Time to prioritize bicycles instead of cars in cities

Cities have long been built up around and adapted for cars. Cars have been the prime means of transport for many years, and still are. Car drivers have long had a connected road and street network, adapted to the speed and expected volume of traffic. They are used to a uniform standard, functional signage, parking, petrol stations and other facilities designed to suit their needs.

It is high time for traffic planning to shift its focus and focus on the types of traffic that reduce our dependency on oil and improve health as the starting point. Connected bicycle routes of good standard should be high on the agenda.

As congestion and delays are a big problem in many cities, making bicycles a priority should be self-evident, as they do not require so much space. A large part of the life of a private car is spent standing still. From a climate and air quality point-of-view, this is good of course, but lots of parking spaces along city streets could be used for bicycle lanes instead.

Some cities around the world have understood this, and focus ever more on bicyclists in their city and traffic planning. Bicycle routes are being built to link up different areas of cities, and the needs of bicyclists are part of the planning. Promoting bicycles as a means of transport is part of the work of creating a sustainable development for both health and the environment. Many cities are planning changes and investing in infrastructure for and marketing bicycling.

Countries and cities around the world will choose varying levels of ambition for bicycle infrastructure and bicycling safety, but it is very probable that a number of cities will invest in making bicycles the norm for everyday transport. A city that might be worth looking at is Hamburg in Germany, which has green routes for bicyclists and pedestrians.

Even if it is difficult to foresee the future, one thing is certain. The bicycle movement and urban bicycling is growing in many places, and investments in good bicycling infrastructure and more space for bicyclists will be needed.