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Challenges of Making a

Bicycle Highway from


Rotterdam to Delft
Sophie Gong
Agenda
● Introduction
○ Requirements of a bike highway
○ Why bike highway along a shipping canal is
ideal
● An Analysis of Stops 5-8
○ Stop 5: Footbridge over Schie-Schie Canal
○ Stop 6: A20 to Spaanse Bridge
○ Stop 7: Overschie to Spaanse Bridge
○ Stop 8: Old Delfshaven Road, Overschie
● Limiting Traffic
○ Methods
○ Confine yet facilitate
● Summary
Introduction

Delft-Rotterdam Bike Highway


12.9km route along the Delfshavensche Schie and Delftse Schie
and parallel to A4 and A13
Requirements of a bike highway
● Designed for long distance travel
● Direct, low stress, and safe
● Serves a high volume of cyclists
● Separate from motor vehicles and
pedestrians
● Uninterrupted
● Infrequent intersections and lights
● Flat, smooth, and paved
● Limited incline
● Links to a variety of networks
○ Local bike paths, train stations,
suburban areas to urban areas
Why bike highways are ideal along shipping canal
● Cyclists are protected
● Physical barrier from sound pollution and
traffic pollution

● No intersections; the bike highway is


uninterrupted
● Intersections are built on bridges
● Utilizes existing route and networks
between cities
● Shipping canals are flat and straight
● Scenic
● Attractive for cyclists
8
7
An Analysis of
Stops 5-8 6
5
5: Footbridge over the Schie-Schie Canal
Characteristics:
• Bike lane: 60” wide (120” total)
• Dashed white lines separate opposing bike traffic
• Pavement: Black asphalt
Function of the footbridge:
• Continues the bike highway across the Schie-Schie
Canal
• Without the bridge, the bike highway would be
interrupted
Challenge of adding a bridge:
• Ships must utilize the canal, but the incline of the
bridge cannot be too steep for cyclists
Solution:
• Invest in a draw bridge
6: A20 to Spaanse Bridge
Characteristics:
● Paved red asphalt; striped with white dashed lines; 119” wide
● Armadillos separate pedestrian and bike traffic
● Sidewalk is black asphalt
● The canal is west; residential buildings are east
● Easily accessible to residents
● Benches and lights line the bike highway
● Bike highway goes under the A20 overpass

Challenges avoided:
● Housing did not impose a challenge for a bicycle highway to be
realized here because developers intentionally kept green space for
recreational use when housing was built
● The bike highway is not interrupted by the A20 overpass because the
canal forces any intersection to be raised
● The A20 has a two-way cycle track; stairs with a bike ramp are
present and connect the bike highway to the A20 overpass
7: Spaanse Bridge to Overschie
Characteristics:
● Paved red asphalt; striped with white dashed lines; 75” wide
● Lights maintain safe biking
● Enclosed; the green barrier west of the bike highway
creates a sound barrier and separates cyclists from the
community
● Stairs and bike ramp connect the Spaanse Bridge to the
bike highway

Challenges conquered:
● Residents wanted privacy; green barrier built
● Connects to a residential area; red brick speed bump added
to slow down mopeds when entering Overschie – speed
bumps are very rare on bike paths in the NL
8: Old Delfshaven Road, Overschie
Characteristics:
● Residential; patios set up on the canal
● 119“ wide; red brick; no striping
● 15 km/h speed limit

Challenges conquered:
2015
● Google street view in 2015 shows no speed limit
● Today, speed limit signs of 15km/h and home
zone signs are posted when entering the
residential area
● Bollards present in 2015 when entering Old
Delfshaven Road from the Spaanse Bridge
have also been remove 2018 2018
Limiting Traffic
Strategies
Why?
● Motorized traffic would be unconducive for long-distance cycling

Peak-period traffic metering at Kandelaarbrug


● Metering avoids congestion; there are two freeways
parallel to the bike highway
● Traffic metering turns on when it detects a high volume
of traffic (i.e. when cars are trying to avoid the freeway)
to deter cars trying to find a shortcut
● Traffic metering occurs at one point, but its effects are
felt through the whole stretch
● The volume of traffic is reduced; traffic is limited “Oprijden tot stopstreep” means “drive up to stop line”
“Bij groen een voertuig" means ”on green, only one vehicle”
throughout
Strategies
For the villages along the route
● In Overschie and Zweth, speed limits on trash cans and
staggered planters slow down traffic
Between cities
● Strict zoning laws forbid development in the rural areas,
thus limiting traffic onto and off of the freeway

Between the canal road and the nearby highway at the Rotterdam/Hague Airport
● No easy connection directs cars away from the bike highway

Between Rotterdam and Delft


● The Dutch utilize a “confine yet facilitate” approach to through traffic
● Auto traffic is confined to either the A4 or the A13
● Bicycles have multiple routes
● Traffic metering lights also facilitate traffic because they only function when they detect high volumes of traffic
Summary
The Ongoing Success
The ongoing success of this bike highway is due to the:
- Convenience: Follows the canal, direct
- Safety: Speed controls, limited traffic, separate from motor vehicles
- Comfort: Noise barriers, flat
- Purpose: Connect residences to places of work, school, and shops
- Benefits: encourages people who need to travel a long distance to bike instead

In order for a bike highway to be realized here:


- Paths to separate motorized vehicles and bicycles had to be determined
- Infrastructure to facilitate the designated mode of travel on the paths had to be appropriate
- Traffic metering lights, paved bike paths, sound barriers, connectedness
- Consideration for the residents along the route had to be prioritized

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