane

11 feet

Bi-directional

5 foot Bike lane

5 foot Bike lane

2005 5600ADT2005 150 Bikes/day2006 4500 ADT2006 183 Bikes/day

Protected Bike LaneDublin, Ireland

Photo: Tom Bertulis

Milton Keynes, England

Lille, France

Brussels, Belgium

Leuvan, Belgium

Photo: Tom Bertulis

Intermodal facility showing easy underground access from train station to bus station

with Cycle Track approach, Leuven, Belgium

Cycle Chicane at blind cornerLeuven, Belgium

Photo: Tom Bertulis

Can Dutch infrastructure be replicated in the US or are they culturally and geographically too different?

The North Sea flood of 1953 (2,500 fatalities) had a major impact on the psyche of the Dutch people

Dutch system of government: the “Polder Model”

There are three useful aspects to the Dutch polder model:

(1) Objective: The sense that some things are so important that blocking action for the sake of ideology is unconscionable.

(2) Compromise: Upholding the idea that coming together over differences is in fact the key to success, not the barrier to it.

(3) Consensus: The ability of leaders to get everyone in the same room and insist upon working things through. “In the absence of action, it's the sea for us all, metaphorically.”

For more info, see Crosscut.com: The Dutch have a cure for 'Seattle Process'

* The "informateur" in Dutch politics is the person whose sole job it is to create agreement, bring the parties together to form a governing consensus.

Dutch system of government

A Tale of Two Cities: Rijswijk and Delft

Source: NEU Netherlands Wiki, 2011

A Tale of Two Cities: Rijswijk and Delft

Source: NEU Netherlands Wiki, 2011

ROLE OF THE BICYCLEBicycle use, all trips (not to be confused w/

the commonly used “commute trips”)(municipalities > 100,000 population)

Zwolle 37 % Amsterdam 25 %

Groningen 36 % Haarlem 25 %

Leiden 36 % Maastricht 21 %

Apeldoorn 32 % Haarlemmermeer 20 %

Enschede 32 % The Hague 20 %

Utrecht 30 % Almere 19 %

Nijmegen 29 % Rotterdam 15 %

Percentage of all trips by bicycle

Key Design Issues

o Street connectivity, planning factors (the right combination of density, mix, proximity and transportation choices)

o Street crossings: desire lines, crosswalks, medians, over and underpasses

o Pedestrian-friendly intersections: geometry, turning radii, curb bulbs, crosswalk placement

o Signals: European signals vs US signals

o Road diets/Right-sizing: popular in some areas

o Sidewalk Design

Amsterdam, Netherlands

New Transportation Lessons to Create Better Cities

Speed Hump with no signing to minimise visual clutter, they proactively install humps rather than reactively Amsterdam, Netherlands

Photo: Tom Bertulis

Delft, Netherlands

New Transportation Lessons to Create Better Cities

83

Delft

Cycling along the canal in busy city centre

Delft, Netherlands

Photo: Tom Bertulis

Vehicles Passing through automated rising bollards

Delft, Netherlands

Photo: Tom Bertulis

Rotterdam, Netherlands

New Transportation Lessons to Create Better Cities

Houten, Netherlands

New Transportation Lessons to Create Better Cities

Gröningen, Netherlands

New Transportation Lessons to Create Better Cities

Groningen Traffic Circulation Plan (Sept 1977)

Goal: less carsin inner city

Groningen city center is enclosed by a ring road (shown). Nearly every street within the ring road consists of contra flow lanes on one way streets such as in this photo, making Groningen among the top cycling city in

Europe in terms of the “A&A” Double Pillars of Advantage (over cars) and Accessibility (for cyclists)

Groningen, Netherlands

Photo: Tom Bertulis

The Hague, Netherlands

New Transportation Lessons to Create Better Cities

New Transportation Lessons to Create Better Cities

Source: Lambertus G.H. Fortuijn, Pedestrian and Bicycle Friendly Roundabouts

Roundabout with internal protected bike lane

The Hague, Netherlands

Photo: Tom Bertulis

Zwolle, Netherlands

New Transportation Lessons to Create Better Cities

Centerline removal and advisory bike lanes

- with -

two directional motor vehicle movement

Photo: Tom Bertulis

Marble wheeling ramp – easy to use

Zwolle, Netherlands

Photo: Tom Bertulis

No entry except cyclists sign to indicate contra flow lane facility

Zwolle, Netherlands

Photo: Tom Bertulis

Protected Bike Lane Haarlem, Netherlands

Assen, Netherlands

New Transportation Lessons to Create Better Cities

Before Improvements, Assen, Netherlands

After Improvements, Assen, Netherlands

Bremen, Germany25% biking modal split(Acc to Bremen bike coordinator)

Hamburg, Germany12% biking modal splithttp://www.cityclock.org/urban-cycling-mode-share

Berlin, Germany

PROTECTED INTERSECTIONS ON THE CHEAP

The Hague, Netherlands

New Transportation Lessons to Create Better Cities

Ask

the

Dutch!Askthe

Dutch

Cycle lane through Bus Stop – note island for pick up & drop off to reduce ped-bike conflictsEnschede, Netherlands

Photo: Tom Bertulis

Shared space roundabout– note that the height of the water increases with the volume of traffic (there were few cars on this day)

Dratchen, Netherlands

Photo: Tom Bertulis

Family cycling at roundabout

Dratchen, Netherlands

Photo: Tom Bertulis

Copenhagen, Denmark

New Transportation Lessons to Create Better Cities

Bridge with twice the daily cyclists as motoristsCopenhagen, Denmark

Photo: Tom Bertulis

A sign that times are changing: This car dealership is to be demolished to make way for a new cycle pathCopenhagen, Denmark

Photo: Tom Bertulis

Contra flow Cycle Lane on approach to Zebra CrossingCopenhagen, Denmark

Photo: Tom Bertulis

Typical one-way protected bike facility Copenhagen, Denmark

Photo: Tom Bertulis

127

Arriving to Copenhagen

130

What is the ideal solution?

131

Protected bike lane behind bus stop (“cycle bypass”)

Odense, Denmark

New Transportation Lessons to Create Better Cities

A Green Wave (“Gron Bolge”) sign along a bicycle route showing the “timed” bicycle speed of the traffic signals

Odense, Denmark

Photo: Tom Bertulis

Speed readout for cyclists along corridor with traffic signals synchronised for bicycle traffic

Odense, Denmark

Photo: Tom Bertulis

Bicycle wheeling ramp – best practice

Odense, Denmark

Photo: Tom Bertulis

Cycle Counter – nearly 7,000 cyclists had passed that spot so far that day

Odense, Denmark

Photo: Tom Bertulis

Sweden

- I met with Trafikverket, aka the Swedish national transport agency. They're the agency that implements Vision Zero in Sweden.

- They told me that it was only when they included hospital data nationwide that they could see the true extent of bicycle crashes, finally bringing bicycle safety to the forefront of the safety agenda.

- Take away: advocate to include hospital data in your community, not just police reports.

Malmo, Sweden

1960’s: Dominated by traffic

Regementsgatan in Malmö, SwedenLeif Jönsson

Existing routes

Planned routes

Bicycling plan

Leif Jönsson

Segregated cycle network

Leif Jönsson

One-way vs two-way paths

Cycle Track segregated from Pedestrian FacilityMalmo, Sweden

Photo: Tom Bertulis

RoundaboutRaised table

Secondary lights

Leif Jönsson

Bicycling trips in MalmöMap and booklets

Leif Jönsson

Carparking ticketsin Malmo encourage you to bike instead!

“It takes about 15 minutes to cycle 5 km.”

“How far is it to YOUR work?”

Leif Jönsson

Cycle Counter

Klaipeda, Lithuania

New Transportation Lessons to Create Better Cities

New Transportation Lessons to Create Better Cities

New Transportation Lessons to Create Better Cities

New Transportation Lessons to Create Better Cities

City Length of bikeways (km)

Vilnius 115.7

Kaunas 50.0 

Klaipeda 85

Siauliai 57.6

Panevezys 91

Amount of bikeways in Lithuanian Cities

New Transportation Lessons to Create Better Cities

New Transportation Lessons to Create Better Cities

Klaipeda, Lithuania

New Transportation Lessons to Create Better Cities

xx

Bikeways in Klaipeda

Belgium

Lithuania

France

UK

Cycling fatality rates per km cycled

Source: Pucher, 2007

Cycling kilometres Killed cyclists per

per person per day 100 million kms

Great Britain 0.1 6.0

Italy 0.2 11.0

Austria 0.4 6.8

Norway 0.4 3.0

Switzerland 0.5 3.7

Finland 0.7 5.0

Germany 0.8 3.6

Sweden 0.9 1.8

Denmark 1.7 2.3

The Netherlands 2.5 1.6

Source: Faculty of Spatial Sciences 2003

Cycling km vs fatality rates per km cycled

Tied for 1st

Denmark

Netherlands

3rd Sweden

5th Germany

6th Belgium

10th UK

11th France

20th Lithuania (just above Portugal and Spain)

ECF Ranking the top 20 euro biking countries

Source: European Cyclists' Federation

Some take away points ...

1. Don't build undivided 4-lane roads;

• 2. Raise side streets where possible;• 3. Use median islands to improve ped safety;

– 4. Unmarked contraflow bike facilities are safe and common in European experience;

– 5. Build “modified mini-roundabouts,” Glasgow-style, they have tremendous safety benefits;

– 6. Experiment with centerline removal and advisory bike lanes to increase comfort levels;

– 7. Advocate to include hospital crash data;

8. Try “protected intersections.”

–

oo

Any questions?