[publictransport] Welcome to the PT list
Labyrinth
alanpar at labyrinth.net.au
Fri Jan 11 12:53:09 EST 2008
Hi Chris,
There is a need to put the integration of the bicycle and public
transportation in the context of world best practice. The following
could form the basis of a long term policy for Victoria and Australia.
Bye Alan
------------------------------------------------
Pucher and Buehler “Making Cycling Irresistible” Transport Reviews,
Vol. 28,
2008 . http://www.policy.rutgers.edu/faculty/pucher/Irresistible.pdf .
Review by Alan A. Parker.
The respect for cyclists need for safe and conventient rights of way
is probably the most important factor without which road courtesy
dies and is replaced by road rage and diangerous attitudes to the
vulnerable road users; pedestrians, cyclists and motorcyclists. This
can be achieved by the creation of:-
“extensive cycling rights of way in the
Netherlands,Denmark, and Germany are complemented by ample bike
parking, full integration with public transport, comprehensive
traffic education and training of both cyclists and motorists, and a
wide range of promotional events intended to generate enthusiasm and
wide public support for cycling. In addition to their many pro-bike
policies and programs, the Netherlands, Denmark, and Germany make
driving expensive as well as inconvenient in central cities through a
host of taxes and restrictions on car ownership, use, and parking.
Moreover, strict land use policies foster compact, mixed-use
developments that generate shorter and thus more bikeable trips. It
is the coordinated implementation of this multi- faceted, mutually
reinforcing set of policies that best explains the success of these
three countries in promoting cycling.” (Pucher and Buehler 2007)
The following three tables (pages 55 to 57) from the paper set out
the main requirements for a safe and convenient cycling environment
that can significantly contribute to reducing air pollution, carbon
dioxide emissions and reducing oil dependency. Those of most
relevence to the use of bikes and publice transport are summarised
below:-
Coordination with public transport
• Extensive bike parking at all underground, suburban, and regional
train stations
• "Call-a-Bike" programs: bikes can be rented by cell phone at
transit stops, paid for by the minute and left at any busy
intersection in the city
• Bike rentals at most train stations ( Southern cross , flinders
street, Junctions, modal interchanges and tourist destinations and
provincial cities.
• Deluxe bike parking garages at some train stations, with video
surveillance, special lighting, music, repair services, bike rentals
and access to air pumps..Improved lighting and security of bike
parking facilities often featuring guards, video-surveillance, and
priority parking for women
• Replacing car parking facilities with bike parking instead
Access to bikes
• Free use of distinctive, simple City Bikes parked throughout the
city, as in Copenhagen
• Easy, convenient, and inexpensive bike rentals at train stations
and throughout the city , such as the "OV fiets" and "Call a Bike"
programs in in the Netherlands and Germany
• Company bikes loaned for free to employees for short business
trips during the day. • Tax breaks to purchase a bike in the
Netherlands
• "Park and Bike" : discount bike rentals for motorists who park
their cars and bike for the rest of the journey
The following 3 tables could form the basis of a long term bicycle
policy for Victoria.
Bye Alan
------------------------------------------------------------------------
--------------------------------------------------------------
Table 1. Key policies and innovative measures used in Dutch, Danish,
and German cities to promote safe and convenient cycling
------------------------------------------------------------------------
----------------------------------------------------------------
Extensive systems of separate cycling facilities
• Well maintained, fully integrated paths, lanes and special bicycle
streets in cities and surrounding regions
• Fully coordinated system of color coded directional signs for
bicyclists
• Off-street short-cuts, such as mid-block connections, and passages
through dead ends for cars
Intersection modifications and priority traffic signals
• Advance green lights for cyclists at most intersections
• Advanced cyclist waiting positions (ahead of cars) fed by special
bike lanes facilitate safer and quicker crossings and turns
• Cyclist short cuts to make right-hand turns before intersections
and exemption from red traffic signals at T-intersections, thus
increasing cyclist speed and safety
• Improved lighting and security of bike parking facilities often
featuring guards, video-surveillance, and priority parking for women
• Bike paths turn into brightly colored bike lanes when crossing
intersections
• Traffic signals are synchronized at cyclist speeds assuring
consecutive green lights for cyclists (green wave)
• Bollards with flashing lights along bike routes signal cyclists
the right speed to reach the next intersection at a green light
Traffic calming
• Traffic calming of all residential neighborhoods via speed limit
(30km/hr) and physical infrastructure deterrents for cars
• Bicycle streets, narrow roads where bikes have absolute priority
over cars
• "Home Zones" with 5 km/h speed limit, where cars must yield to
pedestrians and cyclists using the road
Bike parking
• Large supply of good bike parking throughout the city
• Improved lighting and security of bike parking facilities often
featuring guards, video-surveillance, and priority parking for women
Coordination with public transport
• Extensive bike parking at all metro, suburban, and regional train
stations
• "Call-a-Bike" programs: bikes can be rented by cell phone at
transit stops, paid for by the minute and left at any busy
intersection in the city
• Bike rentals at most train stations
• Deluxe bike parking garages at some train stations, with video
surveillance, special lighting, music, repair services, and bike rentals
Traffic education and training
• Comprehensive cycling training courses for virtually all school
children with test by traffic police • Special cycling training test
tracks for children
• Stringent training of motorists to respect pedestrians and
cyclists and avoid hitting them
Traffic laws
• Strict enforcement of cyclist rights by police and courts
• Special legal protection for children and elderly cyclists
• Motorists assumed by law to be responsible for almost all crashes
with cyclists
• Strict enforcement of cyclist rights by police and courts
------------------------------------------------------------------------
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Source: Information provided directly to authors by bicycling
coordinators in the Netherlands,
Table 2. Cycling promotion in the Netherlands, Denmark, and Germany
------------------------------------------------------------------------
------------------------------------------------------------
Access to bikes
• Free use of distinctive, simple City Bikes parked throughout the
city, as in Copenhagen
• Easy, convenient, and inexpensive bike rentals at train stations
and throughout the city , such as the "OV fiets" and "Call a Bike"
programs in in the Netherlands and Germany
• Company bikes loaned for free to employees who can use them during
the day for business trips
• Tax breaks to purchase a bike in the Netherlands
• Convenient air pumps for bikes in city center
• "Park and Bike" : discount bike rentals for motorists who park
their cars and bike for the rest of the journey
------------------------------------------------------------------------
----------------------------------
Bike trip planning
• Bicycling websites with extensive information for cyclists on
bicycling routes, activities, special
programs, health benefits of cycling, bikes and bike accessories, etc.
• Flexible internet bike trip planning tool allows finding the most
comfortable or quickest route by bike
tailored to the specific preferences and needs of each person
• Comprehensive bike maps for most cities as well as most regions and
states
------------------------------------------------------------------------
---------------------------------
Public awareness campaigns
• Wide range of cycling competitions for different ages and skill
levels
• Focus on health benefits of cycling, such as the “Get Rid of the
Sack” program in Odense targeted at overweight middle-aged men with
pot bellies who need more exercise
• Special fun programs for young children, such as the “Cycling
Duckie” in Odense, who distributes
candy, balloons, free bike accessories, and other gifts to children
learning to cycle
• Cycling ambassador programs that send well-trained cyclists to
residential neighborhoods to serve as role models of safe cycling and
help with cycling promotion, distributing newsletters and information
• Annual bicycling festivals and car-free days that promote the
environmental advantages of bicycling, display the latest bike models
and accessories, and disseminate various other relevant information
for bike enthusiasts
• Wide range of cycling competitions for different ages and skill levels
• Special guided bike tours for seniors
------------------------------------------------------------------------
-------------------------------
Public participation in bike planning
• Regular surveys of cyclists to assess their satisfaction with
cycling facilities and programs and to gather specific suggestions
for improvement
• Bike councils that provide a platform for opinion exchange among
stakeholders from businesses, the bike industry, the city
administration, research institutes, universities, bike experts, and
citizen advocacy groups, such as the "Fahrrat" in Berlin
------------------------------------------------------------------------
------------------------------------
Source: Information provided directly to authors by bicycling
coordinators in the Netherlands, Denmark, and Germany.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
------------------------------------------
Table 3. Taxation, parking, and land use policies that encourage
cycling indirectly
------------------------------------------------------------------------
-------------------------------------------
Automobile speed limitations in cities
• Traffic calming of residential neighborhoods limits cars to speeds
of 30km/hr or less
• "Home zones" in many neighborhoods give cyclists and pedestrians
equal rights to road
use and limit cars to walking speed (about 7km/hr)
• Car-free zones, one-way streets, and artificial dead-ends make car
travel through the city
center slow and inconvenient
• Turn restrictions for cars but not for cyclists
• Almost no limited access highways (motorways) in city centers
• Strictly enforced speed limits and traffic rules in cities (such as
police cameras at red
• Frequent random speed limit enforcement checks by the police
• Advance stop lines and traffic signal priority for cyclists
------------------------------------------------------------------------
------------------------------
Road and parking capacity limitations
• Limited number of parking places in city centers
• Parking management schemes limit easy car access to urban
neighborhoods, often with
resident-only parking or strict time limits
• Replacing car parking facilities with bike parking instead
• Combined bus-bike lanes that permit bike use but prohibit car use
• Deliberately narrowed roads in city centers force cars to drive slowly
• Special bicycle streets that sharply limit car speeds and give
cyclists priority in roadway use over
the entire width of the road
------------------------------------------------------------------------
------------------------------
Taxation of automobile ownership and use
• High taxes and fees on car purchase, ownership, and use
• Especially high excise and sales taxes on petrol
• High hourly parking rates in city center, even in medium size cities
• High fees and strict training requirements for obtaining a driver's
license (over €1,500 in
Germany)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
---------------------------------
Strict land use planning policies
• Most land beyond already built-up areas is off-limits for new
development
• Most new development occurs adjacent to already built-up areas,
which keeps overall population densities high compared to the USA
• Transport and land use planning are integrated at several levels of
government, with regional coordination that fosters cooperation
between adjacent communities in their
• Many local governments specifically require cycling and walking
facilities for new suburban developments, thus reducing the need for
car use
• Mixed use zoning keeps trip distances short and feasible by bicycle
and on foot
• Less strict separation of land uses than in USA, thus enabling
natural development of mixed-use neighborhoods
------------------------------------------------------------------------
---------------------------
Sources:
Schmidt and Buehler (2007); Dutch Bicycling Council (2006);
Netherlands Ministry of
Transport (2006); Banister (2005); European Conference of the
Ministers of Transport (2004);
Pucher and Dijkstra (2003); Transportation Research Board (2001);
Alterman (2001); Nivola
(1999); Bratzel (1999); Pucher (1995)
On 05/01/2008, at 2:45 PM, cfsmtb wrote:
> Hi all,
>
> A belated welcome to the PT list, a couple of glitches have been
> sorted
> out & the list is now live.
>
> Housekeeping stuff:
>
> Thank you all for the feedback! Already plenty of info, heads up and
> support from individuals and cycling groups has been received.
>
> So hopefully by tomorrow (Sunday) a precis of what people have
> mentioned
> will be on MC or this list for people to distribute.
>
> If you've got suggestions etc, please feel most free to post them here
> or post links to what else you know about.
>
> There are existing discussions with plenty of links on Melbourne
> Cyclist, this site has public access so you don't need to subscribe to
> read, but you will need to if you want to post items:
>
> http://www.melbournecyclist.com
>
> A vital point: Please be patient, as it will be difficult to draw
> together everyones ideas and suggestions, so this list will
> probably be
> a 'clearing house' until we collectively decide what directions,
> strageties or timelines people want to take.
>
> A call out to bicycle user groups, cycling clubs and related groups is
> already in progress, people have been contacted in the last 24
> hours to
> help out with a proposed campaign & draw our collective energies
> together. Melbourne Cyclist, aus.bicycle, BV forums, Facebook and
> Farkin
> (yep, even the MTB mob) and numerous blogs all have existing
> discussions
> about the bans.
>
> For example, read a great overview by David Tiley: bikes baulked,
> behemoth becalmed
> http://barista.media2.org/?p=3311
>
> So feel free to x-post the info when it gets posted and I'll
> attempt to
> collate it on MC or on this PT list. If you would like to assist (yes,
> this a call out for help!) with general admin stuff, email me off list
> so tasks can be shared & allocated.
>
> For example:
>
> - Should this proposed campaign have a easily identifical name?
> Time to
> creatively brainstorm!
>
> - What are we asking for? - a breakdown of goals in the short term,
> medium term and long term
>
> - Communication - outreach to individuals, groups and the media about
> this proposed campaign
>
> - Research - we need workable solutions in order to lobby effectively.
> If you have examples of cited research, weblinks etc, please post
> them here.
>
> - Meetings - informal meetups, reporting back to the group, ph
> conference calls or Skype
>
> - Planned actions, methods for lobbying the State Government, media
> and
> protest/direct action
>
> - Dealing with the media
>
> - Probably anything left out from the above. Feel free to add it in.
>
>
> I've already been sent numerous examples of PT provision for bicycles,
> also have a look at the new Cycling Resource Centre:
>
> http://www.cyclingresourcecentre.org.au
>
> A serious concern is that all the energy being shown at the moment can
> be easier dissipate, so that was the logic behind the email + info I
> posted out yesterday.
>
> So in the meantime, please feel free to discuss what your opinions and
> keep it polite and on topic.
>
> cheers,
>
> Chris ;)
>
>
>
>
>
> --
>
>
>
> ----------------------------------
> Our hopes and expectations
> Black holes and revelations
> http://cfsmtb.net
> http://www.woj.com.au
> http://www.melbournecyclist.com
> ----------------------------------
>
>
> _______________________________________________
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>
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