ARTICLE FROM THE BOOK:
Cyclists & Cycling Around the World – Creating Liveable
andBikeable
CitiesCyclists& Cycling
Aroundthe World
Edited by Juan Carlos Dextre, Mike Hughes & Lotte Bech
Published by Fondo Editorial, Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú, 2013
ISBN: 978-612-4146-55-8

The First Step in Developing a Bicycle
Infrastructure - The choice of Seville by bike.
Virginio Moreno, Planning Department, Head of Projects and Works,
City of Seville, Spain

Introduction
The first project for the implementation of a traffic lane specifically dedicated to cyclists
in the city of Seville was developed in 1994-95. Its route runs along the riverside walkon the left bank of the Guadalquivir River Basin, from the Triana bridge to the Alamillo
Bridge, a distance of 3.5km, and its function was essentially for leisure and recreation.
During the next ten years, more sections were built, reaching a total of about 12 km,representing less than 1% of the length of public, municipally owned road.
A new General Plan of Urban Planning of Seville has been under way since 2001,
in which a regional strategy for urban mobility will be formulated based on thedevelopment and integration of all systems and modes of public transport in thecity, already existing or planned: railroad, subway, urban and metropolitan reserved
platforms, the bikeway network and the pedestrian network, including strengthening
non-motorised forms of transport (pedestrian and bicycle).
The concept that the bike should have its own space, segregated from other modes isa fundamental key to make it a real and effective form of transport in the city, and to
gain the support and trust of citizens.

139Graphic 1.
Cycle routes inSeville - 2002

Graphic 2.
Network of Cycle
Routes proposedin the PGOU ofSeville - 2006

The design of the main network of cycle routes in Seville
The next step in specifically developing the actions relating to the bicycle was theelaboration of the Bicycle Master Plan, which set out the main measures to be adopted
by the city of Seville during the period 2006-2010. This document defined the policy
programme to promote the bicycle as transportation to service the new system of access140

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Photo 1. Rondas
del Centro Histórico

Photo 2. Paseo de las Deliciasand mobility designed for the city of Seville. In regard to the construction of specificinfrastructure, it envisages a network of urban bikeways with a total length of 77 km forthe exclusive passage of bikes through eight urban routes, which cover the entire city
connecting suburbs with the centre. As a general design criteria, it has been proposed
to adopt two-way lanes of 2.5 m average width, physically separated, except for thosestretches that are specifically designated otherwise. Their route for the most part follows
the platform sidewalk, at the expense of reduced parking spaces or driveways occupied
by illegal parking on double lines. The necessary elements to ensure functionality andsafety will be installed as well as specific signalling and traffic lights.

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Photo 3 Portugal Avenue- Maria Luisa’s park

Photo 4 Intercity bus
station: Plaza de Armas

The existence of cycling infrastructure in the cities is always an important incentive forthe use of bicycles in certain urban travel. However, the selection of a particular mode oftransport for a city trip depends largely on a general policy for ensuring accessibility andlargely on the chances of finding parking at a moderate distance from the destination.
It also depends on cultural factors and lifestyle prevailing in the city, and may beconditioned by the need to access various activities throughout the day. The chain ofreasons for daily travel may also be an ally of pedestrian movement and the bicycle, if
the city centre, neighbourhood centres and axes have an urban quality that makes surethese movements are carried out effectively, comfortably and enjoyably. A large numberof trips is concentrated precisely in these areas for various reasons: work, trade, service,study, culture and entertainment in general.

142Cyclists & Cycling Around the WorldThe definition of the network of bikeways from Seville took shape on a few main routes
from the analysis of urban components and functionality of a wide road, and information
gathered in field work. The intention was that this network would not only serve tochannel the demands of initial trips into some form of common patterns, but also togenerate other patterns that previously were very difficult, either due in some cases tothe risk resulting from the movement in some places, or in other cases by the excessive
length or shortness of the trips. We began the analysis with the design of a theoretical
network based on the main relationships between neighbourhoods and the historic
centre, major facilities and public spaces, elements of transportation and city-levelservices and especially intermodal centres. These routes were then adjusted, dependingon the location of other equipment of lower rank (schools, markets etc), shopping
streets, neighbourhood centres and other nodes of attraction / generation of trips. We
also considered the information on the use of the bicycle and the possibilities for future
developments. This allowed a programme to be defined to develop the cycle network
based on a territorial balancing that takes the form of providing all the neighbourhoodsof Seville with bicycle infrastructure within the district, and with easy connectivity withthe local road network.
Based on these considerations and analysis, a network of eight main routes wasorganised that comprises the network of urban structure of bikeways. For this strategy
to succeed, it was considered important that this principal network was operational inmost of the sections in the shortest time. This was made possible by its classification inthe General Plan of Urban Planning as a basic infrastructure of the city, which has allowed
accurate economic backgrounds for its complete implementation in less than 12 months.
Also, we established a series of measures to support the development of bikeways and aset of complementary programmes for this strategy. Citizens must perceive the bicycle
as an alternative form of transport - effective, safe, useful and beneficial to the entire city.
The new infrastructure did however, cause inevitable conflicts in the beginning.

Cycle parking
One of the essential measures was the installation of bike racks in strategic and accessible
points of the city. The bicycle, as a means of transport, needs to be parked in a safe placeand near the point of destination.
The location of these parking spaces is a specific task to be developed over the shortand medium term. It is linked to the network management, to be developed in parallelwith the extension of the neighbourhood network, so that the construction of a lane ona street or the signalling of a route priority should be associated with a location studyof bicycle parking, and thus satisfy the demands generated by the possible existence ofinfrastructure.

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Photo 5. New Plaza Town Hall
Photo 6. Central railway station of Santa Justa
Photo 7. Central railway station of Santa Justa

In both the location of bikes parks and the planning and management of the network ofneighbourhood routes, it is important to have the involvement of local sectors supporting
non-motorised modes of transport. It’s a less expensive measure than the construction oflanes and allows the citizens to recognize the cycling infrastructure and the value of usinga bike to have access to the centre of attractions that has this service.
In this first phase, 120 modules of cycle parking were installed, with 1,200 places
distributed in public spaces in areas of high concentration of users (schools, libraries,institutions and public services in general). A list of financial allocations, equipment
and public spaces located within 300 meters from the main network of bikeways wasdeveloped, in order that the installation of parking around town should be evenly
distributed. According to the new regulations in the General Plan of Urban Planning ofSeville, there is an obligation to provide places for bikes in the new parking garages tobe built in the city at a ratio of one for every ten places for motor vehicles. Urbanisation
projects in new areas such as redevelopment of roads must also include exclusive spacesfor parking bicycles, including proper supports.

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Graphic 3. Network of Cycle Routes in Seville and location of cycle parking in public spaces - 2012.

In this section, special mention should also be made of the contribution of the Universityof Seville, which has been increasing the supply of safe parking for bicycles inside theirfacilities, exceeding the 2,500 places, which are used heavily by the university community.
The construction of new sections of the bikeway network has continued in subsequent
years, reaching a total length of 142 km, which is its implementation in 9.4% of the roadsof the city. It has also continued with the installation programme modules for private
cycle parking across the city, and there are now 434 modules and a total of 2,160 places.

The system of public bike rental
The spectacular rise in the use of bicycles in Seville would probably not have occurred
if the development of this ambitious first phase of construction of connected bikeways
which serve most of the equipment and the central city areas had not been accompaniedat the same time by a new, large-scale system of public bikes.

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Graphic 4. Network of Cycle Routes in Seville and location of SEVICI’s stations - 2012.

The chances of success of a system with these characteristics were analysed according
to both the levels of use in other cities where it had already been implemented, and theresponses of the citizens of Seville when asked if they would use a system of this type.
Indeed, in research studies, 39% of the population responded positively to the possibilityof using this system, which could mean up to 275,000 potential users. In addition, 29% of
respondents who were not yet bicycle users answered in the affirmative, indicating that
this service could also serve to encourage people to become regular bike users to getaround in the city.
The procedure selected for implementation was the holding of a public competition for a
special contract for the installation, management and maintenance of an individualised,public cycle transport system. Financing was to be through a mixed system: throughrevenue from commercial use of a limited number of advertising media located in thepublic spaces of the city and direct revenue from fees paid by users. With regards to theservice, there are 2,600 bikes distributed in 260 stations dotted across the city that havea total of 4,857 parking points (bornetas), which are accessible to any citizen for travel
around town a short distance and usually over short periods of time (20-25 minutes).
From each station, the user can get a bike and return it to the same or another station.

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Photo 8. New Plaza Town Hall

The public response at the operational start of this new system, called SEVICI, in July
2007, was very positive, rapidly increasing the number of annual subscribers to reach apeak of 60,000 in 2009. It has now stabilised at around 52,000. The main reasons for using
this system are its comfort, price and effectiveness.
The main features are the following:• The service operates continuously 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.
• The location and number of stations are located in such a way that the user has theimpression that there is a station both near both his start and the destination. The planand design of the station furniture is such that it does not create urban barriers forpedestrians nor does it have a negative impact on the landscape.

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Photo 9. San Bernardo intermodal station(suburban rail network, metro, streetcar,intercity buses, city buses, taxis, bicycles)

Photo 10. San Bernardo intermodal station• The system facilitates intermodality. In fact, this is one of its essential characteristics
as it allows users who use other means of transport to also use a bike, which would be
difficult to transport inside the bus, subway or commuter train.
• The system offers two types of subscription (long-term and weekly). Payment is bycredit card. The first half hour is free.
• Bikes have unique components of brakes, locks on the wheels, handlebars, etc., to makestealing them useless because they cannot be used on conventional bicycles.
Virginio A. Moreno López
vml@urbanismo-sevilla.org
Photo credit
Municipality of Seville148