Rotterdam-Delft Bike Highway

Rotterdam-Delft Bike Highway By David Steinberg Requirements for a Bike Highway ● Meant for long distance travel ● Absence of at-grade intersections with motor traffic ● Little to no interruption of the path ● Provides a better alternative for cyclists as opposed to cars Rotterdam-Delft South Route ● Along the Delfshavense Schie and Delftse Schie (two shipping canals) ● Placement along the canals is important/no accident ○ Bridges for motor vehicles to go over the canals allows the cyclists to travel under the overpass ○ This prevents cyclists from coming into contact with cars (especially at intersections) 16 Sections of the Route ● Assigned to sections 13-16 Sections 13 to 16 ○ Section 13: Southern approach to Zweth ○ Section 14: Zweth ○ Section 15: Zweth to Delft ○ Section 16: By a block of houses in Delft Section 13: Southern Approach to Zweth ● Challenges: Providing a safe transition between the rural environment and the village of Zweth ● Challenges met by: ○ Speed reduction for cars (60 km/hr to 30 km/hr) ○ Narrowing the road ○ Sleeping Cyclists Pavement markings indicating a change in speed Section 13: Southern Approach to Zweth Advisory lanes before the road narrows Road narrows for drivers Sleeping Cyclists Section 14: Zweth Parked ● Challenges: No more cycle tracks or advisory cars lanes, must make sure that vehicles go slow and that cyclists feel safe ● Challenges met ○ Road being narrow (executed by planters, sleeping cyclists, and parked cars) ○ Although traffic is two way, there is only room for lane, forcing cars to take turns Planters as they drive through Zweth ○ Having a slow speed limit (30 km/hr) ○ Traffic disincentivized to travel through the road Section 14: Zweth Sleeping Cyclists Interactive bollards that limit the amount of vehicles traveling through Zweth Section 15: Zweth to Delft ● Challenges: effectively separating the cycle track from the motor traffic ● Challenges met by: ○ Cycle track is physically separated from the road by using a physical median with plants, street poles, Physical separation of cycle track and trees from roadway Section 15: Zweth to Delft More examples of physical separation between the cycle track and the roadway: Section 16: By a block of houses in Delft ● Challenges: making sure that residences are physically separated from motor traffic Raised and that residents do not get hit by a cyclist median with trees when coming out of their house ● Challenges met by: ○ Multiple trees along the road/a large raised median ○ Small front lawn/walkways gives residents a buffer zone to double check before crossing the cycle track Section 16: By a block of houses in Delft Path that residents’ vehicles must travel on between the driveway and the road Small front lawns/walkways that gives residents a safe place to wait before crossing the cycle track Why limiting traffic is important ● For the bike highway: reducing the amount of times that cyclists have to come into contact with motor vehicles ● For the villages: narrowing the roadway and using other design tactics (speed bumps, chicanes, bollards that limit traffic, etc.) so motor vehicles: ○ Cannot drive too fast, thus providing a low-stress environment for cyclists ○ Are disincentivized from using that particular roadway in the first place The Dutch “confine yet facilitate” approach ● Limit where motor traffic can travel ● On streets where motor vehicles are permitted: ○ Give cyclists priority before cars (so the car is no longer the “king” of the road) ○ Dissuade drivers from using a particular route while simultaneously encouraging them to use an alternative route An example of “confine yet facilitate” Example: Rotterdam/The Hague Airport ● Although Delftweg runs close to the airport (along the canal), there is not too much motor traffic since the road is purposefully designed to not accommodate large amounts of motor traffic ● Motor vehicles can use the S114, the N209, and the A13 (all of which are designed to handle fast speeds/more traffic) to access the airport Traffic Metering ● Another method of how the Dutch discourage vehicles from traveling on a particular route ● Sensors that detect a car approaching and make each car wait at least 30 seconds before proceeding ○ Can be executed using interactive bollards The Netherlands’ “Green Heart” ● Major cities (namely Amsterdam, The Hague, Rotterdam, and Amsterdam Utrecht) all form an ring with a large rural area in the middle: this is known as the “Green Heart” ● This breaks up land-use into two The Green Heart categories: built-up and not built-up ● Allows the Netherlands to preserve The Hague their rural and farming areas (since Utrecht they are limited on space) Rotterdam Summary for the Rotterdam-Delft South Route ● Having the route along the canals was well-planned because cyclists could pass underneath motor vehicles who are crossing the canals ● Almost no interruption of path for the cyclist with few at-grade intersections to prevent collision points between cars and cyclists ● Enough room was available to provide a separated and protected travelway just for cyclists for most of the route ● When cyclists and cars have to share the roadway for part of the route: ○ Cyclists are given priority ○ The roadway is physically designed to dissuade cars from traveling on it (through narrowing the roadway, planters, sleeping cyclists, speed humps, and traffic metering).

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