Knowledge ABC Zoning: An Integrated Approach to Mobility Planning 12 December 2024 - Author: Bas Govers Blogs by experts We have passed the discussion on the ‘why’ cycling is important for liveable, vital, and sustainable cities. Now the main question is: ‘how do we implement an effective cycling policy? Often it is a struggle for the space needed to realize cycling projects. Especially at intersections. How to relate to the main car corridors? How to integrate the cycling policy with the public transport system? An integrated mobility strategy is needed. The principle of ABC zoning can be helpful to realize effective cycling policies. The ABC zoning was introduced in the Sustainable Urban Mobility Plan (SUMP) for Utrecht (Goudappel, 2016) and since applied in many other mobility plans in The Netherlands and internationally. What is an integrated mobility strategy? The mobility strategy is the step between public goals and concrete measures. It shows us the way the different networks from car, public transport, and cycling interact. Where are the relevant mobility hubs where the networks of public transport and cycling come together? How do we avoid forcing cyclists to cross major urban boulevards for cars? How are new developments served by each network? Knowing how your your city will look, say 25 years from now is crucial. “The best cycle plan is a car plan” Since safety is a key issue for the cycling plan, the logical question is: how do you manage important conflicts with cars? This is all about the intensities of cars and managing their speeds; it is by making a clear plan for the routing of cars in your network that you can free up space for more green, pedestrians, and cyclists. In the Netherlands, there is a decades-long tradition of steering the cars to the highways in order to create more safety and more room for other users on the subordinated networks. In the Utrecht SUMP, the strategy aimed strongly for cars to use the ring road around the city in order to free up space for cyclists in the heart of the city. And the mobility strategy is not only about the routing of cars, but also about the strategic planning of parking places and traffic management. This all can help to create more space for other modes in the heart of the city. The urban environment communicates We might not always notice it, but the urban environment communicates a message to the user: are you only tolerated as a cyclist? On a footpath? Or in between cars? With only a few stripes of paint? Or are you invited? Is the space designed for your presence? You know what happens at a party if you are only tolerated: you don’t stay too long and you don’t come back. Actually, the behaviour of cyclists is exactly the same. So creating an inviting environment for pedestrians and cyclists provokes the kind of behaviour we are looking for. A place where they feel welcome. Where they are the most important user of the public space. And only by doing so we can have amazing effects on the behaviour, like in this example in Utrecht: more than 50% more cyclists, 30% fewer cars, and a 30% reduction of speeds only by creating a different environment. ABC zoning: three levels of environment So talking about creating different environments, we can make a separation in three levels of the city. The A zone is where cyclists and pedestrians are the most important users of the public space, in the urbanized B zone there is an attractive balance and mix between the modes, and in the C zone the different structures for cars, bicycles, and public transport are separated. A zone: an inviting environment for cyclists It all starts with the A zone: Every city has an A zone or can create this zone. In European cities, this is often the historical district. In American cities, this can be the people-oriented environments of your city. In this zone, we can apply some main principles. The quality of the public space is important. Therefore street parking can be reduced. Pedestrians and cyclists are the most important users of the public space. Their facilities should be well-designed. Cars are guests, and only destination traffic to the nearest parking facilities is allowed. Public transit is concentrated on certain corridors and limited in speed. The intensity of car traffic is lower than 5,000 vehicles per day. Speed is lower than 20 miles per hour or 30 kilometres per hour. With these intensities, no traffic lights are needed and no cycle paths are needed too! B zone: creating inviting corridors The B zone is the more dense urban area. In European cities this is often the pre-war-city within cycling distance of the historic centre. In American cities, this can be the more highly urbanized zones. In the B zone it is important to create inviting cycling corridors, with spatial continuity, following historic routes, water, or green: pleasant environments with low traffic. The principle of the cycling street makes cyclists the most important user of the space and cars are only guests. There is no crossing of roads with higher intensity than 15,000 motor vehicles per day, and crossing in two steps with an island in between and single lane per direction. Often these corridors can be combined with public transport corridors, and on these corridors pleasant places can be created where the public transport stops are located, and that adds to the experience of cyclists too. C zone: separated cycling infrastructure The C zone is the less dense suburban area. In these environments, we can only create inviting cycling corridors by separating the cycling infrastructure from the road infrastructure. Cycling roads are mainly two-directional and intersections with main roads and railways are uneven. The cycle roads can make use of water, green historic corridors, or parks to make them more attractive. Attractiveness is most important for cyclists! We found out in an extensive research (Goudappel, 2019) that the shortest route in time is not an important factor in the choice of route for cyclists. But attractiveness of the route is! Nearly 10 times more important. So when you create an inviting environment for bicycles following the ABC principles, you will not only target a larger group of users in the mobility market: from 8 to 80. You will also take care that your users are using the bicycle for longer journeys. Cause when they feel pleasant, time is running faster and they will automatically cycle over longer distances. In this way the effectiveness of your policy is growing quadratically, as is the share of cycling in urban mobility. Levels up to 40% can be reached. Lessons Learned • An integrated multimodal mobility strategy is needed • Planning for the routing of cars in your network might be the most effective way to create more space for cyclists and pedestrians • The environment sends a message that influences behaviour • Create attractive environments for bicycles, meaning an attractive A zone, attractive corridors in the B zone, separated cycling routes in the C zone • Cyclists will choose the most attractive routes, even if they are longer • With an ‘invite to cycle’ network, you can influence not only the number of cyclist but also the distance they are cycling