North Brabant Bicycle Pilot Study Shows: Citizen Participation Yields Data Just as Reliable as Professional Inspections

In a three-year European study into citizen participation in local mobility policy, assessments by cyclists prove to be just as reliable as those by professional inspectors. This is one of the key conclusions of the GREENGAGE project, a Horizon Europe study in which a Citizen Observatory was established in North Brabant focusing on bicycle infrastructure. Breda University of Applied Sciences coordinated the Dutch pilot, the Fietsersbond mobilized participants and conducted reference inspections, and technology company Argaleo brought all collected data together in a digital twin platform that layers various data sources on top of each other so that patterns and connections become visible.

Subjective Data Fills Blind Spot

In the Heusden region, 150 participants assessed cycling paths on aspects such as road surface, lighting, and safety. On average, their scores corresponded with those of the Fietsersbond inspectors. However, the research shows that the real added value lies elsewhere: cyclists identify bottlenecks that do not appear in any technical measurement. Root heaves, poorly visible obstacles, feelings of insecurity due to mixed traffic. In the data visualization platform, these subjective observations were combined with inspection data and GPS measurements, making bottlenecks visible that remained hidden with separate data sources.

80% Drive a Car, But the Province Wants a Changed

The urgency is great. More than 80% of all journeys over six kilometers in Brabant are made by car. The province wants to increase bicycle use by 20% in 2027 and 40% in 2040. Traditional cycling policy relies on road surface measurements and traffic counts, but lacks the perspective of the cyclist themselves.

Concrete Implementation of the Environment and Planning Act

The Environment and Planning Act obliges municipalities to involve residents in spatial plans, but does not prescribe a method. The researchers see the Citizen Observatory model as a concrete implementation: a combination of digital tools, independent intermediaries, and a data platform that combines subjective and objective information into a usable policy picture. Incidentally, the pilot showed that the involvement of the Cyclists’ Union as an independent intermediary was essential: municipalities were initially reluctant to participate for fear that direct participation would create expectations. The complete approach is documented in a public White Book. In addition to North Brabant, pilots were conducted in Bristol, Copenhagen, and two Italian regions.

To download images and whitebook, click here.