## Ecomm 2015 - Utrecht  - Best Practice Report For Lept

Kevin Burke, Senior Transport Officer, London Borough of Hackney 

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The 19th European Conference on Mobility Management (ECOMM) took place over the 20-
22 of May 2015 in the quietly impressive Dutch city of Utrecht. The conference organisers accepted my submission relating to the use of the Cycle Hackney smart phone app as a public engagement tool in February 2015, the results of which I was able to present at the conference thanks in no small part to support from LEPT who provided me with financial support for travel, accommodation and subsistence for the trip. The following is a quick summary of my experience.  

## General

Utrecht is a renowned university city in the Netherlands and its medieval centre, café-lined canals, and cosmopolitan flavour easily justifies its reputation as a more laid-back Amsterdam. However, Utrecht is also the fastest growing city in the Netherlands with a present population of around 330,000 but is expecting another 70,000 people by 2033 - a population increase projection comparable with many east London boroughs.  The wider city region is considered to be the most economically competitive in Europe and its railway station is the busiest in the country with connections to all major Dutch cities as well as Paris, Brussels and Frankfurt. The city centre itself is quite compact and closely associated with the Oudegracht canal and medieval streets around the Dom Tower cathedral. In comparison to many town centres in the UK, there is a strong independent retail presence in the central area that exist relatively harmoniously with the normal European-wide chain stores.  Arriving late on a Tuesday night, it was instantly noticeable how safe and vibrant the medieval quarter was with thousands of pedestrians and cyclists of all ages congregating around its canal side cafes and bars but also its small public squares and laneways. The private car is largely restricted to certain routes but where there are cars on residential streets in the medieval core they do not dominate the streets as in the UK (even in inner London boroughs where car ownership is relatively low).  The near complete absence of vehicular traffic in the streets makes for a vibrant, pedestrian friendly city and offers living proof that through traffic is not a prerequisite for a thriving city centre and night time economy.  

## Transferrable Knowledge

Being a transport planner with responsibility for walking and cycling in a London authority the conference in general was incredibly insightful. The excursions around the city of Utrecht on bike and by boat were personal highlight. Among the many relevant and applicable lessons for London includes; 

 **Fietstraat** - the fietstraat **(or cycle street)** is a standard design for much of Holland's 
residential streets and neighbourhood centres. Cars are allowed but only as 'guests of the street' (auto de gast) and cannot overtake cyclists resulting in low traffic speeds. I was surprised to find out that Fietsttaat are not legally enforceable by law but work extremely well - partly due to many Dutch drivers familiarity with cyclists on the road (they expect to see them so therefore look out for them) and possibly also due to the Dutch system of stricter liability where the onus is on drivers to prove their innocence in case of collisions. Despite the absence of the stricter liability clause (cycling and pedestrian groups are lobbying for this in the UK) many of the fietstraat principles could be applied in London and Hackney would be keen to explore this further with LEPT and TfL.  

##  Utrecht Centraal / Hoog Katherine Shopping Centre Redevelopment  And

reinstatement of the city canal Probably the single most impressive aspect of Utrecht urban planning centre around the plans for the main Utrecht Centraal station and the adjacent shopping centre which effectively connects the medieval city with the railway station.   The railway station will be comprehensively redeveloped to consolidate its position as the Netherlands most important railway station and will provide for an estimated 100 million rail passengers per annum by 2035.  The redevelopment will encompass a complete renovation of the outdated Hoog Katherijne shopping centre and will incorporate the largest cycle parking facility in the world with capacity for 12,500 bikes. Perhaps the most innovative part of the project however will be the restoration of parts of the city canal network which were filled in the 1970s to make way for a 6 lane road to service the shopping centre (see below). London can learn from Utrecht experience - the Mayors Roads Task Force in particular where unwanted road space can be re-purposed to support urban living. The underground cycle parking solution at Utrecht may also be applied to the Mayor of London's vision for superhubs at Liverpool St, Waterloo etc. The restoration of canals/river courses may also prove an effective flood relief mechanism in years to come.  

 **Pop up cycle parking** - not strictly part of the conference but very noticeable in the 
medieval town square. Hackney does trial a car bike port by Cyclehoop Ltd which is pretty effective in gauging demand for permanent spaces but this was seemed a much more ad-hoc operation. 
 **Vielger Fietsroute (alternative cycling route at night)**  Many parkland authorities  in 
London are reluctant to light cycle paths through their areas at night (the Lea Valley Regional Park and Victoria Park come to mind) primarily due to concerns about impacts on  bats, wildlife etc with the net result that many cyclists stop during the winter months. The Utrecht City Council has similar issues with their woodland areas that form part of the cycle network from the city centre to suburban areas so 
therefore simply signpost an alternative route through existing residential streets (see below) 
 

##  Moving Freight In Utrecht

Much of the conference focussed on the movement of freight through sustainable transport - notably through use of cargo bikes, on-street electric 'trams', and through use of the canals themselves.  Electric powered canal boats are used by a local Cash and Carry business (GEPU) based on the outskirts of the town to move freight, the municipality's refuse team but also by Heineken and another local brewery to move crates of beer to service the city's bars and restaurants. More recently, the Council has experimented with the use of electric vehicles (small trucks with attachable loads) for deliveries to designated drop off-points in the city centre. This has had mixed success so far in Utrecht with its narrow streets but appears to have worked well in parts of Amsterdam where some of the actual vehicles involved in the Utrecht trial have been 'exported' to. London is grappling with some low emission zones but can could potentially make more use of its blue ribbon network to transport some goods - e.g. waste to Edmonton via the River Lea but also definitely through the use of more cargo bikes in Shoreditch, the West End, Bankside etc.  

##  Beter Benutten Programme

The Beter Benutten programme figured prominently over the 3 day conference. Essentially a state-backed Workplace Travel programme initially established with the aim of reducing congestion and journey times in designated regions but has since incorporated a more sustainability element. For each region, a customised package of concrete and quantifiable measures is implemented. This includes 'smart deals': arrangements with businesses aimed at reducing employee travel during the rush hour but also includes measures such as route development, cycle parking, work from home, e-bike use etc. The programme will be evaluated later this year but many of the keynote speakers at the conference from the private sector shared many success stories including an employee that no longer needed her diabetes medicine, reduced absenteeism at work etc. There are obvious parallels with some of the London workplace travel plans but unlike as in the Netherlands and Singapore (another presentation on the Thursday), there has been little evidence of progress from TfL on reduced off-peak fares or on major employers encouraging flexible working hours, early morning classes to encourage staff to beat the rush hour etc. LEPT has a strong tradition in personalised travel plans and perhaps this is an area worth exploring in future. The ECOMM conference was incredibly interesting from a professional view point and enriching from a personal development point of view. The conference offered me a unique opportunity to present LB Hackney's work and experiences to fellow professionals across Europe and enabled me to visit me an innovative city that realistically I would have been unlikely to visit in a personal capacity. I am extremely grateful to LEPT in facilitating my attendance in Utrecht and would urge other borough officers to avail of the opportunities offered by their membership to travel to relevant conferences in future. Kevin Burke Senior Transport Planner LB Hackney Kevin.burke@hackney.gov.uk