Delft:
Promoting the use of bicycle by systematic town planning
Delft:
| |
| Country: | Netherlands |
| Type: | Policies |
| Area: | Entire City |
| Actors: | Local Gov. |
| Funding: | Local Gov. |
| Topics: | Mobility |
| Objectives: | Increase non-motorised mobility |
| Reduce car mobility | |
| Instruments: |
A major aim of traffic planning in the Netherlands is directed towards restricting the use of the car. Therefore, in the late 1970s the first national Traffic and Transport Structure Scheme and the following Programme for Personal Transport (1980-84) gave high priority to the encouragement of bicycle use and the improvement of traffic safety by providing better facilities for cyclists. Within this policy strategy the municipality of Deft was selected as a model city for pro-bicycle traffic planning.
The second Traffic and Transport Structure Scheme also seeks a balance between individual freedom, accessibility and environment. It has been concluded that the only way to reach this goal is to control the use of the car. In the Netherlands 40% of all car journeys are less than 5 km and, therefore, the bicycle is likely to represent an reasonable alternative. Consequently, the mode of passenger transport has at least to change over to the following two trends:
Concerning the use of the bicycle, the national plan aims for a 30% amount of cycling by 2010. This should be reached by using a combination of measures that favour cycling, such as the provision of new cycle routes, facilities at railway stations and principlal bus and tram stops, and various aims to make cycling both safer and more pleasant.
The bicycle is a very popular means of transport in the Netherlands. Nearly everybody is a cyclist, as 12 million bicycles are owned by the 14 million people.
Bicycle use varies distinctly between medium sized towns in the Netherlands (population between 50,000 and 200,000). The proportion of trips made by bicycle varies from 20% to 50% in these towns. Currently, there are approximately 19,000 km of cycling paths and lanes in the Netherlands.
The projectprimary goal is to encourage cycling. Research on urban bicycle routes have stressed that an increase can be reached if the infrastructure for cyclists is improved. It was also stated that the network structure of bicycle routes is the most promising way to get people on their bike. On the one hand the extension of the bicycle routes is improving traffic safety standards, and on the other hand the subjective feeling of safety of the potential users is growing. In particular the subjective factor triggers off a change of attitude towards cycling. Especially in peripherally located districts such a positive opinion is important as an efficient change in the modal split is assessed in the distances travelled. The Delft planning approach is paying tribute to the different user demands.
Between 1979 and 1985 the Delft bicycle plan had been put into practice. The main effort had been on the construction of facilities that could help to complete the city-wide bicycle network. The entire network plan includes a multitude and diversity of measures in the area of urban infrastructure as well as regulations concerning traffic control and traffic regulations. The main characteristic of the Delft bicycle network plan is its hierarchy. It is made up of three networks at different spatial levels - the city level, the district level and the sub-district level each having its own functional and design characteristics:
The city level network consists of a grid of cycle paths situated approximately 500 metres apart. The paths runs directly through the city and they are connected with the regional bicycle path system. The network is designed for the purpose of linking intensive flows of cyclists with important urban activity centres: schools, university, railway and bus stations, office and industrial areas, sport and recreation areas. Physical barriers (e.g. canals or railways) call for expensive infrastructure measures to avoid detours.
The district level network has two major functions. It connects the various facilities within the district (schools, shops etc.) and collects and distributes traffic to and from the city level network. At this level the links are spaced 200 - 300 metres apart. In contrast to the city level network the bicycle flows are assumed to be less dense as the district level network is mainly used for shorter distance trips. The facilities required at this level are relatively simple: separated bicycle lanes, small bridges etc.
The sub-district level network connects housing areas to local amenities which in most cases is a short trip ride. This particular network is often used by children. The sub-district level network is a fine- grained system with links at 100 metre intervals with a simple structure and provisions which can also be used by pedestrians.
So far the Delft bicycle network consists of:
Based on the Delft project it can be assumed that 55% is the maximum reachable share of trips within the city.
The average number of bicycle trips increased by 10% from 25,000 to 28,000. The distance travelled by bicycle increased by 6 to 8% (depending on the type of trip). This figure does not include increases caused by factors other than the bicycle network. The length of the trips also increased from 3.7 km to 3.9 km although now there are shorter routes available. The increased number of trips is mainly attributed to males making more bike trips to school or work. Another interesting result is that the distance travelled also increased, whereas the travel time did not change.
An evaluation study showed that these results are mainly due to a change in the usage of the network. The following factors contributed to the improvements:
The higher standards of cycling comfort and safety encourage people to choose the bicycle as a means of transport. Especially, the city centre gains positive effects as the number of car trips to this area declined which is in favour of the attractiveness of the historic centre and a pleasant intimate ambience.
The modal split changed from 40% to 43% in favour of the bicycle. Car use and walking both remained stable at 26%. The public transport share declined from 6% to 4%, although the total number of passengers remained the same.
Between 1982 and 1992 the spending on the Delft bicycle plan amounted 28 million Dutch Guilders. 80% of the cost were given as grants from the Ministry of Transport, Public Works and Water Management.
Hartman, Jan 1993: The Delft bicycle network, in: Rodney Tolley, (ed.), The greening of urban transport: planning for walking and cycling in Western cities, London, pp. 193-200
Rietveld, Piet 1993: Policy responses in the Netherlands, in: David Banister / Kenneth Button, (ed.), Transport, the Environment and Sustainable Development, London, pp. 102-113
Kroon, Martin 1993: Traffic and environmental policy in the Netherlands, in: Rodney Tolley, (ed.), The greening of urban transport: planning for walking and cycling in Western cities, London, pp. 113-133
Ministry of Housing, Physical Planning and the Environment, (ed.) 1994: The Greenhouse Effect. Preventive Urban Actions in the Netherlands, Study by the International Institute for the Urban Environment, Delft, Den Haag
| Name | : | Loes |
| Firstname | : | |
| Telefon | : | ++31 / 15 / 260 29 60 |
| Telefax | : | |
| Address | : | Postbus 53 |
| NL - 2600 AB Delft |
The City of Delft has nearly 90,000 inhabitants and is located in the centre of the Dutch Randstad between the capital The Hague and the City of Rotterdam. It has a historic centre and a compact building structure. A large amount of employment is in the knowledge sector (approximately 6,000). It has a technical university and a research park.
Project was added at 27.06.96
Project was changed at 27.06.96