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There are many causes for cities to spend money on bikes. To counter air pollution and congestion, improve mobility, and even enhance well being amongst residents.
Internationally, persons are lastly beginning to admire the quiet energy of the standard bicycle.
This text will look at the highest 7 cities with huge plans to rework their streets into bike-friendly havens.
What Makes a Metropolis ‘Bike-Pleasant’?
We might imagine that good climate and an absence of hills are key foundations for a biking metropolis, and whereas they don’t harm, there are some options which are much more vital.
Infrastructure. In accordance with MomentumMag, there’s one factor that bike-friendly cities have in widespread, and that’s bike lanes. Not solely do they make cities extra accessible for cyclists, however they make them significantly safer, particularly after they’re bodily separate from the highway. Behind bike lanes, there must be secure locations for folks to maintain their bicycles when not in use.
Nevertheless, it’s additionally essential to encourage and educate folks on two wheels. These play an unlimited function in constructing a tradition of biking.
Ken Mcleod, coverage director for the League of American Cyclists places it succinctly when he says, “In nice bike-friendly cities, biking is regular.”
However outdoors of Copenhagen and Amsterdam, the place are we seeing these transformations?
1. Seoul
Do you know that the South Korean capital, Seoul, has made big enhancements to its bike tradition?
Ttareungyi Bike, town’s public bike share system, is likely one of the largest of its form on the planet. Launched in 2015, the fleet has since elevated its measurement to over 43,000! And that’s not all.
As demand has soared, investments have additionally been made to make them safer. Extra reflective tape and reflectors will likely be launched to make customers extra seen, particularly at evening time.
For guests, there are additionally some unbelievable and approachable bike routes throughout town, particularly close to and across the Han River.
Earlier than 2025, there are additionally plans to renovate and prolong the bike paths, separate them farther from pedestrians, and legally implement a pace restrict to cease reckless cyclists abusing the infrastructure.
2. Oslo
The ‘rising star’ for bicycle friendliness is the Norwegian capital of Oslo, based on the Copenhagenize index. Oslo reveals that bicycles must be taken severely irrespective of how hilly or snowy a metropolis is.
With an formidable 10-year bicycle plan anticipated to be completed in 2025, Oslo has remodeled the internal metropolis. They’ve eliminated 1000 automobile parking spots, banned vehicles completely from the 1.3km sq. core, and invested in main site visitors calming measures.
Everybody can even benefit from subsidies to buy cargo bikes, an unlimited new safe storage facility within the central station, and a winter bike share challenge that gives bicycles with studded tires tailored for biking in snowy or icy circumstances.
3. Bremen
Boasting the very best bike modal share in the entire of Germany at 25%, the North German metropolis of Bremen has been going above and past to show itself into a motorcycle haven.
Due to the development of 674 km of separate bike tracks that traverse the complete metropolis, it’s simple to journey by bike wherever it’s worthwhile to go. Eight extra cross-city cycle routes are additionally deliberate for 2025.
Bremen, nonetheless, is doing one thing distinctive. To the tune of €2.4 million euros, they’ve launched a bicycle zone the place bikes have precedence over different autos and may even trip facet by facet. This comes with tire pumping stations, improved highway surfaces, and safer crossings! In accordance with Eurocities, it now boasts the bottom nitrogen oxide ranges of any giant metropolis in Germany!
4. Bogotá
One of many unlikely suspects on this listing is the Colombian capital of Bogotá.
Towards the percentages, it’s going to monumental lengths to create a safer and friendlier surroundings for cyclists. First off, there’s a weekly organized Ciclovía, the place a whole bunch of kilometers of roads are closed to automobile site visitors, and bikes and pedestrians can have a glimpse of a biking haven.
The present bike community of over 500km is frequently rising, and town bicycle supervisor David Uniman hopes to see modal share hit 10%; that’s 1 million journeys a day by bike!
In accordance with analysis by Inrix, it’s probably the most congested cities on the planet, so town is clearly combating an uphill battle. However because of the folks’s constant activism and the native authorities’s typically constructive response, a biking dream is quickly changing into a actuality.
5. Helsinki
The Finnish capital ambitiously goals to be the world’s greatest metropolis for sustainable transport, with bikes enjoying a key function. And it’s nicely on its means there.
With practically 1,500 kilometers of motorbike lanes, together with an modern bicycle freeway transformed from a disused railway observe, town is extremely accessible by bike. In reality, it’s confirmed to be so successful that the native bike share program has grown 7-fold since 2016!
And it’s safe. In accordance with one supply, 74% of residents report that they really feel secure biking within the metropolis.
The Deputy Mayor for Transportation, Anni Sinnemäki, said that she needs to create a metropolis the place no one must have a automobile. If Helsinki continues on the fee it’s going, that may occur.
6. Montreal
North America isn’t a continent famed for bike-friendly cities, but when there’s one decided to alter that, it’s Montreal.
The cultural hub of French Canada has been slowly gaining traction, however since a 2017 electoral success primarily based on bike infrastructure and public transport funding, Mayor Valérie Plante has been accelerating change.
As the primary metropolis on the continent to construct protected bike lanes, way back to the 80s, it has a historical past of bikes. In accordance with the Copenhagenize Index, some neighborhoods even see a modal share above 15%, which is extremely excessive for North America.
Whereas its huge community of over 900 km of motorbike lanes wants some modernizing, plans are to increase it to the outlying districts to attach town additional.
Montreal continues to be behind the European cities on this listing, however over the subsequent few years, we’re prone to see some vital change throughout town.
7. Fortaleza
The Brazilian coastal metropolis of Fortaleza is the one to observe in terms of rethinking city mobility.
What began with cyclists portray casual bike lanes on the road has now sparked an enormous motion. Between 2014 and 2022, town expanded its cycle community from 68 km to 400 km, a rise of just about 500%. By the top of 2024, there are plans to extend this by an additional 200 km and introduce 100 secure intersections for cyclists.
To fight the warmth, they’ve additionally launched a pioneering machine popularly generally known as the ‘Xiringador’. The concept is to spray water to assist maintain cyclists cool when using, making biking extra comfy.
And, after being awarded a $1 million prize from the Bloomberg Initiative for Biking Infrastructure, we will anticipate to see huge developments.
Whereas there’s nonetheless loads of work to be accomplished, main cities are getting folks out of their vehicles and onto two wheels, making metropolises extra habitable and sensible for cyclists. Time will inform in the event that they’ll succeed.
