This article on cycling infrastructure is part of a short series examining bicycles in a broader context. In the first article, we focused on how the role of bicycles in cities has changed . We also recently wrote about the unequal battle against cars. A battle that has been lost virtually everywhere. But, using military analogies, it seems that guerrilla warfare is transforming into an organized front against individual motorized transport. And most importantly, it's no longer just Amsterdam and Copenhagen that are winning this battle! Cycling infrastructure is a broad term that encompasses a wide range of issues. In this post, we'll focus on a few selected topics:

1. We will look at bicycle highways as a relatively new idea for dealing with the rapidly growing bicycle traffic.
2. We will try to show what are the current latest trends when it comes to designing bicycle paths in cities.
3. We will describe the most modern bicycle parking lots, answering the question why their construction is so important

Bicycle infrastructure - bicycle highways

Cycle highways, also known as "fast bike lanes," are a new concept in transportation infrastructure planning. They describe long-distance, high-quality cycling routes. Such routes are primarily built for regular commuters for educational and professional purposes. The goal of such investments (properly publicized by authorities, of course!) is to promote sustainable transportation over longer distances. Numerous studies on cycling show that it becomes relatively less attractive compared to other modes of transport as trip length increases.

Instead of an introduction

Before we move on to presenting several European bicycle highways, a note on nomenclature is necessary. Motorway technical requirements vary from country to country. Nevertheless, every driver knows what to expect on such a road. Unfortunately, their bicycle counterparts are subject to far less standardization. Even something as seemingly obvious as traffic priority isn't necessarily guaranteed. Let's assume that in our study, bicycle highways will be at least:

1. Built from scratch (they will not be adapted sections of e.g. motorways)
2. They connected distant cities or places in larger agglomerations.
3. They differed from standard bicycle paths due to better solutions in terms of road parameters and methods of connecting with other road and urban infrastructure (priority of traffic for bicycles,

Theoretically, in Polish we have a "Velostrada ," our own term for this type of bike path, but I have a feeling that, although it sounds beautiful, it just can't catch on. So, for now, we'll stick with the bicycle highway. The Netherlands was the first to experiment with the concept of a bicycle highway, with demonstration routes in Tilburg and The Hague in the 1970s, but modern projects of this type began to be designed and implemented in the 21st century. Before we see such routes in Poland, let's look at examples from Germany, the Netherlands, and the UK.

Germany

The RS1 bicycle highway, over 100 km long, will connect cities in the Ruhr area (from Duisburg to Hamm) . Approximately 1.65 million people live in the RS1 area, and the authorities' ambition is to reduce car traffic by 50,000 journeys per day, thus reducing climate-damaging CO2 emissions by 16,000 tons per year. Germany plans to build an entire network of bicycle highways. But just look at the list to understand that this is a rather distant prospect... (For those who don't know German: "in Betrieb" – in use, "in Bau" – under construction, Plannung/Diskussion requires no translation)

Great Britain

The naming problem is best illustrated by the example of London. The first "cycle superhighways" resembled more typical cycle paths in other cities. The initial cycle routes implemented in 2010 (CS3, CS7) and 2011 (CS2, CS8) focused on improving the visibility of existing infrastructure. The initial projects were distinguished by the relatively low cost of their solutions (cycle paths or combined cycle and bus routes). Cycle superhighways from this period can be easily identified by their light blue paint. In later years (2012-2015), the approach changed, and a second generation of cycle superhighways (CS5, CS2 upgrade, CS3, CS6, CS1 extension) was built, physically separated from car traffic. Because space in central London is severely limited, this often required a complete street redesign. Designers sought to retain the existing outer curbs (so as not to restrict pedestrian or green space) while accommodating a 4-meter cycle path between them. To create space, designers had to reduce the number of car lanes, narrow them, or remove the central reservation. This doesn't change the fact that these are still not motorways in the sense we defined them in the introduction. You can download the current map of London's rapid cycle routes here .

Denmark

Cyclists already have access to eight cycle highways around Copenhagen. In this case, we're talking about "true" highways, meaning routes where bicycle traffic is prioritized. Intersections are grade-separated, and the cycle paths themselves are wider than standard. The first route, Albertslundruten C99, opened in 2012, and the second, Farumruten C95, opened in 2013. In 2016, Ishøjruten opened, followed by five routes in 2017. By 2021, seven additional routes will be available. A total of 45 routes are planned in the Danish capital region with a total length of 746 kilometers.

How to design bicycle paths and routes?

We discussed best practices and standards for bicycle infrastructure design on our blog with Jakub Zamana . It's impossible to comprehensively address this issue in a single post. However, it's worth noting that Poland has its own guidelines for bicycle infrastructure design standards . The Dutch CROW recommendations, used worldwide, recommend physical separation of the bicycle path from the street when traffic volume exceeds two thousand vehicles per day. If there are fewer cars, it's best to limit speed to 30 km/h. Ideally, cyclists should have priority over other vehicles. Similar recommendations are included in other standards, such as those adopted in the United Kingdom. Danish architects from Gehl, known for promoting sustainable transport, have developed a set of best practices in this area. Download it here. Without going into theoretical considerations, we would like to show interesting, new implementations and solutions in the field of building bicycle routes. While roundabouts have been a permanent element of traffic solutions in city squares, they have only recently been used more frequently in Poland to replace traditional intersections. This is a shame, because a skillfully designed roundabout (partially with two-way traffic) can also safely accommodate cyclists. This is a standard solution used in the Netherlands in highly urbanized areas. We've become accustomed to the impressive scale and grandeur of road and bridge projects in China. But it turns out they can also work on a smaller scale. Although "smaller" in this case means the world's longest curved driveways... The photos show the bicycle bridge in Xiamen, which was recognized in the "Liveable Cities" category of the 2019 Danish Design Award. The wooden bridge in Oirschot belongs to a completely different category. I feel like we're sorely lacking such "human-scale" projects in Poland.

Photo from the website of the WEST8 architectural office

One of the most beautiful bicycle routes is located in Limbourg, Belgium. Interestingly, in the same area there's another unusual piece of cycling architecture. A long ramp allows cyclists to safely ascend to the level of... the trees. The beginning of 2024 brought the announcement of a small revolution in the context of expanding cycling infrastructure around Warsaw. For now, it's still in the design phase. But who knows, maybe we'll update this article with examples of successful solutions supporting cycling in Poland. To conclude this story about interesting bicycle crossings, here's a vision of an unusual structure that was to be built near Cologne Cathedral. The architectural firm Spade Studio was responsible for the design of this spectacular, elliptical structure, which was to be anchored on the banks of the Rhine.

Bicycle parking lots

Where bicycles are used extensively in everyday transport, they also form part of intermodal transport. In Polish, people often switch, for example, from bicycles to trains (and vice versa). This necessitates the construction of parking lots, which must have adequate capacity. Furthermore, they must allow for efficient entry and exit. First, let's enter the largest bicycle parking lot in the world, located in Ultrecht. And here is a newer project, from this year in The Hague. While the parking lot is already operational, the surrounding buildings are still under construction. The final entrance to this parking lot can be seen in the visualization below.