Closed cycle paths, cycle paths that are no more than paint on the sidewalk, diagonal road crossings, temporary traffic lights standing in a concrete filled old oil drum, road dividers in concrete, steel or red and white plastic, temporary bridges, temporary bicycle parking racks... Cycling in a city that doubles as a huge building site is quite an adventure!
This temporary traffic light is standing in a concrete filled old oil drum...
all the other road infrastructure on the picture is temporary too.
The city of Utrecht is rebuilding its 1970s railway station area. Utrecht Central Station is the Netherlands' biggest railway station since it is located in the center of the country at a point where five major railway lines come together. It now sees 65 million travellers per year and that is expected to rise to 100 million in 2020. The 1970s station and the whole area around it just couldn't handle everything anymore. Building in the area has started a couple of years ago and the last of the 25 huge interconnected projects will only be finished in 2030! Since it is a vast area a lot of cycling routes go right through it. While the building goes on we see a lot of detours and temporary cycling infrastructure. Many of which sure doesn't meet the normal criteria for standard Dutch cycling infrastructure. But at least it is there, and it does seem to be able to handle the large volumes of cycling traffic that this area sees. Below some stills from the video at the bottom.
Cycle path closed, a diagonal crossing brings cyclists to the temporary cycle path on the other side of the street.
The kerb (curb) with the arrow should also have been leveled, just like the ones to the right of it.
Boys will be boys! Protected from buses by the steel divider this boy thought a wheely wouldn't be a problem.
Concrete dividers and a painted cycle lane. Only acceptable as temporary cycling infrastructure.
The station area in the city of Utrecht will remain an interesting place to use your bicycle in the coming years. Paths will be relocated every time the builders need them to be somewhere else. But at least they do create temporary cycling provisions. I have not seen a 'cyclists dismount' sign, at least not yet, but I don't expect we'll be seeing one either.
Once a freeway entrance, now a temporary cycle path.
Paint hardly ever works... she didn't get where she had to walk.
The video gives you a feel of the area as it is now. Not perfect for cycling but it is quite all right.
The video has a Japanese flavoured surprise at the end.
The urban redevelopment project is not only about building the new station or 'Public Transport-Terminal' for trains, trams and buses, it is also about redesigning the shopping mall and building theaters, cinemas, hotels and a new council office. All the streets in the area will be redeveloped for the changed traffic flows and the historic city moat (that was turned into a motorway in the 1960s) will return to the city. There is an elaborate -even in English- website for this mega-project. The information video gives you a quick and good overview of the size of this project.
They may be a temporary bodge, but they're still better than the permanent "designs" that we have in Britain. Have you seen this on Blackfriars Bridge BTW? A cyclists dismount sign on a road open to motor traffic! Bloody pathetic - never mind, lane rental will sort it all out so you won't get held up by road works and can keep driving everywhere. It works by making people who do stuff, like TfL, pay someone (like, erm, TfL) to dig up roads.
Great film, Mark. I even recognise some of those paths from our recent trip!
In Australia the construction would simply close the cycle path - not that we have many. The busier, key cycle routes do remain open but only because there would be an uproar if they did not. Another reason why we need more bicyclists and better infrastructure - it builds demand and public support.
Today on my way home from work I was riding on the footpath for a small section (legal in Queensland) of busy, dual lane road. Construction equipment had blocked the ENTIRE footpath and they were not providing a safe way for pedestrians to continue their journey - yet 4 lanes of car traffic remained open... it's sad.
If you like this blog please support us so that it can continue. We're are not supported by grants and we do not ask for charity. We sell quality bicycle components and organize cycling holidays:
The next open study tour is in August 2013. Book a place in order to experience for yourself how policy and infrastructure in Assen and Groningen have led to the high cycling modal share in this area.:
The positive stuff Three types of safety - As well as preventing injuries and death, high quality cycling infrastructure addresses both subjective safety and social safety which are of vital importance in encouraging people to cycle. Dutch Safety Figures - Cyclists in the Netherlands are the safest in the world, but it has little if anything to do with "safety in numbers". Sustainable safety - the principles which have lead to Dutch roads, streets and cycle-paths being safe. A million per hour - The scale of cycling in the Netherlands is enormous. Dutch people make more cycle journeys each day than the entire English speaking world put together. Campaigning - a collection of posts about how to campaign for more cycling, including reference to "Stop the child murder", a successful campaign from the 1970s. What Works - examples of policy, infrastructure and campaigning which have made a different in the Netherlands. Superhighways - "Cycling superhighways" are not a new idea in the Netherlands Cycle Paths - Well designed cycle paths benefit all cyclists, regardless of experience or speed Segregation without cycle paths - you don't always need a cycle path to keep cyclists safe from motorists Unravelling of routes is vitally important History - how the Netherlands got to where it is now. See especially "Stop the child murder" Before and After - views of places before and after they have been transformed for cycling Directness - examples of prioritising cycling Traffic Lights - examples of how cyclists can be prioritised and kept safe at traffic light junctions. Note that it's almost always possible to turn right on a red light when cycling in the Netherlands. Roundabouts - roundabouts in the Netherlands have one very important feature to learn from: They keep cyclists away from motor vehicles. This is far more important than the differences in geometry vs. roundabouts in other countries. Exceptional infrastructure is always nice to see, but remember that a dense network of mundane routes is far more important to boost cycling modal share Gritting of cycle paths - dealing with snow and ice. Children - It may seem hackneyed, but children really are the future. If they can't cycle safely then where will future adult cyclists come from ? This is why children should be the primary focus of campaigners. Note also that according to UNICEF, Dutch children are the happiest in the world. School travel - Everyone knows that Dutch children cycle to school, but it's a surprise to many people that school trips are also usually by bike. Cycle Parking - including our favourite design of stand. Cycle Parking at railway stations, see in particular Groningen and Assen as each have multiple posts showing how the cycle parking has grown over time. Health effects of cycling Road Works - It's important that cyclists are thought of when there are road works. If the environment becomes hostile for cyclists then they may stop cycling and never start again. Commuting - Commuting cyclists are interesting, but they're not the only people who should ride bikes. Anatomy of a reliable everyday bicycle - the common features of bikes used by nearly every person every day in the Netherlands. Speed - Some people have the idea that Dutch cyclists are slow. This isn't true. It is just that in the Netherlands, everyone cycles, including the slow people. Fast cyclists are as fast as anywhere. These posts show people who ride faster than average, using the same infrastructure as those who ride slower.
This blog is free of charge to read and for most individual usage including reasonable "quoting" of its contents. However, neither the text nor the photos on this blog are in the public domain. To find out more, please read our copyright and licensing information.
Search
Non-sponsored links
Experience for yourself how policy and infrastructure in Assen and Groningen have led to the high cycling modal share in this area:
If you like this blog please support us so we can continue. We sell quality bicycle components and organize cycling holidays:
A cyclist in a cycling family living in the capital of the cycling province of the world's greatest cycling country.
I was born in the UK, lived for over 8 years in New Zealand and have lived in the Netherlands since 2007.
I organise cycling infrastructure study tours, run an online bicycle shop, arrange cycling holidays and write a popular blog about cycling.
My email address is avftcp@hembrow.eu
Posts
2 comments:
They may be a temporary bodge, but they're still better than the permanent "designs" that we have in Britain. Have you seen this on Blackfriars Bridge BTW? A cyclists dismount sign on a road open to motor traffic! Bloody pathetic - never mind, lane rental will sort it all out so you won't get held up by road works and can keep driving everywhere. It works by making people who do stuff, like TfL, pay someone (like, erm, TfL) to dig up roads.
Cosplayer? :)
Great film, Mark. I even recognise some of those paths from our recent trip!
In Australia the construction would simply close the cycle path - not that we have many. The busier, key cycle routes do remain open but only because there would be an uproar if they did not. Another reason why we need more bicyclists and better infrastructure - it builds demand and public support.
Today on my way home from work I was riding on the footpath for a small section (legal in Queensland) of busy, dual lane road. Construction equipment had blocked the ENTIRE footpath and they were not providing a safe way for pedestrians to continue their journey - yet 4 lanes of car traffic remained open... it's sad.
Post a Comment