Indeed, those fishing for bicycles in Amsterdam yank more than 12,000 of them out of the city’s canals each year. And their presence is problematic at street level too, particularly around Amsterdam Central Station where people pedal in from all directions and squeeze their bikes into cluttered racks by the thousands.

But a state-of-the-art facility has now swung open its doors, offering the people of Amsterdam a safe and streamlined way to secure their bikes.

Credit: Dutch Cycling Embassy

Twelve years in the making, the station’s freshly-finished Stationsplein bike garage is the largest in Amsterdam and sits underneath the water between the station’s island and Prins Hendrikkade, one of the city’s major streeets. Construction began in 2018 and involved first pumping water from the basin in order to lay the floor for the expansive new garage.

Credit: City of Amsterdam

The €50 million (A$77 million) effort culminated in a long-awaited opening on Saturday 28 January 2023, with visitors now able to make use of 7,000 spaces on offer.

Access is gained with a Dutch public transport smart card or a newer system that uses bicycle tags for automatic recognition, allowing for smoother entry and exit.

Once inside, green lights are used to indicate availability of spaces, while panoramic artwork depicting the history of Amsterdam decorates the walls. The first 24 hours of parking are free, after which a daily rate of €1.35 (A$2.08) applies. A bike servicing area is on site if visitors are in need of a tune-up.

Een kijkje in de nieuwe (en grootste) fietsenstalling van onze stad! Deze is vandaag geopend en ligt aan de centrumkant van het Centraal Station.

In totaal is hier ruimte voor 7.000 fietsen.

Op 28 januari vieren we de vernieuwing van het Stationseiland. Ben jij er bij? pic.twitter.com/HIvJ9NelTf

— Gemeente Amsterdam (@AmsterdamNL) January 25, 2023

And those unable to find a spot at Stationsplein will soon have another option to turn to. Nearby, an underground bike garage called IJboulevard is nearing completion behind the station, which will offer space for 4,000 further bicycles once it opens in February.

Together, these underwater bike garages will create more space for pedestrians around Amsterdam Central Station, with street-level racks to be removed in the coming weeks. This is part of a broader strategy by the city to restore the station to its former glory of circa 1900, with easy access and pleasant, open surroundings.

You can hear from the City of Amsterdam’s Pieter Visser, project manager for the Stationsplein bike garage, in the video from the Dutch Cycling Embassy below.

Lead image supplied by Dutch Cycling Embassy.

The post Amsterdam’s underwater bike garage opens with 7,000 spaces appeared first on Bicycle Network.

Webb Street is a strategic cycling corridor that connects nearby to other SCC’s being provided along the Princess Highway and Narre Warren North Road.

New pathways through the precinct, a secure Parkiteer cage and bike hoops are included in the design along with a landscaped forecourt, featuring elevated platforms with access via lifts and stairs, shelter and lighting, security cameras, a kiosk, and air conditioned waiting room.

There will be a signalised pedestrian crossing on Webb Street.

Construction on the project is scheduled to start later this year and will be completed by 2025.

The post Narre Warren Station for bikes appeared first on Bicycle Network.

Construction of the 4km promenade of parks, open spaces, cultural activations and environmental renewal between Birrarung Marr and the Bolte Bridge will be underway next year.

The north bank of the Yarra through the City has seen little investment in either active transport infrastructure or in environmental improvement.

The Greenline is set to correct that, and according to the business case assessment by Ernst & Young, will be transformative for the central city.

The study reports that the Greenline Project could draw more than 1.1 million additional visitors to the city every year, spending more than $23 million annually on shopping, dining and supporting local businesses.

Additionally, the Greenline project will create more than 3,400 jobs during construction, and more than 6,400 ongoing jobs by 2042.

The economic uplift is tipped to deliver 110,000m2 of new commercial floor space and 4,000 additional residential dwellings.

The findings reflect the experience of cities around the world that have tapped the powerful thirst of communities for active experiences with bike and walking paths combined with parklands and attractive urban environments free from traffic.

Ernst& Young says that over the next 20 years this investment is forecast to generate $1.7 billion in total value-added economic output, and an estimated $1.2 billion in total economic benefits for Melbourne’s economy.

The project will be split into five inter-connected precincts – Birrarung Marr, The Falls, River Park, Maritime and Saltwater Wharf.

Delivery of the project will take place in stages, with work on Site One at Birrarung Marr starting in 2023.

Total cost is estimated at $300 million, with $140 million already committed as part of the City of Melbourne’s Budget 2022–23, including $20 million from the Federal Government.

Lord Mayor Sally Capp said: “The Greenline Project will revitalise the north bank of the Yarra River – creating thousands of jobs, attracting waves of new visitors, and injecting millions of dollars into our economy.”

“We need to be ambitious – and this is exactly the sort of project Melbourne needs to grow, drive investment and cement our position as Australia’s most liveable city.”

The post The Greenline Project is more than just a river trail appeared first on Bicycle Network.

The Shawlands Bike Bus escorts students travelling by bike to Shawlands Primary School along a safe route on Friday mornings and its popularity has seen the group size grow to up to 60 students.

To assist the convoy navigate to school, a remote-controlled wireless transmitter has been developed for the Glasgow City Council that sends a signal to control traffic lights. The lead rider of the Shawlands Bike Bus can send a signal to hold traffic for 45 seconds, allowing the entire group to safely cross at busy intersections on their route.

The wireless transmitter, created by Sm@art Technology, allows the lead rider to send an encrypted signal to control traffic lights. Image: Colin Mearns

The Ultra-Smart Cycle System, developed by Sm@rt Technology, only accepts the signal during a certain period on a scheduled day, so works perfectly for the school group who travel on Friday mornings between 8:00am and 9:00am.

Glasgow’s Convener for Climate Angus Millar said: “We are always looking for new and innovative ways to provide safe, active travel routes for everyone and I am delighted that council colleagues were able to offer a solution to this problem in a very short space of time, during the school break.

“Making cycling a safe, easy and attractive option for people and especially young people is at the heart of our efforts to promote sustainable transport.

“This bit of kit is a fairly simple solution to a road safety problem that is probably experienced in cities up and down the country and I hope that what we’ve developed for Glasgow can be replicated to help similar bike bus schemes.”

Gareth Johnson, who first organised the Shawlands Bike Bus with his with wife Jo Wright, said: “Ultimately we’d like safe segregated cycle infrastructure so all children in Glasgow that want to can safely cycle to school, but in the interim, we are extremely grateful to the council for providing this new bit of technology.

“The junction is really busy and with a lot of young children on our bike bus giving us that little bit of extra time to safely navigate the junction is a game-changer for us.”

Glad to see the our new Ultra Smart Cycle System developed w/ @SMARTTECHLTD_1 in action, w @BikeBusShaw on way to @shawlandspripc It uses a military-grade encrypted signal setting specially timed traffic light cycle in motion to get riders through safely https://t.co/hK7xszPLq0 pic.twitter.com/Erc8ehgUxe

— Glasgow City Council (@GlasgowCC) September 2, 2022

Images: Colin Mearns

The post Glasgow’s Bike Bus given the green light appeared first on Bicycle Network.

A report out of the UK suggests we might get more cargo bikes on the street, sooner, and serving more people, if we understand more about how and why non-commercial cargo bike use is growing.

A London social enterprise, Fare City, conducted a series of interviews of stakeholders to get a better grasp of the issues and concluded that there is potential for more private and communally owned cargo bike use, if the right incentives and support exists.

One key finding was that private cargo bike users were usually already experienced bike riders, so you will naturally get more of them in places where there are already people riding bikes for commuting and other purposes.

However, to get riding take-up, you have to have the infrastructure and other conditions that encourage bike riding generally.

So merely subsidising cargo bikes in bike-unfriendly suburbs might not get the results you expect.

Interestingly, they that found that a strong motivation for ownership was taking children to school. Conversations at the school gate led to other parents doing the same thing.

And once the children get older and no longer need carrying to school, the bikes were more frequently used for shopping and other tasks.

There was also a strong desire to be less reliant on motor vehicles, but not necessarily as a complete replacement, but as a complimentary mode of transport.

The report identifies a number of opportunities and challenges:

Safety. Riders feel safe on cargo bikes because they are more visible. But because of their size, they need more space in the bike lane or on the road.

Regulation. There needs to be some regulation around the carrying of loads, and introductory trailing and familiarisation.

Infrastructure. Suitable parking infrastructure is important, and security from theft. Immobilizers for e-cargo bikes may help.

Demand and Accessibility. The COVID-induced supply chain chaos means demand is well outstripping supply. There should be more events and activities that allow people to try before they buy, And, more opportunities for rental, sharing or community or group ownership.

Culture. For many people bike riding has been seen as recreational rather than something you do for utility purposes. So, riding a cargo bike is out-of-scope for many people.

The post How to get more cargo bikes on the street appeared first on Bicycle Network.

Time is running out as the climate crisis looms closer day-by-day.

Change is hard, but there are smaller initiatives that we can get on with today.

For example, cargo bikes can be a quick, easy and cost-effective first step.

A new study from London shows that a rapid roll-out of cargo-toting bicycles can quickly deliver serious CO2 reductions where they replace the ubiquitous white diesel van.

About 10% of van kilometres in London could be easily replaced by cargo bike services, the study found.

And this would lead to saving as much as 133,300 tonnes of CO2 and 190.4 thousand Kg of NOx per year.

At the same time, it would reduce urban congestion and free a total of 384,000 sqm of public space usually occupied by parked vans and 16,980 hours of vehicle traffic per day.

These benefits are not just specific to London, with the 100,000 cargo bikes introduced in Europe between 2018-2020 estimated to be saving, each month, the same amount of CO2 needed to fly about 24,000 people from London to New York and back, i.e. 80 Boeing 777-300 flying over 890,000km.

Some of the benefits available are rarely even thought about, let alone calculated.

For example, the 213,100 vans owned by Londoners, when parked outside, occupy around 2,557,200 sqm of road space, the equivalent of just under twice the size of London’s massive Hyde Park.

In London alone, between 2015 and 2017, vans and trucks together were involved in 32% of total fatal collisions.

The report makes 11 key recommendations to support the adoption of cargo bikes:

1. A clear national  strategy to support non-motorised freight, backed by bike lane infrastructure cure provision.
2. A road-user charging regime that discourages inefficient and polluting freight modes.
3. Increase the current 250w power output for e-cargo bikes up to 1000w, while retaining the assist cut-out at 25kph.
4. Regulation to enable cargo bikes to apply for operators licenses to carry people.
5. Standardised insurance, safety regulations and operator training.
6. Proper regulation to ensure fair competition, and prevent exploitation of workers.
7. Declaration of more low emission zones and neighbourhoods in urban centres.
8. More official support for trials of cargo bike systems to test assumption in real world conditions.
9. Official support fro freight consolidation centres for cargo bike hubs.
10. Proper parking facilities, and e-charging points.
11. Adoption by the public sector.

The post Low-carbon freight can carry the load appeared first on Bicycle Network.

We saw this in spades on National Ride2School Day last Friday as more than 350,000 students from 900+ schools ditched the car to ride, skate, scoot or walk to school with their parents and friends. 

While the day is a great way to celebrate, support and pique the interest of those students, parents and schools who are considering active travel for the first time, it’s so much more than a day.

Bicycle Network’s Ride2School program works with school communities and governments throughout the year to enable, empower and encourage students to actively travel in their local streets.

At Bicycle Network, we think bike riding is a rite of passage: it’s just something you do as a kid, no matter your background. Plus, the benefits are clear – more happy, healthy, independent children and streets that people want to live, walk and play on.  

So how do we keep the momentum of National Ride2School Day going? How do we foster an environment in our normal day-to-day that supports and fosters healthy, physically active habits for our young people?

Whether you work at a school, have school-age children or just want to see happy healthy communities, we all have a role to play.

Ride2School has a myriad of resources (see below) for parents, schools and students to help keep children engaged in bike riding and ultimately embed active travel as part of a normal day. 

For schools, teachers and local government decision makers:

We’ve put together an easy, step-by-step guide to embedding active travel in your school community. Don’t forget to reach out to the Ride2School team and register with the program – we’ve got your back and are here to help schools in any way we can. 

Read more >

For parents:

If your child has a newfound enthusiasm for riding, walking, skating or scooting to school post Ride2School Day – we’ve pulled together a list of helpful resources, videos and ideas to support parents in keeping that enthusiasm going. 

• Check out Ride2School’s Parent Place
• Tips and tricks to support your child to get active through bike riding
• Jump on to Facebook and follow Ride2School for more inspiration. 

For people who are passionate about liveable communities: 

Bicycle Network’s Ride2School program is supported by the Victorian Government and Tasmanian Government. We’d love to see this funding extended. 

Our Ride2School program succeeds because our behaviour change methodology is proven to increase active travel in school communities.

We are also recommending the Australian Government invest in a national Ride2School program, which can lead the way in promoting active school travel across the country and increase accessibility to the program.

Not only will young Australians lead happier and healthy lives, their active travel behaviours will also allow them to fully engage during school time and make the most of their education experience.

If you want to see the Ride2School program continue and even expand, write to your local members (both state and federal) and councils and show your support for the program. 

• See our Federal Budget submission. 
• See our Victorian budget submission

The post Continuing the momentum of Ride2School Day appeared first on Bicycle Network.

The trial will see bike racks fitted to buses on select routes, allowing better connectivity and transition between transport modes and boost access and connectivity across the regional city.

Minister for Regional Transport and Roads Paul Toole said that it is exciting for the City of Wagga Wagga to be involved in the first of what will hopefully be many trials across other regional cities.

“The NSW Government is committed to boosting its public transport offering to help build upon our vision for a safer, stronger regional NSW.

“We want to get this trial right, so we’re seeking feedback from the community, including customers who catch the popular route 960 bus, Wagga Wagga City Council, bike user groups and Charles Sturt University on whether there is an appetite for the service and how best to roll it out,” Minister Toole said.

Bike racks on buses is not a new concept and is commonly seen across Europe, Canada, the US and South America.

Closer to home, bike racks on buses have been in operation in Canberra since 2005. Over 90% of Transport Canberra buses are equipped with bike racks. Each bike rack can hold two bikes (two-wheels, single-seat) and each bike can be loaded or unloaded without affecting the other.

Bike racks on buses have also been trialled in metropolitan Melbourne and regional Victoria with strong support from local councils.

Bike racks on buses enable cycling and public transport to complement each other, increasing the flexibility and reach of both. They are also well suited to lower density cities with good bike riding facilities.

Member of the Legislative Council Wes Fang called on locals to make submissions to help better connect those travelling to work, university or even to and from the many parks and cycleways on offer in the city.

“It’s great Wagga was chosen as the first trial location because it builds upon the 240 extra bus services we received in March last year as part of the 16 Cities Regional Growth Buses Program, and the 45-kilometre shared path that Wagga City Council is delivering across the city,” Mr Fang said.

The Bikes on Buses in the Bush trial will roll out in the coming months, after all feedback has been considered, and run for about eight weeks. If proven successful, further trials will be rolled out across other regional centres.

Customers can have their say throughout the month of March via an online survey.

Image: Boston US, 2015. 

The post Bikes on buses in the bush trial appeared first on Bicycle Network.

The Safer Urban Speed Limits position paper recommends the default speed limit on local streets change from 50km/h to 40 km/h and to 30km/h in busy pedestrian areas.

Local roads are those in residential areas where people live and socialise. High pedestrian areas include busy shopping and activity strips, like the Melbourne CBD or a suburban high street.

As well as opening up streets to people and encouraging walking and bike riding, reduced speed limits can also save lives. The risk of death if someone is hit by a car at 50 km/h is more than 80 per cent, however that risk drops to less than 20 per cent at 40 km/h.

30km/h and lower speed limits can also help retailers, cafes and restaurants by making streets nicer places to be and encouraging people to spend more time. City of Melbourne has recently changed speed limits to 20km/h in its little streets with large numbers of retailers, such as Flinders Lane.

Victoria Walks executive officer  Ben Rossiter said safer speed limits would bring Victoria into line with global leaders.

“Victoria’s approach to speeds and road safety is lagging behind many countries. Spain and the Netherlands are now applying 30km/h to residential streets across their entire country.”

“Councils need 30km/h as part of their toolkit to use on local shopping streets. The state government needs to get out of the way and let councils protect their communities.”

School zone expansion suggested

Victoria Walks’ paper also suggests expanding low-speed school zones from the street outside the school gate to all streets within 500 metres of the school and reducing the speed limit to 30km/h.

While current school zones with 40km/h speed limits can reduce risks to children out the front of schools, it does not increase safety for children on their trip to school.

Expanded schools zones and a 30km/h speed limit would encourage more children to ride and walk to school and reduce risks when people driving might be less aware that they are near a school.

Bicycle Network is a big supporter of safer speed limits, including legislating the gold standard 30km/h limit in built up areas.

Our 2020/21 federal budget submission includes a proposal for a safe streets fund of $10 million per year that allows local councils to develop traffic calming projects, similar to Yarra City Council’s 30km/h speed zone trial in inner-Melbourne.

RACV also supports safer speed limits.

“We know that speed plays a critical role in the severity of accidents and when you’re looking at a difference of 10km/hr, that could be the difference between life or death for a pedestrian,” Senior Manager Peter Kartsidimas told the Herald Sun.

“Reducing the speed limit on streets which have high pedestrian activity and along quiet residential areas will have minimal impact on travel times, as it will only impact the few hundred metres around homes.”

Click here to see Victoria Walks Safer Urban Speed Limits position paper 

Click here to see Bicycle Network’s 2021/21 federal budget submission

Click here to read a Herald Sun article about Victoria Walks paper

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The city had planned to remove 60,000 of the 140,000 surface parking spaces in Paris following an election pledge by Mayor Anne Hidalgo.

That figure has now been upped to 70,000 spaces.

Hidalgo had based her election campaign for mayor around the theme of making Paris more pedestrian and bicycle friendly. The space needed would come at the expense of car parking.

Many observers predicted that such a move would be political suicide as car parking was considered “untouchable”.

Motorist groups and their political allies ran hard against the mayor, but she prevailed comfortably.

Motorists account for 13% of all trips in Paris, yet claim 50% of the city’s space.

Hidalgo wants to carry out what she calls an “ecological transformation of the city,” a plan that includes making key thoroughfares in Paris inaccessible to motor vehicles; turning currently traffic-choked intersections into pedestrian plazas; creating “children streets” next to schools; and removing amenities for motorists.

Green spaces, vegetable plots, and playgrounds and more will take the place of car parking.

Parisians will be invited to have a say on what they will do with the former parking spaces, many of them on the roads in front of their homes.

Use of the remaining parking spaces will be “reserved for professionals who need their cars to get around,” said David Belliard, the deputy mayor of transport for Paris.

“Only three in ten Parisians still own a car today,”  Belliard said, “and use it mainly on weekends. The idea is to allow motorists to park their cars underground; underground spaces are five times more numerous than those above ground.”

There are 621,600 commercial parking spaces in Paris in underground and multi-level car parks.

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