ARTICLE FROM THE BOOK:
Cyclists & Cycling Around the World – Creating Liveable
andBikeableCities
Cyclists& 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

6. Cycling PolicyThis chapter contains three articles dealing with cycling policy and design that canbe of great inspiration for other cities. One article is a general strategy to promoteurban cycling through a conscious development of a cycling infrastructure with therecommendation to build upon the strengths of each individual city. The second article
describes a multi-modal policy for the coordinated use of bikes and public transport,
which can meet the needs for travelling from door to door in urban areas. The thirdarticle covers the process of developing an Urban Bikeway Design Guide, which shows
how political will and desire can be allied to modern innovative dynamism, and howinternational cooperation can promote best practices in cities around the world.
In his article Bicycle strategy, Roger Geller describes the Portland experience. In 2003,
in order to support the increasing number of cyclists, Roger started to develop a tool tocategorise the citizens based on their willingness to use their bicycles as part of their dailylife. He identified four types of “Transportation Cyclists” and based his strategy on theanalysis of the needs of these groups. The first step was to provide conventional bikelaneson collector streets which would attract a smaller dedicated group, “the enthused andconfident”. This resulted in increased visibility of cyclists on the city’s main road networks
leading to a desire for further improvements. The next step was to prioritise designing
for the major group, “the interested but concerned,” who would cycle if good facilities
were provided. Roger goes into interesting details as to how the city developed into oneof the most cycle-friendly cities in the US. The main strategy is: “Build to your strengths,”
which covers exploiting both the physical opportunities in the street network as well as
the economic and political conditions on an ongoing basis. Part of the strategy was to be
pragmatic, going after the”low-hanging fruit”. Portland’s strength is a tight grid networkof relatively narrow streets offering the possibility of equipping a network of Bicycle
Boulevards. Roger states that the idea of building to ones strengths takes different forms
in different cities. He then looks at how local conditions affected the solutions found inother American cities.

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Tom Godefrooij bases his article Multi modal transport policy, on the example of theDutch “bicycle and train” system. Tom presents us with an analytical framework foroptimising the combined use of bicycle and public transport. The strengths and theweaknesses of both modes are reflected in the Dutch modal choice, with more bicycle
use for trips under 15 km and more use of public transport for longer distances. Tom
introduces the reader to the concept of a “trip chain,” and how the individual “links” havebeen optimised, with the use of the bicycle as a key element. Using cycling as the feeder
mode for public transport you can enlarge the catchment areas around the stations from500 to 2500 meters, resulting in an increased use of public transport. Most Dutch people
use their own bicycle for the home-site feeder trips, but the egress trip is the weakest linkin the trip chain. Providing public transport bicycles, in Holland the OV-fiets system, hasturned out to be an enormous success, and it has strengthened the link of the egress trips
in the door to door concept. Tom looks then at various solutions to problems associatedwith this model e.g. cycle parking and optimal station forecourt layout.
In his article The NACTO urban bikeway design guide, Jeff Olson shows how the National
Association of City Transformation Officials, NACTO are turning innovation into action
in U.S. cities. The Urban Bikeway Design Guide is the innovative document developedby a partnership between U.S. cities and a creative project team. It is a new toolbox fordesigning urban streets, a new kind of design guide that was developed by cities forcities to cover the increasing demand for innovative urban bicycle facilities in U.S. Jeff
describes the fascinating process creating the guide as a model for other countries orcities for using technological creativity, promoting innovative design and sharing bestpractices around the world. The design manual deals with three main issues, “Technologyand Planning”, enabling the creation of a web-based guide, “Separate but Equal Design”,
which implies that different sections of the cycling population are treated equally, and“Sharing Best Practices Globally”. This latter issue is of crucial importance in the attempt
to elevate cycling to the status of a serious form of sustainable transport. The consulting
team which produced the manual was drawn from all parts of the world and exchange
of knowledge on a global basis is key to the promotion of cycling so that it becomes safe,
healthy and fun in all communities.

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