Organising the planning process The Cycle Highway as a mobility product has been and still is debatable and not welcomed immediately by every stakeholder involved. In the introductory chapter the numerous motives for developing cycle highways are illustrated. It shows that the question ‘why do we plan a cycle highway’ is answered differently in every region and means something different to every stakeholder. Planning a cycle highway implies that stakeholders with contrasting opinions should be brought to the table and align their expectations and aims. Planning a cycle highway is a challenging process where at multiple momentums, choices are to be made. You need to weigh the choices’ effects and balance them out. In this paragraph an answer to the question ‘how do we organise the planning process’ emphasises the relevance and need for a proper planning process to successfully realise the route.
In this section we present governance and finance practices from the NWE region. CHIPS has developed a systematic overview of important aspects related to the governance and finance of cycle highways by means of interviews with professionals working in the field and an inventory of current practices in the regions involved. In this respect, we distinguish three core dimensions of governance that relate to the specific features of the construction and planning of cycle highways: multi-level, multi-sector and multi-actor governance. The first dimension mainly concerns the coordination and cooperation between different governments (and levels of governance), the second relates to the links between cycling and cycle highways in particular and other sectors and policy domains and finally the latter refers to the arrangements between different types of stakeholders.
First, we will briefly describe the practices with regard to planning and construction of bicycle highways in the regions involved. The multi-level, multi-sector and multi-actor dimensions of bicycle highway governance will be subsequently outlined. Finally, a separate paragraph on funding of cycling highways will inform you on the financial structures established for planning and constructing a cycle highway.
