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.
FORT WORTH TO DALLAS
REGIONAL TRAIL
Location: Dallas-Fort Worth,
Texas, USA
Budget: Unknown
Timeline: 2014-2020
Scope: Build and connect 64
miles (103 kilometers) of trails
that will link Dallas, Fort Worth
and three suburbs.
CYCLE SUPERHIGHWAYS
Location: Copenhagen, Denmark
Budget: DKK413 million-
DKK875 million
Timeline: 2009-2018 for the first
11 superhighways
Scope: More than 20 neighboring municipalities plan to build
28 cycle superhighways totaling roughly 500 kilometers (311
miles) in length.
Bike-centric projects in the works: