Plan What kind of cycle highway to plan?

  1. Plan
  2. Design and Build
  3. Sell
  4. Evaluate

Introduction to the Cycle Highway Assessment Tool

Throughout Europe different standards of cycle highways are being targeted. As has become clear from guidelines to plan a cycle highway, professionals are differently using cycle highway standards or discussions on this topic to frame the development of this mobility product. Moreover, in the design chapter you will recognise a range of different design solutions and perspectives on design. Being a consequence of contrasting views of what a cycle highway should be.

 

To create a common understanding of cycle highways among Cycle Highway professionals, the Cycle Highway Maturity Assessment Tool has been introduced. It assesses the degree of development on 22 different user-focused criteria. Each criterium contains 4 different levels where level 1 is the threshold (minimum) level and level 4 stands for the highest level of maturity and can be considered as the European benchmark level.

 

The tool has the following goals:

  1. Assess existing Cycle Highways and future Cycle Highways
  2. Benchmark Cycle Highways in other regions
  3. Comparing and accomplishing improvement of Cycle Highway plans based on CH Assessment
  4. Develop a common language for Cycle Highway Experts and Cycle Highway Alumni
  5. Cycle Highway Assessment contains FUTURE VISION >2020 (in LEVEL 3 & 4):
  6. Inspire & stimulate innovation

 

The final result of the Maturity Assessment Tool is a spider diagram where the actual maturity status is visualized by 2 pictures containing each level for each criterium:

 

 

 

 

Learn more about CHIPS project

Cycle Highways Innovation for smarter People Transport and Spatial Planning

CHIPS will develop and promote cycle highways as an effective and cost efficient low carbon solution for commuting towards and from urban employment poles.

Project partners from Belgium, Germany, the Netherlands and the UK will develop solutions that will help regions and mobility stakeholders to:

  • Position cycle highways as a new mobility product
  • Overcome physical and behavioural barriers that keep commuters from using cycle highways
  • Maximize synergies between cycle highways and trains, buses and cars
  • Upgrade cycle highways to key structuring elements in future spatial planning
  • Monitor performance and assess impact

First step | Plan

Plan Phase

A cycle highway facilitates citizens to move by bicycle from one place to another. It connects residential areas with business districts, city centers or transportation hubs. To determine the right location and make the right connection a calculation of the expected use is needed, taking into account the future developments to plan a future proof cycle highway.

Main objective:  development of a virtual planning tool for potential cycle highways 

    Next step | Design

    Design Phase

    The challenge is to design the best suitable cycle highway for that specific location. Therefor different criteria such as attractiveness, wayfinding, size and directness have to be taken into account.

    Main objectives:  a cycle highway assessment tool to evaluate the design and readability concepts in the (Virtual) Living Lab. 
     

    Next step | Sell

    Sell Phase

    Communication and campaigns will help to stimulate (new) cyclists to use the cycle highway. Commuters are the main target group. The engagement of employers is key to reach the commuters and create a modal shift from car to (e)-bike.

    Main objectives: designing campaigns, development of service point and mobile HUBs.
     

    Next step | Evaluate

    Evaluate Phase

    Final step is to monitor and evaluate the effects of the development. Are people using the new cycle infrastructure? By using GPS-data, information from counters and traffic lights relevant information about the use can be filtered.

    Main objectives: monitoring and evaluation dashboard and a CO2 reduction calculator.

    First step | Plan