The 2018 International Transport Forum in Leipzig, Germany, focused on transport safety and security, and included discussions on issues such as road safety, cyber-security, and the risks and benefits of automated driving. Cycling, as a fast growing form of transport in cities across the world, was featured in a number of sessions, building on a cycling safety roundtable held by the OECD in Paris in January. The roundtable led to several recommendations to address the issue of safety: to encourage more people to cycle, new infrastructure must be safe and perceived as safe, through protected lanes, well-designed junctions, light segregation, bike-sharing systems, and more regulation of electric bikes.
However, road safety is not the only concern of cycling planners, particularly in cities in Latin America with higher levels of crime and violence where security (also referred to as 'personal safety') is an even greater disincentive to cycling. A presentation by the C40 Cities Finance Facility at the ITF - 'Why both security and safety matter for cycling - The example of Bogotá' - argued that cycling infrastructure should be designed with both safety and security in mind, and that this infrastructure should aim to reduce cyclists’ vulnerability to both accidental and criminal harm.
Bogotá is addressing safety through its Vision Zero, which has helped reduce cycling deaths by 17% in 2017 after years of significant growth. However, the city simultaneously has to address security: cyclists are at times seen as an easy target, and a number of incidents have resulted in serious injury or death. As cycling continues to grow - the mode share of cycling in Bogotá increased from less than 1% of all trips in 1995 to close to 8% in 2018, and the city aims to increase that further to 10% by 2020, as stated in Bogotá's cycling strategy Plan Bici - the city has responded with enhanced policing and improved lighting along cycle routes, but is still searching for more effective, long-term solutions.
The poster presentation makes the case that we must broaden our understanding of safety and security and mainstream these considerations when designing cycling infrastructure: the experience of cycling in European cities is often too narrow to address issues affecting cities in developing countries such as security, even though these cities, particularly in Latin America, are often the ones experiencing the highest increases in cycling mode share.
View the poster presentation and the Q&A below!
Cycling Infrastructure in Cities: Bogotá’s Quinto Centenario Cycle Avenue
