Totalcar – Magazine – You don’t have to be afraid to ride a bike, it will be good!

One of the biggest fears of cyclists is that their vehicle will be stolen, and let’s face it, this concern is not unfounded. A modern bicycle can cost hundreds of thousands, and riding it is relatively easy. Of course, there are various anti-theft solutions, but stealing a bicycle will never be a big physical challenge. They are also experimenting with various bicycle protection solutions, such as lockable bicycle racks. However, there is a more complex solution to the problem, but one with a lot of advantages, which we will now present.

Parking garage for bicycles?

Although in Central and Eastern Europe, cycling is often a symbol of the poor financial situation in the eyes of the population, cycling has a long tradition in extremely rich countries such as the Netherlands or Denmark. These countries are almost completely flat, so the topography is not a problem and there has been money in recent years to build bicycle infrastructure. The pinnacle of this infrastructure is certainly the most common underground bicycle garage in the Netherlands. These are actually parking garages similar to which are built for cars, but only bicycles can be stored here.

The role of the underground bicycle garage concept in transportation is simple: bicycles can be safely stored in it, so commuters can get on the train without worrying about whether they will have the wire donkey on the way home. The largest such facility is located in Utrecht, the Netherlands, with a capacity of 12,500 bicycles. Bicycle storage is free for the first 24 hours, and travelers can enter the facility by paying for their public transport passes. The entire facility is monitored with a camera and a security guard monitors whether someone is using the garage for long-term storage. Of course, the facility is connected to the Utrecht cycle path network at several points, making it easily accessible to commuters. You can see what the bicycle parking lot in Utrecht looks like in this video.

Although underground bicycle garages were built mainly in the larger cities in the Netherlands, it is important to mention that half of the country there is actually a large agglomeration, so the phenomenon of commuting is typically between large cities. If we examine the development possibilities of bicycle infrastructure in relation to Hungary, it is probably advisable to build smaller garages and install them scattered along the main agglomeration junctions.

Missing infrastructure

In recent years, quite a few cycling developments have been launched in Hungary, but these are often implemented only sporadically, and in terms of network interpretation, serious elements are missing in order for them to be truly worthwhile. In Székesfehérvár, for example, there is a particularly high demand for access to the train station by bicycle, since the Capital can be reached in less than 40 minutes by train. However, for cyclists, there is only one path available for cyclists, and it is also relatively narrow, separated from the sidewalk by a barely visible line. Where there are no painted cycle paths, cyclists often ride on the pavement, as can be clearly seen in the Google Maps snapshot.

The railway station of Székesfehérvár would be perfect for the implementation of a bicycle model project due to the characteristics of the city. There is almost no level difference in the settlement, the situation of the cycling infrastructure is not satisfactory, and there is even an apparent intention to develop it. Although the city’s railway station was renovated a few years ago, the bus station in front of the building was not renovated. Plans for a complex renovation project have already been completed, but are lying in the drawer due to a lack of funds. Although the plan takes into account the need to renovate and build the surrounding bicycle paths, the installation of very few bicycle reservoirs, just under 200, is planned compared to the size of the city. Since the entire space in front of the station would have to be transformed in order to implement it, there could be an opportunity to build an underground bicycle garage here on the underpass level.

Together with the underground garage, the planned bus station could also be served by the underpass, so passengers would not have to cross the bus traffic at level and would not have to touch the main hall of the station building. An underground garage capable of storing 500 bicycles could easily fit under the planned landscaped area, if only the simplest configuration is used.

From the bicycle parking garage, a ramp could be used to connect to the already planned bicycle path network, offering a much more attractive bicycle-railway combination than the current one. If the parking garage were to be operated similarly to the Dutch method, i.e. to actively guard the stored bicycles and to make entry free with the railway pass, the bicycle storage facilities would probably be used.

By public transport in the big city, by bicycle in the small town, by car just for fun!

This could even be the motto of the Dutch concept of mobility, but the formula is quite realistic. In a densely populated urban environment, it is completely unrealistic to provide everyone with the opportunity to travel by car and own a car, but in the Netherlands there is really no great demand for this. Cars are not banned from Dutch cities, but parking fees are very high, on average they cost HUF 1,000 per hour, but in the largest cities the hourly fee can reach HUF 3,000. There are few parking spaces on the streets and you often have to park on the edge of canal walls, where even a small mistake can cause your car to fall into the water.

Car-unfriendly urban conditions constantly encourage people to avoid using their own vehicles and only use them when there is really no other way to travel. So, in fact, a significant part of Dutch passenger cars – at least in the central region, where two thirds of the population live – are only hobby cars.

Hungary would also be suitable for similar living conditions

The success of the Dutch transport method is not only based on the country’s good economic situation. The secret of good transport in the Netherlands is primarily based on an efficiently organized network of suburban railway lines. In the country, there are hardly more railway lines per square kilometer than in our country, but the vast majority of them are electrified and typically high-capacity motor trains run everywhere. If anything, Budapest and the central region would be perfectly suitable for such a change of attitude, since the Dutch did not invent Spanish wax, they just apply existing technologies properly.

Currently, according to TomTom’s traffic statistics, Budapest is the 58th most congested city in the world. This is gratifying from the point of view that we have overtaken Vienna, since they are in 48th place, but Prague, for example, is only in 166th place. Although the Dutch cities cannot be compared to Budapest in terms of population, none of the cities in their central region with more than 10 million people even come close to Budapest.

Is cycling cool?

Many Eastern Europeans still have the misconception that people can ride a bike if they are “too bad” to drive a car. Of course, this is a huge mistake in principle, cycling is actually one of the most rational modes of transport, especially if you only have to travel a few kilometers. The operating cost of a human-powered vehicle is a fraction of that of a car, it doesn’t take up much space, and it doesn’t spew out anything that kills you. In addition, it is flexible, you don’t have to wait for it, like the bus, and you don’t need a ticket. It has only one drawback: it is more uncomfortable than a car. When car ownership became more and more common in the Eastern Bloc countries in the 70s, people needed a car.

Since there was no such sudden appearance of cars in Western Europe, people did not suddenly start wanting them either. Public transport and cycling have never been symbols of poverty. Everyone reached for the most rational means of transport for themselves, always one that they needed in their life situation. It is interesting, however, that in the car culture of the USA, an idea based on looking down on public transport and cyclists has also developed.

Bicycle routes in the agglomeration?

In addition to railway integration, one of the most important and cheapest transport development steps would be to drastically increase the length of cycle paths. A sufficiently extensive and safe cycle path network could save a lot of unnecessary car journeys, as it would help to reduce dependence on parents for the younger ones, and it could replace the trips of a few kilometers, typically to the P+R parking lots next to the railway stations, for the older ones.

According to many parents living in agglomeration settlements, their child’s independent transport is typically hindered by the lack of safe bicycle paths or bicycle lanes. If parents see that it is only possible to cycle on the road and that cars pass at high speed, often inches away from vulnerable road users, they will never let their children cycle alone, and this strengthens their dependence on parents and, above all, on the car.

Is the electric scooter a good solution?

If there is adequate cycling infrastructure, the question of urban transport of electric scooters is not so difficult. On the dedicated bike paths and bike lanes, scooters can easily fit next to each other, as their speeds are similar. Storing scooters is also much easier than bicycles, as they can typically be folded. Commuters’ scooters could be easily stored in a small, lockable cabinet, and such a solution could even provide a charging option.

But if they want to actively involve electric scooters in urban traffic, the possibility of placing protective equipment must also be taken into account. The design of protective equipment storage similar to luggage storage machines in central locations for cyclists, such as at railway stations or other transport hubs, is highly justified not only from the point of view of comfort, but also from the point of view of traffic safety, because it is a serious inconvenience for cyclists and scooter riders to carry their protective equipment all day, so many people simply leave it behind. which means serious life protection.

The normal cycle path

In many places, bicycle lanes are created by simply cutting the sidewalks in half and giving pedestrians and cyclists a narrow section. Although this practice is practical and cheap, it also carries a serious risk of accidents, as inattentive pedestrians can simply step in front of bicycles, but it often happens that two bicyclists meeting face to face cannot fit in the small painted lane.

If we decide to build a bike path, it is advisable to leave it at least wide enough for two cyclists to comfortably fit side by side, and it is also worth marking the bike path with a separate color. On sections with high pedestrian traffic, physical separation can also be a good solution, as is the case at this school in Győr.

If a bicycle path is being built somewhere, it is advisable to route it in such a way that it does not lead through sections where pedestrians or other traffic can be expected to appear quickly. This bus stop, also from Győr, is a bad example of this. And here is another video about the different solutions for bicycle paths in Copenhagen.

The spread of cycling and scootering is therefore hindered much more by a lack of will and serious infrastructural deficiencies than by the country’s capabilities. The problem is often caused by the fact that a few lanes should be sacrificed for the interests of cyclists or an intersection or two should be transformed, which some car drivers tend to take as a campaign launched against their person. However, cycling infrastructure is good for everyone, as motorists can drive without having to avoid cyclists, and cyclists can feel much safer.