PM Network - July 2015

PAVING THE WAY

portation planner for project sponsor North Central Texas Council of Governments in Arlington.

To make those connections, however, the project team will have to fill in gaps in the path where it approaches city borders, crosses multiple jurisdictions or involves other stakeholders, such as rail companies. Through regular stakeholder meetings and conference calls, the project team “is bringing all the stakeholders to the table to facilitate project coordination and implementation among the multiple jurisdictions and transportation agencies,” Mr. Kokes says.

For instance, one path gap was near an active rail line. So the team brought city representatives and transportation experts together to discuss a variety of path location options, such as in the rail right of way, in a nearby parallel street or elsewhere. The team ultimately determined the path could be built within the rail right of way.

Share the Road

Even the cycling-centric city of Copenhagen has found ways to improve its car-free infrastructure.

“When distances are longer than 5 kilometers [ 3. 1 miles], only 30 percent of all commuter journeys are made by bike,” says Tine Brandt, project manager, Secretariat of Cycle Superhighways, Copenhagen.

To bump up that percentage, the city, in partnership with more than 20 surrounding municipalities, plans to build 28 cycle superhighways that will total roughly 500 kilometers (311 miles) in length. “We want people to perceive these routes as a serious alternative to cars, buses and trains,” Ms. Brandt says.

Launched in 2009, the project has completed the first two superhighways, with nine more scheduled for completion by 2018. The remaining routes will be finished within the next decade. The first superhighway led to an 18 percent increase in the number of people in the town who bicycled to work.

“Securing cooperation among municipalities with different priorities and political agendas can be a challenge,” Ms. Brandt says of the Copenhagen initiative. Like the Dallas-Fort Worth project, it crosses city borders. The cities involved all contribute to the program’s budget.

To ensure “close cooperation among the municipalities,” she says, the project team didn’t just look

to Copenhagen to call the shots. Instead, the municipalities jointly developed and adopted a common strategy and plan. The team also created a secretariat as a neutral body to oversee execution.

“If Copenhagen municipality had made the concept on its own and just presented it to the other municipalities, it wouldn’t have worked as well,” Maria Streuli, who led the project during its concept and first development phase, told CityLab.

—Novid Parsi

BIKE GARAGES

Location: Amsterdam, the Netherlands

Budget: To be determined

Timeline: 2017-2030

Scope: More than 25,000 new bicycle parking spots in three garages—one underwater and two on floating islands

THE LOOP LINK

Location: Chicago, Illinois, USA

Budget: US$31.8 million

Timeline: 2015-2016

Scope: Separate lanes for bicycle, bus and regular traffic on several downtown streets, improving bicycle travel and making travel 25 percent faster for bus commuters

CYCLE SUPERHIGHWAYS

Location: London, England

Budget: £160 million

Timeline: 2015-2016

Scope: A 3-mile (5-kilometer) north-south route and an 18-mile (29-kilometer) east-west route fully segregated from vehicle traffic

PLAN VÉLO

Location: Paris, France

Budget: €150 million

Timeline: 2015-2020

Scope: Doubling the city’s bike
lanes by adding 80 kilometers
( 50 miles) of new and improved
routes, including five cycle high-
ways protected from car traffic
by barriers

TILIKUM CROSSING

Location: Portland, Oregon, USA

Budget: US$134.6 million

Timeline: 2010-2015

Scope: The design and construction of the United States’ longest car-free bridge. The 1,720-foot (524-meter) structure will carry only light-rail trains, buses, streetcars, pedestrians and cyclists.