bicycle research report no. 41 - fahrradportal...route, a maximum of respectively 1.2, 1.3 or 1.4...

BICYCLE RESEARCH REPORT NO. 41 November 1993

DESIGN MANUAL FOR A CYCLE-FRIENDLY INFRASTRUCTURE by C.R.O.W.

A new radical Dutch handbook on planning has its own design philoso-phy: put the cyclist and the bicycle first

The Key Facts A pioneering handbook has just been produced as part of the Dutch Bicycle Masterplan. The book’s recommendations for a cycle-friendly infrastructure address the needs of the cyclist-cycle system. There are also suggestions on how to deal with the menace of wrongly parked motor vehicles, and on cy-cle-friendly traffic-calming.

Contents The handbook produced by Bicycle Masterplan, the Dutch programme for encouraging cycling, contains 325 pages of sound suggestions on traffic planning and engineering measures. The Netherlands Department of Trans-port has also financed an English-language edition so that its contents can be widely read abroad.

The basic principle of this Dutch handbook is that a cycle-friendly infrastruc-ture has to fulfil five criteria. It should be cohesive, direct, attractive, safe and comfortable. To be cohesive, cycleways networks should be complete from start to destination (see table 2.2) and direct, provide journeys that are swift and largely free of detours. To achieve this, there are recommended cycle speeds of 30 kph for through routes, 25 kph for access routes and 20 kph for distributor routes; the corresponding detour factors are, according to type of route, a maximum of respectively 1.2, 1.3 or 1.4 times the length of the route as the crow flies, (see table 2.3). These routes need to be attractive, give little cause for complaint, offer social safety and pass through pleasant surround-ings (table 2.4). Cycle networks must provide safety in traffic, both subjec-tively and objectively (table 2.5). Routes will be comfortable if there are no obstacles or delays caused by bottlenecks or poor maintenance (table 2.6).

These requirements accord with the handbook’s design philosophy and are derived from the specific characteristics of the cyclist-cycle friendly system. As bicycles are muscle-powered, energy losses in a cycle-friendly network have to be kept to a minimum. As bicycles are unstable, factors such as side winds, airstreams from lorries, uneven road surfaces and sudden braking mean that extra width is needed. Because bicycles do not have a crumple

zone, cyclists need extra protective space. The road surface should be smooth, because bicycles have hardly any suspension. And because cyclists ride in the open air, the surroundings have to be especially attractive. Cyclists are social animals and should therefore be able to ride two abreast. Cyclists are people, not machines, and so they should not be overtaxed by the compli-cated installations of highway engineers.

The chapter „Designing a Network” points out that cycling is not restricted to the immediate locality; in the Netherlands, journeys of more than 10 km can form a significant proportion of all cycle traffic; these too must be catered for by the cycle network. Statistically, annual fluctuations around the mean are smaller on weekdays than on Sundays. On winter weekdays they fall to 61% of the average figure. A study to evaluate needs and effectiveness is recom-mended as a way of setting priorities for the cycle infrastructure.

On roads, the widths required for separate cycle lanes depend on the volume and composition of the traffic. Cyclists can only properly ride two abreast on cycleways 2 metres wide (table 4.2). Two cyclists approaching each other between high solid barriers, such as walls, require a space of at least 3 metres (figure 4.4). For higher traffic volumes on one-way routes 1.5 metres are suf-ficient for cycleways with 100 cyclists per peak hour, but for two-way routes, 2.5 metres are needed for the same volume of traffic (table 4.3).

On roads where there is loading or unloading of goods, some space should be left between the cycle facility and the loading or unloading of vehicles, as e.g. in figure 4.5, where there is a loading/unloading port area behind the cycle lane. A combination of cycle lane and bus lane is recommended for roads which are distributor routes for cyclists or buses. However, separation is recommended where a road forms a connecting lane for buses but a through route for cyclists (table 4.6).

At junctions, the type of cycle route should determine whether cycles should be included in mixed traffic or separated, on the road, on cycleways or on cycle lanes (table 6.2). The design of the junction depends on the type of road, speed of travel and function of the cycle route - through route, access or distributor (table 6.3).

Speeding by motor traffic and some traffic-calming schemes can both be equally unfriendly to cyclists, so the handbook includes recommendations for speed inhibitors for motor traffic (table 7.1). The more important a cycle route is, the less cyclists should be restricted by obstacles for traffic-calming. The advice given varies for through, access and distributor routes according to function.

Bollards are one of the solutions recommended for one of the cyclist’s central

Bicycle Research Report No. 41, November 1993 - 2 -

problems, that of illegally parked motor vehicles, where these form an obsta-cle (see fig. 8.8). However, the bollards must be positioned vertically on the cycleways surface at intervals of at least 1.5 metres.

The chapter on cycle parking contains figures on the numbers of parking spaces required. In regional shopping centres, visitors and customers require 5 to 6 cycle stands per 100 square metres of sales floor area (table 9.1). A typology of bicycle storage facilities in table 9.2 evaluates the protection of-fered by various types of parking against theft, vandalism and the weather, and also how quick, accessible and cheap they are for the user. Table 9.3 shows which kinds of facility are appropriate for various destinations. In residential areas, for example, storage space with of few cycle racks or a neighbourhood storage facility are suitable.

There are further suggestions regarding road surface in terms of aesthetics, composition of the superstructure and route-marking. Tables 10.1 and 10.2 show the reduced widths and redirection required for cyclists to negotiate road works. Principles on the landscaping of the cycle infrastructure include advice on social safety, lighting, the integration of cycle facilities into the environment, (table 11.1) and information and signposting. Various methods are also proposed for the comparative evaluation of cycle facilities.

Article “Sign up for the bike. Design manual for a cycle-friendly infrastructure” in English by C.R.O.W. (Netherlands Highway Engineering Research Associa-tion), C.R.O.W. record no 10, Ede 1993, 325pp, ISBN 90-6628-158-8, price 50 Dutch guilders

Available from Stichting Centrum voor Regelgeving en Onderzoek in de Grond-Water-en Wegebouw en de Verkeerstechnick: C.R.O.W., Postbus 37, NL-6710 BA Ede, Fax +31-8380-21112, Tel. +31-8380-20410


bicycle research report no. 41 - fahrradportal...route, a maximum of respectively 1.2, 1.3 or 1.4...

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