I am working on cycling infrastructure planning in the early stages. I start with questions like: Where should we find a new bike route? Where should we build a bike path? How to connect them? And when it is decided, then I am responsible for the project. I leave the final realization to others.
There are some similarities. We also have places where the cycle route network is interrupted. Not all parts are connected, unfortunately. But the network exists. In some places the cycle lanes are narrow, but they exist. When we started building cycling infrastructure in the 1990s, we often took space for pedestrians, not cars. Now it has changed a bit and it is easier for us to take space from cars. Especially when there are 3 lanes for cars, we take one from them. However, the overall network of cycle paths is still very narrow and incomplete.
The city manages most of the infrastructure, but traditionally there is competition between trams, cars, and bicycles. Each mode of transport promotes its own interests. Car interests are not as strong as they used to be, people have realized that cars are not that important…
No. We have several very important policy documents that set the direction of the city. And these documents changed towards sustainable transport because people and politicians wanted it. But it’s one thing to change things on paper, working in the field is harder. Around 2010, the policy documents improved significantly, but we are still behind in reality.
Cyclists in Gothenburg
We still have a long way to go and we have a different political structure. In Paris, the mayor can enforce almost everything on his own. He has a lot of power. In Sweden, power is divided between many different levels, and all political parties are represented. And that makes it much harder to enforce any change. In my city, too, the problem is that we who implement projects and build cycle paths are often afraid to make bold decisions. For example, I get a project to improve cycling infrastructure, and when I say: Yes, we need to remove 198 parking spaces, everyone says: No, we can’t do that. But when you have mayors who are responsible for it, they can say: Do it, blame. Some leaders are afraid to do this. So the whole process is slower.
Sometimes I’m successful, sometimes I’m not. Some say we should create mixed-use streets and mix bikes with cars. But I’m saying it’s not a good enough solution everywhere. We have to separate it. But sometimes I am not successful. There is a perception that it is not possible to eliminate so many parking spaces. Sometimes I hear that people are already angry that we already took this street, etc. I have to try different strategies…
The modal share is around 8%. In 2014 it was 7%. It’s getting a little worse now. It’s not just because of us planners, but it has a lot to do with construction. There are many construction projects in the city and cycling routes are temporarily interrupted.
Jonsson´s family
Prague is an absolutely beautiful city, I must say. With a very pleasant city life. But there are so many cars. And cobblestones are also a bit of a problem for cyclists. But just remove the cars and it would be perfect.
You have to convince politicians that they won’t lose elections if they decide to be bold. You can start with one neighborhood, build bike lanes there, and encourage people to start cycling. Then you have a success story to show and people from other neighborhoods will want the same thing. You can start with school streets, remove parking spaces, and make children safer. Everyone wants children to be safe.
Everyone in my community is now talking about Ghent and how they closed the city center to cars. If some streets are attractive to pedestrians and have a lot of people walking there, you can remove transit traffic and add barriers and greenery. This is usually easier for politicians to grasp. And that makes the street more bike-friendly, even if there aren’t bike lanes. They did it in Gothenburg in the 1970s on a very small scale. They closed the streets in the very center of the city. It’s much easier if you do it gradually. Convincing right-wing politicians to ride a bike is mostly impossible. But you can tell them that pedestrian zones and the removal of traffic will increase property prices, businesses will prosper, and generally boost the economy. Maybe you can try it temporarily with tactical urbanism and see how people take it. I’m sure it would be successful.
We also started projects for cars. We built a freeway and managed to remove cars from the city center. But it’s still a problem, the main roads are so wide and good that you move around the city faster by car than by public transport. So completing the bypass doesn’t solve the problem, it usually just attracts even more cars. Stockholm also doesn’t have a closed ring road and yet is improving conditions for cyclists now, because cycling has a lot of benefits.
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