Transplan's Trail Log

Both directors of Transplan Pty Ltd recently attended the international bicycle planning conference in Vancouver, British Columbia. This is the first time the Velo City Conference (usually hosted by the European Cyclists’ Federation in Europe every two years) has been held outside Europe since the Velo Australis Conference in Fremantle in 1996. Mike Maher (Director of Transplan Pty Ltd) was Conference Direcrtor for the Velo Australis conference. Several of the key issues coming out of the Velo City Global 2012 Conference were: 1. The rise in popularity of “protected bike lanes” where a two-way bike lane is developed on one side of a major city street, with the bike lanes being separated from the car lanes by a series of planter boxes. (The space has come about by removal of a car lanes and reconfiguration of the lane widths). Cyclists have lanterns at intersections, their own signal phases at the lights and lots of green paint across intersections. Bike parking is often a feature alongside the protected bike lanes. (See photos). The result has been staggering usage levels from a wide range of user groups, much more than traditional bikes lanes would ever have achieved. 2. Bike corrals: car parking spaces on roads are being removed and the entire bay is then reconfigured to provide space for as many as 12 bikes (and bike parking rails). These corrals are usually immediately outside destinations where cyclists want to go, such as cafes. Corrals are popping up all over the place and are usually an attractive addition to the street scene. 3. Make cycling facilities attractive and enjoyable: cyclists want to enjoy their ride (and we need to attract non-cyclists to take up cycling). One of the means we can do this is to make the journey by bike an interesting, scenic and attractive journey by plantings, sculptures, seats, attractive bike parking, etc. Shared paths do not need to be boring places!