Arup's innovative approach to tackling bicycle congestion in The Hague
Hordes of bicycles on narrow sidewalks: a familiar street scene in The Hague neighborhoods such as Geuzen and Statenkwartier. "All these parked bicycles cause a lot of nuisance for the residents," says Juliette Krantz, consultant at Arup. Therefore, the Municipality of The Hague enlisted the consultancy firm. "Together with residents and entrepreneurs, we map out solutions. And successfully so. We received as many as 948 responses via MapTalk."
The project is part of the "Implementation Program Space for Bicycles" by the City of The Hague, which has set goals to become a true bicycle city for all residents, visitors, and employees. Having a good bicycle parking spot encourages people to cycle to work more often or to finally purchase that fancy e-bike... Creating more space for bicycle parking is a starting point.
Narrow Sidewalks and Abandoned Bikes
The pre-war neighborhoods in The Hague are narrowly built. Also, there's little space inside homes to store a bicycle. Therefore, many bicycles are parked on the narrow sidewalks. "And this bicycle congestion is detrimental to people who need more mobility. Think of users of walkers or people with a stroller," Juliette points out. "Additionally, there's a lot of nuisance from 'orphan bikes'. Old bicycles that are left behind and are rusting away."
948 Responses from Residents
The project team at Arup, also consisting of Marco Mulder, Sanne van Zundert, and Hanna Ratilainen, sent letters to residents with a QR code linking to the MapTalk map. Accessible via internet on both PC and smartphone, people could immediately leave a response on their phone. Juliette: "The suggestions are very specific. Residents select a specific location on the map and leave a comment about where they experience nuisance or would like to see a solution. The high number of responses shows that the map was user-friendly."
From a Mountain of Data to the Top 10
"We compared the responses received in MapTalk with our objective data, namely counts of the number of bicycles in different streets. We also looked at how many 'orphan bikes' are collected by the municipality in some places. This way, we established a top 20 of the most severe bottlenecks."
However, the residents had the final say. Juliette: "During the residents' evening in early June, we voted to get a top 10 of bottlenecks to be resolved first."
“Residents indicate on the map where they experience nuisance or have a suggestion for a solution. Given the high number of responses, the map was easy to use.”
Innovative Solutions for Bicycle Congestion
Designs will now be made based on the collected responses. "We're compiling an inspiration book with different possibilities to solve bicycle congestion that are already being used in Dutch municipalities," Juliette explains. "Think of bicycle hoops, covered parking, or a bicycle carousel." Bicycle platforms are also a great solution, where a car parking space is temporarily converted into a bicycle parking spot.
New Ideas for MapTalk
"The communication went smoothly. The map was even ready sooner than expected, which was great." Juliette also comes up with a good idea for enriching the MapTalk software. "A nice addition might be the option for residents to like or dislike others' comments on the map. It's interesting to see if an opinion is shared by others.