building a better bike infrastructure - undergrad research paper by natasha gayl

41Transforming Cleveland Circle into a Bicycle-Friendly Urban Environment

RESEARCH PAPER

BUILDING A BETTER BIKE INFRASTRUCTURE

Natalia Gayl42

I became passionate about sustainable design long before I can remember. As a child I would make art out of recyclables and as an adult, I didnt stray too far away from that, painting along the wood grain of plywood pieces I would find on the side of the road. But, it was not until my trip abroad that I understood the impor-tance of urban planning and sustainability as one cohesive element. American cities are polluted with cars and trucks. Why has the four- wheeled automobile taken over a much simpler form of transporta-tion: the bike? With countless benefits it will be easy to see why many European countries are populated by bicycles, bike paths and cycle-tracks. Size and space in Europe may not be as abundant as in the US, but as we move towards more compact cities it is crucial that we rearrange current infrastructure and strongly instate a more powerful bike infrastructure. My goal in this paper is to use European cities as prime examples of why the bicycle can contribute to the sustainabil-ity of a city and essentially help save the world from the seemingly inevitable climate change. Through my direct experience of the #2 most bikable cities in the world according to Copenhagen-based ur-ban planning consultancy Copenhagenize Design Co., Copenhagen, I have learned what works, what doesnt and what could be done bet-ter. There are hundreds if not thousands of ways we can, are, and will address climate change and I feel strongly that bike transportation can be a very large contributor to positive change. Here are twelve reasons why incorporating cycling into our lives will provide positive change.

1. Its easier to finance a new bicycle than a new car.2. A bicycle has a tiny manufacturing footprint when compared to a car.3. Bicycles produce no meaningful pollution when in operation.4. Bikes save taxpayers money by reducing road wear.5. Bicycles are an effective alternative to a second car6. Using a bike for transportation can help you lose weight and improve overall health.7. You can store dozens of bicycles in a single automobile-sized

parking space.8. Bicycles dont burn gasoline.9. Bicycling may be faster and more efficient than taking a car.10. Bikes cost much less to maintain and operate than automobiles.11. Bicycles provide mobility for those who may not qualify or afford to drive.12. Studies show that bicycle commuters are healthier, more productive, and require less time off of work.1

Copenhagen taught me about urban planning, bicy-cling and deep-rooted family culture, putting a twist on my definition of sustainable design. My focus has changed from purely sustainable architecture to city and urban planning in terms of transportation, streets and public spaces. I had a bike while in Copenhagen, the biking capital of the world, which I loved and rode every day to and from school. My classes were held downtown right in the hustle and bustle. Danes are a kind people that are very dedicated to their families and usually have friends whom they have known since childhood. Danish men and women are tall, blonde and beautiful. They all look like models walking around without smiles on their faces. This all seemed a bit cold to me when I arrived but I like to say that they are just like glass ketchup bottles, its hard to get anything out at first but once you shake them a little they pour out stories, advice and smiles. I made great friends, American and Danish, and had the opportunity to take walks through the city streets, visit museums and frequent coffee shops. I spent a lot of time on my own and I think that was the most crucial part of my trip. I learned a lot about myself, being in a committed 2 year relationship didnt give me much

1 Baskind, Chris. 12 Reasons to Start Using a Bicycle for Transportation. Mother Nature Network, 18 March 2010. Web. 29 October 2013.

http://www.mnn.com/green-tech/transportation/stories/12-reasons-to-start-using-a-bicycle-for-transportation)


time to spend time alone. Owning a bike gave me a sense of autonomy, of being able to carry myself from one place to another without having to rely on anyone or anything. To be autonomous is to be independent and self-governing. Theres something completely human about wanting to be autono-mous, to make our own choices and not feel like we are being coerced by something or someone else. Dr. Alex Lickman, a Buddhist physician, wrote an article on why being able to make a choice freely can affect our happiness. And this freedom of choice relates directly to my bike and the ability to have freedom on two wheels. If I wanted to go to the store, I grabbed my bike and went, if I was ready to go home before my friends were, I grabbed my bike and rode home, listened to my music and felt the freedom of being just me and my bike. I, of course, missed my family, my friends and my fianc but I can simply say that studying in Copenhagen was the time of my life, a special moment in my career and something I will cherish for the rest of my life. It is this experience that I wish to bring to Boston. Biking was such an integral part of my time abroad that everyone needs to experience.

Sustainability is inevitably in our future and designers are faced with dealing with this matter every day. In response to the issue of the lack of bicycle infrastructure, designers need to take a look at the overall benefits of adding cycling to their current city. And this isnt just for people who ride their bikes. As proven in Jan Gehls Cities for People, roads show improvement through better pavement, the local economy improves because many more small stores are needed to pro-vide for people instead of cars and this street-level/eye-level city experience has the potential to add outdoor caf seating therefore further improving the streetscape by increasing pedestrian traffic. (Citation: Jan Gehls Cities for People) Mi-kael Colville-Andersen, CEO of Copenhagenize stated in an article that, by failing to embrace cycling culture, American

cities are losing out on significant financial benefits, Colville-Ander-sen told Business Insider. Studies show that every kilometer cycled in Denmark earns the country .23 (partly because cyclists have been shown to spend more money in local stores)1

Since sustainability is a major goal and topic in this paper, I want to make sure we are on the same page with what sustainability really means. According to the Miriam-Webster Dictionary, sus-tainability is the quality of not being harmful to the environment or depleting natural resources, and thereby supporting long-term ecological balance.2 Synonyms include: endurable, livable, tolerable, inhabitable, sufferable, tenable.3 Oxford English Dictionary defines sustainability as the property of being environmentally sustainable; the degree to which a process or enterprise is able to be maintained or continued while avoiding the long-term depletion of natural re-sources.

1 Davies, Alex. What Americans Dont Get About Cycling And Why Its A Problem. Business Insider. 29 Apr 2013. Web. 30 Apr 2013.

2 Sustainable. Merriam-Webster.com. 2013. http://www.merriam-webster.com (30 January 2013).

3 Sustainable. Merriam-Webster.com. 2013. http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/thesaurus (20 January 2013).

One of my favorite spaces in downtown Co-penhagen. This is an example of what positive attention towards cyclists can do to a city. Liv-ing in a city can be so much more enjoyable.(photo taken from Robert Harding Images)

Natalia Gayl44

Dictionary defines sustainability as the property of being environ-mentally sustainable; the degree to which a process or enterprise is able to be maintained or continued while avoiding the long-term depletion of natural resources.1 Its interesting that tolerable is a syn-onym for sustainability. It seems a bit harsh but maybe its true that we are living in-tolerably. I dislike looking at anything that I am do-ing in such a negative fashion, but the way the public and the govern-ment in America is handling the bicycle issue is unacceptable. This puts a new perspective on our future and what sustainable is. Sus-tainable doesnt necessarily mean a white, organic Zaha Hadid style building but, perhaps, a building that can endure the future. What Im saying is that everything should be built to last whether it be a building, a transportation plan or business model. The way the OED describes sustainability is one of the most accurate definitions since a broad range of examples can be understood by the sentence, the de-gree to which a process or enterprise is able to be maintained of con-tinued while avoiding the long-term depletion of natural resources.2 I never thought too hard about the fact that the word sustain is the root of the word sustainable. The definition of sustain is to keep up or to keep going3 , which is the essence of the whole idea of sus-tainability. This is similar to the idea that everyone should have the opportunity to live a no less than bearable life. Ive noticed that the word tenable, meaning: capable of being occupied, possessed, held, or enjoyed, as under certain conditions4 , is a great alternative way to express sustainability either in a paper or a presentation.

I look at Copenhagen as a model city because of the intercon-nection of biking transportation and overall happiness and well-being, and as a place I wish all cities could potentially become in the near future. As stated in Catherine Ward Thomspons book called Open Space: People Space, public spaces change public life. Public

1 Sustainability, n., The Oxford English Dictionary. 2nd ed. 1989. OED Online. Oxford University Press. 30 January 2013 .

2 Sustainability, n., The Oxford English Dictionary. 2nd ed. 1989. OED Online. Oxford University Press. 30 January 2013 .

3 "Sustain." Merriam-Webster.com. 2013. http://www.merriam-webster.com (30 January 2013).

4 Tenable. Merriam-Webster.com. 2013. http://www.merriam-webster.com (30 January 2013).

spaces create happy, healthy people. For example, Copenha-gens busiest street Stroget has been closed off to car traffic (except for the occasional early morning delivery vans and bicycles) since 1962 and is now a walking only street with open cafes.

People are out enjoying this area year-round now as opposed to dur-ing the two warm summer months. (photo taken by Author)


There is nothing more enjoyable than curling up in a blanket provided by the cafs outdoor space while sipping on a hot chocolate and watching the snow fall.(photo taken by Author)

I understand that Denmark is the size of Florida and changes happen there much quicker than they would in the USA but the members of Parliament are a group of intelligent and sensitive individuals very aware of what is becoming of our world and that change is vital for Bostons tired model of a car-centric economically corrupt system. To give you a better sense of Denmark and its size, take a look at the following maps.

This is a map of Scandinavia which is just west of Europe. Denmark is the smallest country in Scandinavia.(image taken from scantours.com)

Here is a closer look at Denmark and the three is-lands that make up the country. You can see it is sur-rounded by water and filled with canals.(image taken from infoplease.com)

Natalia Gayl46

Close-up map of Copenhagen. You can see the city center and the surrounding outskirts. (photo taken from vidiani.com)

Copenhagen is the capital of Denmark and has a population of a little over 1 million people. The entire country is about the size of Florida is made up of three islands: Jut-land, Zealand and Amager. Copenhagen is laid out similarly to Amsterdam with its quaint canals, beautiful bridges and converging tunnels connecting different parts of the city and it only take about 20 minutes to get from one end of the city to the other. I lived in Nrrebro and it took me exactly 18 minutes to get to school. Thanks to the Copenhagens early investments on cultural centers and infrastructure, this lovely haven has earned the title of being one of the top five most sustainable cities in the world. Denmark is known for having immaculately clean tap water (better filtered than a bottle you would buy at the store) along with pleasantly clean canalwater allowing for a satisfying summertime dip. More than one third of the population (and growing) rides their bicycles to work1 and why wouldnt they with Copenhagens 217 miles of bike lanes? The medieval city shines with its pulsating his-tory of the Viking Age. Having kept a strong connection with their rich historical antiquity yet moving towards an ecologi-cal future is what I think makes Copenhagen so unique.

I lived on the direct bus line to school and I decided to immerse myself in the typical Copenhagen culture and rent a bicycle through a program set up by DIS which cost about $100 for a full semester of 4 months. Now, you must understand, I am not a die-hard city nor trail biker but I did love biking down quiet suburban streets and the occasional trail with my parents when I was growing up. I purchased a street bike in 2010 so that I could bike to school but after an accident involving my tire and the train tracks in Cleveland Circle, I decided that maybe biking in the city wasnt for me.

1 dEstries, Michael. Top Five Most Sustainable Cities in the World. Ecomagination.General Electric Company, Nov 29 2011. Apr 14 2013.

http://www.ecomagination.com/top-five-most-sustainable-cities-in-the-world.


This is a crash data map of Boston. Red balloons represent bike/care accidents, grey represents bike on bike accidents, pink represents more than two acci-dents in the same space and yellow represents a bike hitting a pedestrian. This map is accessible through the Boston Cyclists Union website and is created using ambulance run data from Boston EMS from May 2010 to June 2011.image taken from Boston Cyclists Union Interactive Crash Map

Boston is full of hazards like inlaid train tracks that cannot be removed but rather worked around/with.

Its all about where you direct different types of traffic. Back in Copenhagen, I knew I had nothing to worry about not only because of what I had read about biking in Denmark but the fact that after just one ride alongside dozens of bikers I didnt see one pothole, imbedded train track nor unmarked bike track. The city was filled with bike trails, bike lanes and mostly cycletracks. Cycletracks differ from bike lanes in that they are a type of segregated cycle lane that is physically sepa-rated by barriers, parked cars of bollards.

Cycletrack on side street in CopenhagenImage courtesy of Alta Planning

Natalia Gayl48

This is a concept that is still fairly new to Boston and it is im-portant to see the difference in safety, comfort and most of all enjoy-ment that this infrastructure can provide. Cities like Portland, NYC and San Francisco have incorporated their own version of bicycle infrastructure which works with their vernacular architecture and design. Boston is well on its way to figuring out what works best for its region.

I was the temporary owner of a highlighter-yellow six-speed beach cruiser or as my friends and I liked to call it, The Grandma Bike. I had three options when it came to riding to class, two main roads or a bike path/trail designed by Danish Architects, Bjarke Ingles Group. The park was built on top of an old train yard back in 2007 in the ethnically diverse neighborhood of Nrrebro and consisted of a long stretch for biking alongside a trail for walking and most interestingly, objects and furnishings from each of the 50 countries that Nrrebro was made of. Having been able to experience my favorite architects designs in action was a definitely a pinch-me moment. As soon as Superkilen ended, there was a bike stoplight and an opening to a curbed cycletrack which allowed me to complete my journey.

Typical Danes riding on a cycletrack after a snowstorm. Danes do not fear the snow.photo by James Sievert

Somervilles overly wide Beacon Street does have a bike lane (on one side) but provides hardly any pedestrian cross-walks. This picture was taken at a very quiet time of day. Bea-con Street is usually unsafely buzzing with car traffic inter-rupting cyclists journeys to and from school or work.photo taken from Wicked Local Somerville Journal

One project that the Boston Cyclists Union is advo-cating right now is the Beacon Street Reconstruction Project which is a full-depth, which means that crews will dig all the way down to the base layer to completely replace the road-way. The new surface will thus be far less prone to pot-holing than it is currently. Reconstruction will cost about $4.5 mil-lion which is being funded by the federal government and the State. This is a great example of an in-depth reconstruction which doesnt just deal with surface planning.

Photo taken

from the Somerville

Patch


As springtime intern, I was able to explore what exact-ly goes into designing and implementing a cycletrack. Imple-menting and advocating for safe biking can be a very long and traitorous process mostly because of Bostons pre-dated laws on road widths and predated governors of certain sectors but the BCU is proof that non-profits organizations hold a very important place in society. It is a place for people to gather and voice their concerns as well as a platform for campaigns and discussions relating to all things bikes.

Though it may seem as though I am bashing on Bos-ton as a completely unbikable city, I am not. Boston has a rich history of biking and a lot of passionate bike lovers. I was at MIT just the other day and the school is its own little biking city. I can confidently say there are almost 2000 bikes at and around MIT and bike lanes/cycletracks integrated all over campus!

Photo by Author

Photo courtesy of Peter Koonces blog

Its livability in the city that we look for which translates to a place that, according to the Mirriam-Webster Dictionary, is suitable for human living, possible to bear; endurable1. To understand exactly what this term means, lets look at the synonyms: tolerable, habitable, sufferable, and Oxford English Dictionarys definition: of a room, house, city, etc.: suitability for habitation; capacity to offer comfort-able living. [Also,] of a region, environment, planet, etc.: capacity to sustain life2. We are seeing the words tolerable, suitable, and com-fortable. This makes me think about most peoples desire to own a gigantic house on an acre of property and how unsustainable this idea is. If we all lived like this, the world surely would not be able to sustain itself. Maybe sustainability means cutting our expectations of what a happy life entails. For example, Danish people are the happiest people in the world and their outlook on what a home is completely different than ours. I would love to conduct a survey of the American population versus the Danish populations vision of their idea of a perfect future and what type of house that may include.

1 "Livability." Merriam-Webster.com. 2013. http://www.merriam-webster.com (30 January 2013).

2 Livability, n., The Oxford English Dictionary. 2nd ed. 1989. OED Online. Oxford University Press. 30 January 2013 .

On MITs Vassar Street, right along the famous Frank Gehry Build-ing, the bike lanes are integrated into the sidewalks.Photo by Author

Natalia Gayl50

Bostons region has integrated biking into its system since the early 1900 and North America saw its first bicycle boom in the late 1960s. The rich history the bicycle carries, as it came even before cars is living proof that living by bike is possible. Boston colleges like BU, Northeastern and Harvard have a very high biking population and are probably the most willing to integrate bike infrastructure in and around their campuses. Boston is home to more than 60 colleges and universities serving over 250,000 students and growing. We can see the importance of interconnectedness throughout the city for students sake, who are least likely to own motor vehicles. This would also have a positive effect on reliving the stress put on Bostons metro system.

Another interesting investigation is Smart Growth which is, according to the Mirriam-Webster Dictionary, an urban plan-ning and transportation theory that concentrates growth in compact walkable urban centers to avoid sprawl. (Citation: "smart growth." Merriam-Webster.com. 2013. http://www.merriam-webster.com (30 January 2013).) Smart Growth, a theory invented by Parris Glenden-ing, advocates compact, transit- oriented, walkable, bicycle-friendly land use, including neighborhood schools, complete streets, and mixed-use development with a range of housing choices. The term 'smart growth' is particularly used in North America. In Europe and particularly the UK, the terms 'compact city' or 'urban intensifica-tion' have often been used to describe similar concepts, which have influenced government planning policies in the UK, the Netherlands and several other European countries. Smart growth is a better way to build and maintain our towns and cities. Smart growth means building urban, suburban and rural communities with housing and transportation choices near jobs, shops and schools. This approach supports local economies and protects the environment, economic growth in which there is an effort not to waste resources (fuel, water, etc.) or damage the environment. This term is not yet present in the Oxford English Dictionary. I believe Websters Dictionary does a fine

job of defining smart growth as a walkable urban center that avoids sprawl. More sprawl means more land BUT, also means more cars, more CO2 emissions and less connection to the city and less bikes and bike paths/trails/cycletracks! The city becomes built for cars because of all the cars created by Parris Glendenings idea of sprawl. Post-war times called for the Federal Housing Administration to implement suburban sprawl for many reasons, one of the reasons being the inven-tion of railways and the car.

This crosswalk in LA has been been removed because of the high risk of pedestrian and car collisions. What could help here is a narrowing of the road and adding cycle-tracks on either side, a stop sign and a pedestrian signal.photo taken by Damien Newton of LADOT


One of the most remarkable programs that exists in many countries is the bike share program. All vary in plans but hold one essential goal: to provide people access to rent bicycles in the city for a low cost. Bostons Mayor Thomas M. Menino founded the Boston Bikes program in 2007 and soon after, in collaboration with the Director of Bicycle Programs, Nicole Freedman, decided it was time to implement Bostons own bike share program.1 The very first bike share began in Amsterdam in 1965 followed by Paris, cities in the UK, Den-mark, Sweden, The Netherlands, Ireland, Spain, Germany, Finland, Greece. Cyprus and Canada jumped on board fol-lowed by North American cities starting with Portland, OR, Irvine, CA, Madison, WI, Boulder, CO, Denver, CO, Minne-apolis, MN, Washington, D.C., Salem, MA, and finally Bos-ton, MA. According to Elaine Kurtenbachs article on bikes in Shanghai, bicycles have been around for quite some time and only now is the car beginning to take lead. Because this is a sign of development, the people of China are accepting these vehicles with open arms, though,because of Chinas huge population bikes are still their num-ber one form of transportation. A New York Times Reporter states, Multiplying cars may be a sign of affluence, but the bike's staying power is a reminder that most of China's 1.3 bil-lion people have yet to make it into the middle class.2 Wang, a 30-year old, earns $300 a month transporting flowers and garden supplies on his three-wheeled bike cart. This alone has allowed him to support his family. Imagine if he had car pay-ments to cover? He would undoubtedly be in the negatives. A modest family car costs about $6,000 and licensing it $5,000 - adding up to more than most Shanghai workers make in a

1 Hubway History. (2007). Retrieved Apr 30, 2013, from

2 Kurtenbach, Elaine. Bicycles a Mainstay in China. The New York Times. NY Times. ttp://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/07/business/

worldbusiness/07iht-bike.1.14289892.html?pagewanted=all

year.1 Its interesting to see bikes treated in such a different manner. There are even some main streets that dont allow bikes merely be-cause of the masses of crowds they bring. No matter how affluent the development in cars may seem to the Chinese, the bike will always have a purpose.

Essentially, through my research, I have gathered a large amount of information that will help inform and put in place my ideas for my thesis project. Boston needs to allow for bicycles and bi-cycle infrastructure to be incorporated into its preexisting infrastruc-ture in order to support, promote, encourage, enable and integrate bike use. This is one of the best modes of creating a sustainable com-munity because with bicycle infrastructure comes Complete Streets, a program of Smart Growth America which ensures that transpor-tation planners and engineers consistently design and operate the entire roadway with all users in mind, sustainable sites, stormwater solutions and environmental mitigation to name a few. Boston is on

1 Kurtenbach, Elaine. Bicycles a Mainstay in China. The New York Times. NY Times. ttp://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/07/business/worldbusiness/07iht-

bike.1.14289892.html?pagewanted=all

I love this photo from Suzhou where it looks like the bike lane is about to take over the car lane.photo by Sarah Marlowe

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on its way to being one of the worlds top biking cities but needs to use other cities as precedents of what works and what doesnt in the addition and use of bicycle infrastructure. cities as examples of what works and what doesnt in the addition and use of bicycle infrastruc-ture. The purpose of the study was to examine what a bike can be and what a bike is in the US, Europe, Copenhagen and China. As a biker in Copenhagen: the second most bikable city in the world, and in Boston, I discovered that there are more positive outcomes than negative implications related to bicycles in the urban setting. Anoth-er aim was to find out why Boston does not have a better transporta-tion infrastructure specifically for bicycles and how can this issue be addressed. Biking can save the world! It is so much more than just a 2-wheeled recreational vehicle; it can actually change the future and reduce CO2 emissions tremendously. Boston is not exactly like a European city but with investments in cycletracks, bike parking and education Boston has a chance of adding itself to the list of most bikable cities in the world. Finally, the secondary benefits of bicycles were examined in the study including a rise in local economy, a drop in health costs, denser neighborhoods and overall happier people.

building a better bike infrastructure - undergrad research paper by natasha gayl

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