[dropcap letter="E"]
n the midst of a technological revolution, when smart cities are gaining prominence and autonomous cars are just around the corner, the humble bicycle is positioning itself as a key element of urban mobility in the 21st century. Cities aspiring to global leadership, at least in Europe, are aware of this, and many are investing in infrastructure to facilitate the comfortable and safe use of bicycles. This results in cleaner cities, healthier inhabitants, and an overall improvement in the quality of life.
It is one of the biggest movements in global urban planning. Naturally, not all cities are the same, and progress is also uneven. The Danish company Copenhagenize Design Co. is dedicated to studying, from a multidisciplinary perspective that combines design, sociology, and anthropology, the development of strategies that, always from the point of view of users, allow for improving the use of bicycles in urban environments.
Every two years, they publish an index that analyzes 136 cities around the world in relation to bicycle use and available infrastructure, based on fourteen different parameters. In the latest study, Barcelona is ranked eleventh. The first place is occupied by Copenhagen, without surprises, closely followed by Utrecht and Amsterdam.
In Barcelona, where a notable effort has been made to expand bike lanes (not without certain reluctance from some sectors), the Urban Mobility Plan 2019-2024 is currently being drafted, in which 130 entities will participate, including associations, experts, companies, and operators. A strategic plan to define mobility priorities for the next five years, among whose aims are the reduction of accidents and pollution (one of the city's Achilles' heels), improving equity in transport for all citizens, and integrating new technologies into its management.
The renewal of the Bicing contract for the next ten years was recently announced, whose tender was won by the UTE «Pedalem Barcelona», formed by CESPA and PBSC, and which was approved with the votes against of the PP and the CUP. The amount of the tender amounts to 162.9 million euros; an amount that will serve for the total renovation of the already old fleet of bicycles (six thousand mechanical expandable to eight thousand units and one thousand electric, compared to the current 300), and that will raise the number of stations from the current 465 to a total of 519. The service will operate 24 hours a day, and is only part of the municipal efforts to improve bicycle mobility, which also includes investments in the expansion of the existing network of bike lanes, which will reach 233 kilometers by the end of 2018.
1. Copenhagen, Denmark
With an investment of more than 120 million euros over the last decade, the Danish capital maintains world leadership as the capital of urban cycling. In the last three years alone, sixteen new bridges have been created in the city exclusively for cyclists and pedestrians. 62% of residents use bicycles for their daily commutes, compared to only 9% who use private motorized vehicles. The commitment of the municipal council is solid and constant in supporting measures that improve bicycle use. Cities like Oslo, Helsinki, and Paris are making great strides to close the gap with its leadership.
2. Utrecht, Netherlands
This relatively small Dutch city has surpassed Amsterdam and taken second place in this ranking. The project to create a parking lot with capacity for 33,000 bicycles around its central station is underway, given that the current 12,000 spaces have fallen short. Many of the lanes are equipped with a speed control system called Flo that warns bicycle users if they should increase or decrease their speed so as not to have to stop at traffic lights. At the same time, a large plan is underway to recover the city's original urban structure, based on canals.
3. Amsterdam, Netherlands
Although Amsterdam remains a model of cycling mobility, in recent years it seems to have become somewhat stagnant. For example, the number of scooters in the city has skyrocketed from eight thousand in 2007 to 35,000 in 2017. Plans exist to improve cycling infrastructure, but they are stalled. The city's urban typology makes it unique, and combining the different competing means of transport within it is particularly complex.
4. Strasbourg, France
For decades, Strasbourg has been the most bicycle-friendly French city. A position threatened by the progress of Paris, Bordeaux, or Nantes. Its shared bike system, Velhop, is a leader in its class, and even includes cargo bikes for goods transport. Like other cities, the network of bike lanes is being complemented with fast lanes and a radial system that connects with suburban neighborhoods and neighboring towns. The biggest challenge it faces is standardizing an infrastructure that has gradually grown with very diverse solutions.
5. Malmö, Sweden
Since 2015, a program has been underway to make the bicycle the urban transport par excellence. The Cykelhuset or Bicycle House has just opened, a social housing project designed with bicycles in mind, and the Bicycle Hotel, which also offers tourists specific equipment to use the bicycle as priority transport.
The shared bicycle system is being improved, there are cargo bikes that can be picked up at the central station, and a bicycle-based waste collection system is even being tested. There is also a ferry that connects with Copenhagen specifically for traveling with bicycles. According to the study, a more determined commitment to improving basic infrastructure would be needed.
6. Bordeaux, France
In 2016, the Plan vélo métropolitain (Metropolitan Bicycle Plan) was approved to reach 20% of intra-urban trips by 2020. They follow the Copenhagen model and some roads are beginning to be dedicated exclusively to bicycles and pedestrians. It is the only French city where more women than men use bicycles. Recently, 84 million euros were approved to improve cycling infrastructure. The city's next objective is to calm traffic and increase bicycle parking.
7. Antwerp, Belgium
It is the best city in Belgium for cycling. The shared bike system will be expanded beyond the city center, and larger parking facilities are being installed in strategic areas. New lanes along the port and the ambitious plan to bury the highway that surrounds the city are symptoms that Antwerp wants to accelerate its urban transformation. Antwerp has the potential to reach 25% of bicycle commutes in a few years, although it will require an extra effort to limit car traffic.
8. Ljubljana, Slovenia
The declaration of European Green Capital in 2016 provided a decisive boost to improve the city's infrastructure. Its small size makes improvements visible in less time, and its recent implementation makes them more easily expandable. However, the car is still at the center of mobility, and the use of private cars for commuting is still above the European average.
9. Tokyo, Japan
The statistics of the Japanese megalopolis are impressive. One fifth of the twenty million citizens who access the metropolitan area daily by train arrive at the train station by bicycle. Although tourist areas are full of bicycles, it is in residential areas where their presence is most evident. In many areas, 30% of commutes are already made by bicycle, and parking lots for two-wheeled vehicles are omnipresent in the city. The 2020 Olympic Games are a great opportunity to promote the use of bicycles, a challenge in which London and Rio de Janeiro failed. If the world's largest metropolitan area manages to progress in this regard, there will be few excuses for the others. Tokyo's pending task is to emulate European urban planning more and American less, and to improve the network of exclusive bike lanes in the center.
10. Berlin, Germany
Its position in the ranking has improved thanks to a recent referendum that will imply a greater commitment from authorities to promote the use of bicycles. With 13% of trips by bicycle, an index that reaches 20% in some areas, and a new shared bicycle system that will debut this year, Berlin continues to progress in this field. Experiments are being carried out with traffic-free areas and green waves of traffic lights for cyclists. Its biggest challenge is to homogenize infrastructures designed in a fragmented way and to integrate bicycle planning into its global urban plan.
11. Barcelona, Spain
In an honorable eleventh position, Barcelona's challenges resemble those of Berlin. Ada Colau's commitment to strongly back cycling has encountered difficulties due to her government's weak position, but it continues to move forward. The length of the bike lane network has increased by 20%, and an investment of twenty million euros is planned to build sixty additional kilometers. The superblocks, in an experimental and certainly controversial period, can also improve travel conditions for cyclists, as can the assignment of the Bicing contract to a new concessionaire. According to the study, much remains to be improved to make bicycle mobility more direct and agile and able to compete with other means of transport.
12. Vienna, Austria
It is the first major city to have installed a public cargo bike system, and it subsidizes their acquisition. It has one thousand kilometers of cycling paths, although a large part corresponds to sectors more designed for recreation than for transport. The city center has significantly calmed its road traffic, and steps have been taken to cohere the entire network of bike lanes.
13. Paris, France
Mayor Anne Hidalgo maintains a firm commitment to the bicycle, although it is uncertain whether she will fulfill her promise to reach 15% of trips in the city by 2020. The deployment to extend the Vélib shared bike network throughout the metropolitan area continues, while increasing the number of available vehicles. Plans such as implementing bike lanes on the Champs-Élysées demonstrate municipal determination, although the city's density presents serious challenges in this regard. Experts believe that Paris is a perfect candidate for the use of bicycles as a means of transporting goods, using the river and canals for primary transport and connecting it with a fleet of cargo bikes for the last leg of distribution routes.
14. Seville, Spain
Although the progression of the Andalusian capital has been spectacular in a few years, the study detects a certain slowdown. The plan that achieved the goal of reaching 7% of trips by bicycle requires renewal. The challenge is to improve the existing infrastructure, which is not very intuitive for users and is sometimes not well interconnected.
15. Munich, Germany
Bicycle use already surpasses that of Berlin or Hamburg, and it has built more infrastructure than any other German city in recent years. Signage is clear and efficient, and fourteen large cycling highways are being built to connect the city center with its metropolitan area. The study misses a more concrete political commitment to achieve specific mobility objectives within a determined timeframe.
16. Nantes, France
This French city entered the ranking strongly from 2013 thanks to a determined political commitment from its council to normalize bicycle transport. A fifty-million-euro investment plan aims to reach 12% of trips by bicycle (currently at 6%) by 2030. A very ambitious goal considering that Bordeaux allocates seventy million to reach 15% by 2020. Investment is being made in cargo bikes as part of the city's integrated logistics, and in the urban landscape the presence of two wheels is increasingly evident, largely thanks to the commitment of citizens.
17. Hamburg, Germany
Although it occupies an enviable position, plans to boost bicycle use are stalled after two decades of steady progress. It has Germany's most successful bike-sharing system, and some neighborhoods offer a vision that has little to envy Amsterdam and Copenhagen. The city needs to improve the signage of existing infrastructure and, according to the study, problems such as an excess of lanes occupying pedestrian space must be corrected.
18. Helsinki, Finland
It has a modern bike-sharing system inaugurated in 2016 that is having remarkable success. Its goal is to reach 15% of trips by 2010, in line with many other European cities. Notable efforts are made to keep lanes clear of snow in winter, a problem not faced by more southern cities. Since the 1930s, the city has tracked bicycle use, so its tradition in this regard gives it a competitive advantage. Old railway lines have been used to create cycling infrastructure, although downtown lanes need to be updated and modernized.
19. Oslo, Norway
Although far from the levels of Amsterdam or Copenhagen, and even Seville, the Norwegian capital is undertaking an aggressive urban transformation that will favor pedestrians and cyclists. In 2019, traffic in the city center will be closed to all private motor vehicles. Parking spaces are also being massively eliminated. The operation is called Oslo Standard, and includes aid for acquiring cargo bikes. The path to becoming a cycling paradise is still long, and will require significant investments to create segregated bike lanes.
20. Montreal, Canada
The only North American city in this ranking has been a pioneer on its continent for decades. They built bike lanes before anyone else, although now they must modernize somewhat outdated infrastructure. The Rosemont neighborhood is serving as a pilot project to install state-of-the-art lanes, and programs are being developed that combine artificial intelligence with big data to improve the city's mobility. Pending issues include improving the safety of many of the old lanes, many of which are already congested.