About improving and integrating bicycle facilities and the road safety program for younger children in the City of Utrecht, The Netherlands.

1. CREATING A BALANCED
TRANSPORTATION SYSTEM
(The City of Utrecht, NL, 2011/09/27)
8-5-2006 1

2. The ultimate European lesson?
“I think we need to make people
aware that our traffic concepts of
today are not sustainable and will be
of no use for the future of our society
and our planet.”
Dr. Wolfgang Schuster (Mayor of Stuttgart, Germany)
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3. Contents
• The Netherlands and The City of Utrecht
• Why we better go cycling
• Improving bicycle facilities
• Integrating the bicycle
• Cycling and road safety
• The Utrecht Road Safety Label (UVL)
• Cycling an average bicycle route in Utrecht
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4. The Netherlands (as it was)
Water management . Architecture .
Transport . Orange .
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5. The Netherlands (as it is)
Water management . Architecture .
Transport . Orange .
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6. Some demographic facts
United States Oregon Eugene The Netherlands Utrecht
Founded 1776 1859 1846 1579 50 AD
Inhabitants (city) 308.7 mln 3.6 mln 156,185 16.7 mln 313,000
(region) 352,000 640,000
Area (sq mi) 3,717,796 98,466 41 16,034 (1) 38.2
Inhabitants (/sq mi) 8.3 36.5 3852.6 1039.6 8179.9
(1) 0,16x State of Oregon
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7. The City of Utrecht
Facts
• Fourth largest city in the Netherlands.
• Over 300,000 inhabitants.
• Largest University in the Netherlands.
• Busiest railway station of the country (more
passengers a year then Schiphol Airport).
• Still growing economy (despite global recession).
Modal split 1885 .
• Motor vehicles: 38.5 %
• Public transport: 10.8 %
• Bicycles: 28.0 %
• Pedestrians: 21.2 %
• Others: 01.5 %
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8. Cycling in the City of Utrecht
Facts
• 36% of all trips < 7.5 km are done
by bicycle.
• 91,000 cyclists pass the inner city on
working days.
• 22,000 bicycle stands around the main
railway station and in city centre.
• 8 secured bicycle parking’s around the
main railway station.
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9. WHY WE BETTER GO CYCLING
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10. Reason 1: Traffic congestion
122,000
Imbalance between Numbers show
incoming & outgoing
traffic. 61,700 incoming traffic during
morning rush hours.
58,500
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11. Reason 2: Air and noise pollution
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12. Reason 3: Obesity
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13. So … let’s cycle
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14. So … let’s transport
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15. So … let’s feel young 
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16. Improving bicycle facilities
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17. Bicycle Program
Making an extra investment of
€ 67 mln. ($90 mln.) by:
A. Upgrading five busiest routes.
B. Building missing links.
C. Creating more & better parking.
D. Introducing public bicycle program.
E. Increasing promotion of the bicycle.
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18. A. Upgrading five busiest routes
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19. B. Building missing links
New tunnel in a regional bicycle route .
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20. C. Creating more & better parking
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21. D. Introducing public bicycle program (OV Fiets)
Facts
• A public bicycle system for transport
hubs like railway stations, light rail
stops, bus terminals, Park & Ride, etc.
• Over 200 rental locations.
• Over 60 self-service bicycle dispensers.
• More than 850,000 trips in 2010.
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22. E. Promotion of the bicycle
en
First stage of Giro d’Italia 2010 .
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23. Integrating the bicycle
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24. Utrecht Centraal: Busiest railway station in the country
Facts
• Major transport hub in the heart of
The Netherlands.
• 160,000 daily train and 100,000 bus &
light rail passengers on weekdays.
• 9 guarded bicycle parking's (total
capacity 10.000 bicycles).
• Over 7.000 unguarded bicycle parking
places.
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25. Bicycle parking at Utrecht Centraal
Guarded parking (paid) . Guarded parking (paid) .
Guarded parking (non-paid) . Street parking .
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26. Bicycle parking at other stops of public transport
Commuter rail (region) . Light rail .
City bus . Regional bus .
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27. Bicycle parking at other locations
Offices . Schools .
Shops . Theatres .
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28. Other aspects of integration
National website OV9292 . The OV chip card .
Taking bicycles into trains . Temporary road signing .
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29. A map of integration (The Hague HS station)
0 100 m
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30. CYCLING AND ROAD SAFETY
My personal believe:
“There is a DIRECT relation between the increase in
numbers of cyclists and road safety.”
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31. Cycling is safe … isn’t it?
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32. Ventriloquist Jeff Dunham (USA)
When visiting Amsterdam ...
• He saw the Dutch cycling on busy roads
and was amazed they didn’t fled
towards the public footpaths.
• In the USA cyclists ride on the public
footpaths, when there is a lot of car
traffic.
• Suddenly he noticed a mother becoming
very angry at her own child, because
the child was cycling really close to the
cars.
• Jeff was happy he wasn’t that ‘crazy’!
• Then he realised that he heard the
mother shouting:
“Honey ... that could be more close!”
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33. Personal presumption and expectations
”I see, I see what you also see! ... I hope!” .
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34. How to increase the number of cyclists
Some suggestions (of mine)
• Start investing in the younger children.
• Focus for the future.
• Learn children to behave in the right way, when participating in traffic.
• Make children walk and cycle, because ...
• They will be the car drivers of the next generation!
My believe: “Then your future car drivers might become cyclists too!”
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35. Young children and traffic
Facts
• They can’t locate the sound of an approaching car like we do.
• The front of a car looks like a smiling face.
• Because of their height, we can’t see them (play) between parked cars.
• When becoming 8-10 years old, we protect them by putting them in
the back seats of our ‘safe’ cars. This is weird, because around this age
they finally become able to experience traffic like we do!
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36. Primary schools in the City of Utrecht
Facts
• Primary schools in NL  children’s age is from 4 until 11 years.
• Most of the children walk or go by bike to school.
• Most of the children travel to school by themselves from the age of 9.
• 24,000 pupils on over 80 primary schools (103 locations) in the City of Utrecht ...
• ... means 103 different solutions to realise more (road) safety for children 
In the old city most parents This school asks children who
and children walk or go by bike live nearby the school to leave
to their school. their bike at home !!!
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37. The Utrecht Road Safety Label (UVL)
What is the Utrecht Road Safety Label?
• It is a quality mark for primary schools (4-11 years old)
that structurally put effort into the road safety around
the school and into traffic education.
• In exchange the school gets money and support for
traffic lessons and small infrastructure improvements in
the direct surrounding of the school.
• Target: 80% of the primary schools working to receive
the label in 2011.
A combination of three actions
1) Create safe and recognizable school zones and routes.
2) Influence on traffic behavior of the parents.
3) Traffic education for the pupils.
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38. 1. Finding a payable solution for a school zone
  
  
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39. Possible solutions from across Europe
Brussels (B). Amersfoort (NL).
Gijon (E). St. John (GB).
Copenhagen (DK). Coquelles (F).
Guines (F). Vielsalm (B). Almada (P). IJsselstein (NL
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40. Create safe and recognizable school zones
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41. Also create safe routes to and from the schools
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42. Some of those new school zones
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43. 2. Parents often show the wrong behaviour

?
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44. Influencing the behaviour of parents
What to do
• Taking anti-parking measures near
the schools.
• Only create parking space for cars
further away from the school.
• Inform parents by news letters and
special information sessions.
• Submit questionnaires to parents
and children.
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45. 3. Traffic education for the children
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46. Traffic garden for educational purpose
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47. Even a school zone in the traffic garden
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48. Dutch road types
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49. Cycling an average bicycle route in Utrecht
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50. On a typical RAINY day in The Netherlands 
So I waited for two days and start over again ...
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51. Cycling an average bicycle route in Utrecht
Rural road between Houten and Utrecht
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52. Cycling an average bicycle route in Utrecht
Bicycle path between Houten and Utrecht
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53. Cycling an average bicycle route in Utrecht
Across a bicycle bridge entering the city
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54. Cycling an average bicycle route in Utrecht
Entering a housing area through a park zone
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55. Cycling an average bicycle route in Utrecht
Residential street on backside of houses
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56. Cycling an average bicycle route in Utrecht
Crossing a through road
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57. Cycling an average bicycle route in Utrecht
Bicycle path as a short cut between two roads
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58. Cycling an average bicycle route in Utrecht
Entering a residential street
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59. Cycling an average bicycle route in Utrecht
Another short cut (passing a school zone)
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60. Cycling an average bicycle route in Utrecht
Approaching a ‘woon erf’
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61. Cycling an average bicycle route in Utrecht
Third short cut within half a mile
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62. Cycling an average bicycle route in Utrecht
Bicycle route using a dead end parking lot
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63. Cycling an average bicycle route in Utrecht
Using a standard residential street
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64. Cycling an average bicycle route in Utrecht
Level free crossing under a through road
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65. Cycling an average bicycle route in Utrecht
Direct bicycle link into the downtown area
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66. Cycling an average bicycle route in Utrecht
Bicycle street with mixed traffic
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67. Cycling an average bicycle route in Utrecht
Bicycle path instead of planned trunk road
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68. Cycling an average bicycle route in Utrecht
One way street is bi-directional for bicycles
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69. Cycling an average bicycle route in Utrecht
Trunk road with bicycle facilities
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70. Cycling an average bicycle route in Utrecht
Approaching the down town area
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71. Cycling an average bicycle route in Utrecht
One way residential shopping street
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72. Cycling an average bicycle route in Utrecht
The down town area = destination achieved
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73. Thank you for your attention!
Ronald Tamse, The City of Utrecht (NL), 2011/09/27
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