Speeds, Deeds and Needs on Two Wheels (or Three)

Abstract

The bicycle is back. For the last decade, cities across the globe have been turning to the bicycle to add to the array of transportation options for citizens. In an attempt at developing infrastructure that helps to legitimize the bicycle as a transport form in our urban centres, designers require a robust framework within which they can design appropriate facilities for bicycle users. Practitioners need to deeply understand the transport sphere that is occupied by the simple push bicycle in order to design effective solutions for its users. A design framework that has been adopted in a growing number of cities around the world today focuses on “AAA” infrastructure, or bicycle facilities for “All Ages and Abilities”. While this aims at an inclusionary design approach for bicycle infrastructure, it is not often broken down into its component parts and investigated from a tangible and ground-level perspective. Who fits into this “All Ages and Abilities” model? How fast do they move? What kind of contraption are they riding? Where are they going and for what purpose? What do they need in order to feel comfortable enough to ride in the space? This deeper framework can help designers align form and function when developing new bicycle facilities for this AAA model. Whether the design user is riding in the peloton at 35 km/h or riding to the corner store at 15 km/h, this makes a significant impact on the design choices of the texture treatments, signal phasing and bends along the bicycle corridor. Whether the user is transporting themselves on a carbon fibre bullet or their two-year-old in a Danish Bullitt, this helps determine appropriate levels of protection of the facility from vehicle exposure. Whether the user has been riding since they were a toddler or just learned to ride in a straightline last month at the age of 30, this informs the design of a bicycle facility width for both to use the space efficiently and comfortably. It is through the examination of these speeds, deeds and needs that the urban designer can truly create spaces that are attractive, accessible and understandable to bicycle users of all ages and abilities.