Integrating Active and Public Transportation Modes in Berlin an Evaluation Research Study to the Radbahn U1 Project
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Integrating Active and Public Transportation Modes in Berlin An evaluation research study to the Radbahn U1 project Shankar Narayanan Iyer Supervisor: Alvaro Valera Sosa Submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the Degree of Master of Science in Urban Management at Technische Universität Berlin Berlin, February 1st, 2018 Statement of authenticity of material This thesis contains no material which has been accepted for the award of any other degree or diploma in any institution and to the best of my knowledge and belief, the research contains no material previously published or written by another person, except where due reference has been made in the text of the thesis Shankar Narayanan Iyer Berlin, February 1st, 2018 2 Acknowledgement: This Master’s Program of Urban Management was a special experience for me considering the amount of good memories that I am taking with me at the end. I would first like to thank the whole faculty of Urban Management Program for making the study a memorable one. A special thank you to Claudia Matthews and Bettina Hamann for making the life of us students so comfortable during the study. A special thank you to Menno Hoffmann to keep us always well informed about everything and solving every issue that I had during the course. The study of Radbahn was very special to me as it was my first independent academic research. It was a joyful experience to say the least. This study would have not been possible without the constant sheering and guidance of my supervisor Prof. Alvaro Valera Sosa. The experience of learning about the topic of my interest could not have been any better. I would also like to thank the chief designer of the Radbahn project Mr. Matthias Heskamp for his vital help in providing source of information without which the study would not have been possible. I would like to thank my friend Rithu Prabhakaran for the vital graphic inputs for the study. I would dearly like to thank my source of inspiration, my parents, Mrs. Geetha Iyer and Mr. S. Subramaniam Iyer and my brother Mr. Ramaswamy Iyer, without the moral support of whom, my stay in Berlin wouldn’t have been as good as it has been. Finally, I would like to thank my best friend S. Pavan for his constant moral boosting support, critical inputs, and encouragement all the way from India. Thank you, my friend!! 3 Abstract: Integrating Active and Public transportation modes has been a topic of foremost importance for major cities around the world. It is believed to be a healthy, eco-friendly and economical solution for the urban traffic related issues. Major European cites, like Copenhagen and Amsterdam are leading by example in resolving traffic related issues by integrating Active and Public transport network in the city. The Senate department of Urban Development and the Environment in Berlin, has recently taken strides towards strengthening the biking infrastructure in the city by formulating a new “Biking strategy” to encourage the citizens to use bikes over private motorized vehicles. Aligning to the principles of which, a group of visionary architects and urban planners came up with a bike project, called “Radbahn”, which aims to use the forgotten space under the city’s oldest U-bahn route (U1) and use it for active travel purposes. This study was an evaluation research, conducted under the working framework of Walkability for Health on the “Radbahn” cycle track to examine its role in integrating active and public modes of transportation. The first objective of the evaluation research was to examine the immediate built environment conditions around the track and perform Macro- level factor study to determine the most suitable and the least suitable sections for active travel. Following it, the second objective of the study was to identify streets with high scope of active travel and conduct Meso-level factor study to bring out the conditions of walking and biking at the junctions and street segments connecting the radbahn. Lastly, the final objective of the research was to conduct a detailed Meso-level study on the two sections selected from Macro-level study and examine the condition of Active path continuity and Active block connectivity. Further, the research discussed the outcomes of each evaluation and suggested recommendation to the project to improve the condition in integrating active and public modes of transportation in Berlin. Keywords: Radbahn, Walkability for Health, Active travel, Active path continuity, Active block connectivity. 4 Table of contents: 1. INTRODUCTION 8 2. BACKGROUND 10 3. RESEARCH QUESTION AND OBJECTIVES 27 4. RESEARCH METHODS 31 5. FINDINGS: 33 MACRO LEVEL: 33 SECTION: PROMENADE 34 SECTION: UNDER THE ROOF 37 SECTION: BY THE WATER 41 SECTION: EYE OF THE NEEDLE 43 SECTION: HOTSPOT 46 SECTION: SPREE FEELING 49 MESO LEVEL: 55 SECTION: PROMENADE 56 SECTION: UNDER THE ROOF 57 SECTION: BY THE WATER 58 SECTION: EYE OF THE NEEDLE 60 SECTION: HOTSPOT 61 SECTION: SPREE FEELING 62 SELECTED SECTIONS FOR FURTHER STUDY 67 LEAST FAVORABLE SECTION 68 MOST FAVORABLE SECTION 71 6. CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION 75 CONCLUSION 75 RECOMMENDATIONS 78 REFERENCES 81 ANNEXES 84 5 List of Figures FIGURE 1: MODAL SHARE OF TRANSPORTATION IN BERLIN ................................................................................ 15 FIGURE 2: PROMENADE ........................................................................................................................................ 17 FIGURE 3: UNDER THE ROOF ................................................................................................................................ 18 FIGURE 4: MOBILITY HUB PLAN AT NOLLENDORFPLATZ ...................................................................................... 18 FIGURE 5: IN THE PARK ......................................................................................................................................... 20 FIGURE 6: BY THE WATER ..................................................................................................................................... 21 FIGURE 7: EYE OF THE NEEDLE ............................................................................................................................. 22 FIGURE 8: HOTSPOT .............................................................................................................................................. 23 FIGURE 9: SPREE FEELING ..................................................................................................................................... 24 FIGURE 10: IN THE PARK ....................................................................................................................................... 40 List of Tables TABLE 1: DENSITY (PROMENADE) ......................................................................................................................... 36 TABLE 2: DIVERSITY (PROMENADE) ...................................................................................................................... 36 TABLE 3: DENSITY (UNDER THE ROOF) ................................................................................................................. 39 TABLE 4: DIVERSITY (UNDER THE ROOF) .............................................................................................................. 39 TABLE 5: DENSITY (BY THE WATER) ...................................................................................................................... 43 TABLE 6: DIVERSITY (BY THE WATER) ................................................................................................................... 43 TABLE 7: DENSITY (EYE OF THE NEEDLE) .............................................................................................................. 45 TABLE 8: DIVERSITY (EYE OF THE NEEDLE) ............................................................................................................ 46 TABLE 9: DENSITY (HOTSPOT) ............................................................................................................................... 48 TABLE 10: DIVERSITY (HOTSPOT) ......................................................................................................................... 48 TABLE 11: DENSITY (SPREE FEELING) .................................................................................................................... 51 TABLE 12: DIVERSITY (SPREE FEELING) ................................................................................................................. 51 TABLE 13: DENSITY (RADBAHN TRACK) ................................................................................................................ 52 TABLE 14: DIVERSITY (RADBAHN TRACK).............................................................................................................. 52 TABLE 15: STREET HIERARCHY AND CLASSIFICATION (PROMENADE) .................................................................. 56 TABLE 16: INTERSECTION TYPE (PROMENADE) .................................................................................................... 56 TABLE 17: SEGMENT TYPE (PROMENADE) ............................................................................................................ 57 TABLE 18: STREET HIERARCHY AND CLASSIFICATION (UNDER THE ROOF) ........................................................... 58 TABLE 19: INTERSECTION TYPE (UNDER THE ROOF) ............................................................................................