“’Bicycling without age’ because it’s a human right to have wind in your hair!” – Dr. Jan Gehl
What a treat to spend a week talking about bicycling. Last week, I was among over 1,200 people who made their way to Ljubljana, Slovenia for Velo-City, the flagship event of the European Cyclists Federation. Dr. Jan Gehl, founder of Gehl Architects and Professor of Urban Design in Copenhagen, Denmark, kicked off the event with compelling stories of cycling at every age. And with so many countries represented at this conference, all the excuses to not cycle were also represented. There were the cold Nordic countries, who must provide winter tires for riding in the snow. And hot countries with climates similar to my home in Memphis, who must consider cycling in the heat. But Dr. Gehl encouraged us that to cycle is to be a part of our environment and to avoid the “Sitting Syndrome,” that so many of us now suffer from.
The Conference
Velo-City International Bicycle Conference “promotes a shift from private cars to sustainable modes of transport (especially cycling).” Gathering participants from around the world, Velo-City considers policy needs and planning that must take place to incorporate cycling as a viable strategy for moving citizens, redesigning infrastructure, and addressing climate change with a proven technology, the humble bicycle.
Velo-City moves, each year, to a different European location, highlighting forward thinking cycling cities and also promoting infrastructure improvements in the host city. Thanks to a generous conference scholarship, from the University of Washington's Master of Sustainable Transportation program, I got to attend Velo-City and have the chance to meet others from Scandinavia, as well as mainland Europe, to learn more about how bicycles are used to promote sustainable development goals. Because of the conference’s broad look at urban mobility, I also had the chance to learn from those working in urban planning, workforce development and the freight arena, to gain a better understanding of what I am studying in the UW Master of Sustainable Transportation program.
In Dr. Gehl's talk, he described a better way to consider the speeds of the different ways we travel, and how to create the appropriate space for each. He shared the image below, from a paper entitled: Streets That Fit: Re-allocating Space for Better Cities, and explained that whichever mode was dominant on the street should be the one that determines the speed limit.
This conference was a treat because we didn’t just sit around talking about bicycles, we got out and rode them, too. I chose the intermodal connections bike tour, highlighting Ljubljana’s use of Park ‘n Rides. Offering both private and public transportation, the Park ‘n Ride lots allow suburban commuters to drive in to the city outskirts and then continue their trip into downtown, by bus or bicycle. Bike parking, city bike share and a brand-new privately run bike share with eAssist bikes are all available for the bicycle riders. And comfortable, separated bike paths make bicycling easy from the Park ‘n Ride to the city center.
Additionally, drivers who pay for a parking spot, at the low rate of 1.30 euros per day, are entitled to a free roundtrip bus ride into the city. Ljubljana offers six of these Park ‘n Ride facilities. By offering easy ways to use either the bus or a bicycle, Ljubljana greatly reduces the number of cars in the city center. Of course, Park ‘n Rides depend on good transportation, once you reach the city center. And Ljubljana does that well, too, with lots of bike share stations and frequent buses crossing the city.
Wayfinding
In the US, we often look to the Netherlands as the epitome of city cycling. And yet, even they have goals to do better. I attended a conference session titled: When One in Four is Not Enough, discussing the push to grow the number of cycling trips in the Netherlands to greater than one in four trips. One way that national policy supports this effort is to standardize wayfinding signage. For bike routes that mirror high-speed motorized routes, the route numbers were matched to the motorway, yet marked for bikes. Additionally, way finding signs are now posted in three ways: The Early sign indicates that the rider is approaching a new route and will need to make a choice. The Decision Maker sign explains which routes are found at this intersection. And the Confirmation Sign, found just after beginning a new route, confirms that the rider is traveling in the intended direction. I especially like this third sign. I have definitely experienced navigating a new place, but getting distracted at the decision point, and then worrying for several miles whether I am actually on the correct path. This triplet of signs display a standardized color scheme. And the three stages promote confident navigation of a robust cycling network.
Circulation Plan
Deputy Mayor Filip Watteeuw, City of Ghent Belgium, talked about the success of that city’s Circulation Plan. (Read more about this radical and successful traffic management plan, here) This plan creates a pedestrian zone in the very center of the
city, by removing all cars. The rest of the core city is divided into six zones. Bicycles and buses can move in and between zones. But for car drivers, if they want to go to a new zone, they must exit the zone by the ring road and then travel to the next zone. Cars can still access all zones but it is faster to cross between zones by bus and bike. The Circulation Plan, paired with expensive parking, makes cars the least desirable mode.
The goal of this plan is to make the city center streets safer and more accessible for pedestrians, bicyclists and public transit users. The City of Ghent has used this plan since 2017, so several other Velo-Citizens were aware of its success and discussed the possibility of implementing something similar in their cities. I think it’s a testament to how strong the drive is now to fight climate change, that drastic measures such as a Circulation Plan are so widely known and considered.
School Streets
School Streets are roads around a school that are closed to car traffic at school arrival and dismissal times. The motivation for these streets is better health for the children, both from transporting themselves to school by active modes like walking and biking, and from better air quality by removing idling cars. These streets also increase safety for children, because they remove interactions with motorized vehicles. In some cases, public transit and school buses are still allowed to enter. But in others, only walking and bicycling is allowed. The School Streets initiative in England created toolkits and infographics to support others who would like to try School Streets, in their communities. (See one of their infographics, to the left).
Tyler Linton, from the London Borough of Hackney, said that after supporting School Streets at forty-eight schools, he believes that this is an idea that can be duplicated in MOST schools. Of course School Streets encourage walking and bicycling to school. But some also promote better use of school or public buses. Linton and the other panel speakers listed several benefits of School Streets from addressing climate change, community health, noise pollution, reducing conflicts with motorized vehicles and more. However, he encouraged us to not overcomplicate the message. At its most basic, our schools are dangerous places to walk when children must mix with motorized vehicles. If we stick to the goal of making streets safer by closing them to cars, for just one hour at school arrival and dismissal times, children will be able to walk safely to school. Want to know how to get started? Find more information and all the toolkits here.
Bike Parade!
One of the most engaging events at Velo-City is the Bike Parade. We were told that 6,000 Ljubljanans joined the conference goers in our ride, and I can believe it. I've never been a part of such a large slow ride before. It was fabulous! I wanted to use the conference's theme song, Change is Strange by Sara Lamprečnik, for my parade video, but alas, TikTok didn't have it. Instead I used another of her songs. But I think it still gives you a good flavor of a modern town with medieval roots. Keep an eye out for the dragons!
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