Cycling lane on one of Bucharest’s High Streets

Small steps towards big achievements

Octavia Anamaria STEPAN

Cities on the Move

University of architecture and urban planning Ion Mincu

ECOMM 2015 20-22 May, Utrecht

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Conference’s theme / Session theme

Conference

• Better understanding of what moves the user, will improve our interventions....

• In other words: user orientation as a starting point for mobility management measures, is the key to success

Session

• How can knowledge of the user help in designing infrastructure ?

• Can new ways of design stimulate people to walk or cycle more?

• And how can we bridge the gap between traffic engineering and urban design and planning?

... public space lost its capacity to guide and orient us in our daily trips and in our mobility choices ....

whether we are....

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In many new urban developments, as users of the public space

... we have difficulty in orientation

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In many new urban developments, as users of the public space

... and we are offered little choice in transport mode... because the

mobility infrastructure does not ‘incorporate’ all the options

... But it wasn't always like this ...

from the Ancient Greeks through Middle-Ages, Renaissance up

until recently,

streets and urban spaces were planned, designed and built so

that ONE CAN ORIENT AND FIND HIS/HER WAY

Each street configuration, design and spatial organisation

around it,

should be in accordance with its role in the city, its uses

and the people using it ...

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What was lost in street and public space design?

or ....

What did WE lose in street and public space design

so that

new streets and public spaces

- fail to welcome us as common, ordinary users

- and fail to guide us in our mobility choices?

SITUATIONS

• the complexity of „spaces for mobility” is NOT given by the complexity of the spatial organisation, but by the complexity of encoding and deconding processes

1. The gap between highly complexe mobility spaces and the public space design

.... DESORIENTATION

SITUATIONS

Two scales:

A. The ground view – what every user

perceives and interprets – subjective

B. The bird eye view – what every designer

uses when conceiving – rational

2. The disparity between the perceived and conceived urban space

.... DEHUMANISATION

A and B dissociated = production of abstract urban spaces, „excellent” in design but deterring the user

SITUATIONS

• many public spaces ‘look’ and ‘feel’ the same = undistinguasibale from one another

• ‘every place becomes no place’ = our city streets and public space

lost their identity

3. The hiatus of image and identity

.... TRIVIALISATION

WHAT ARE THE WAYS THAT MIGHT COMPSENSATE THE LOOS OF

ORIENTATION

HUMANISATION (human scale and human perception)

CONTEXTUAL INFORMATION and IDENTITY

IN NEGOTIATING A ROUTE ?

Some attempts

to retrive the lost contextual information and identity

...in the case of Bucharest

to see weather changes in design could simulate people to walk and cycle more

‘SMALL STEPS’ TOWARDS ‘BIG ACHIVEMENTS’...

Bucharest – the city

Bucharest - central area

Bucharest – central area

Bucharest – central area in time

Bucharest – central area

Bucharest – central area in time

Buzesti St. widening 2010-2014

Buzesti St. widening Before and After

Buzesti St. widening After and After ...

Bucharest – central area

• Attenuation of the “irregular” by

realignment of fronts and “correction “ ordinance of the street pattern

• The most representative edifices

of Bucharest – “eclectic” architecture with classic and romantic mixtures

• A space for “flâner”, strolling ….the place of the new “bourgeoisie” were you came to see and to be seen

Victoriei High Street 2014 -2015

Victoriei High Street In the 1930s

Victoriei High Street In the 1930s

Victoriei High Street

In 2000s

Victoriei High Street In 2010

Victoriei High Street in 2014 The campaign

„Historic photo” taken on Victoriei High Street in April 2014 during a campaign set-up by several cycling associations in Bucharest

(Photo credits: Cristian Vasile,București Optimist)

Victoriei High Street in 2014 The project

Victoriei High Street in 2014 Before and After

Before and After

Victoriei High Street in 2014 Before and After

Victoriei High Street in 2014 Before and After

Bucharest – central area Traffic volumes after cycling lane .... ?

Increased congestion of traffic evaporation?

average traffic

7.00 to 11.59

average traffic

12.00 to 16.59

average traffic

17.00 to 20.59

average traffic

for 24h

February 2014 2296 2513 2059 1565

February 2015 1551 1778 1573 1162

Average traffic volumes / hour on Victorie High Street (new created cycling lane + footpath widening)

Increased congestion of traffic evaporation?

Average traffic volumes / hour on Buzesti Street (widening + cycling lane)

Traffic volumes on

Buzesti Street average traffic

7.00 to 11.59

average traffic

12.00 to 16.59

average traffic

17.00 to 20.59

average traffic

for 24h

February 2014 1528 2001 1434 1162

February 2015 969 1202 855 712

Increased congestion of traffic evaporation?

Average traffic volumes / hour on Magheru Boulevard (refurbishments)

Traffic volumes on

Magheru Bld.average traffic

7.00 to 11.59

average traffic

12.00 to 16.59

average traffic

17.00 to 20.59

average traffic

for 24h

February 2014 5673 6582 5588 4437

February 2015 5235 5971 5224 4045

Costs

For Victoriei High Street:

Total amount - € 5 100 000 out of which:

• Traffic lights - € 530 000

• Signs, road markings, kerbs, carriageway - €190 000

• .......

• ......

• Cycling path - € 38 000

Victoriei High Street cycling lane Some comments ... SUCCESS can’t be entirely defined yet...However:

• The traffic volumes did not increased considerably nor on Victoriei High Street, nor on the parallel main streets

• The no. of cyclists is growing steadily – aprox. 2% in 2015 vs. less than 1% in 2008

• There is an impressive trend among young people to cycle - for many cycling is a choice not a necessity

• It was not so expensive to build a cycling lane – more expensive are the reconfigurations and refurbishements works

Victoriei High Street cycling lane Some comments ... DRAWBACKS still exist

- Lack of an integrated vision and plan for the cycling network – Drumuri Verzi project – hopefully will be defined by the on-going SUMP

- No cycling design guidelines have been defined yet

- Lack of enforcement – disrespect for cyclists...

FURTHER STEPS TO ACHIEVE BIG ....

..... should Victorie High Street be a pedestrain street?

..... or function as a shared space?

Octavia Anamaria STEPAN octavia.anamaria.stepan@gmail.com Cities on the Move University of architecture and urban planning Ion Mincu