Helsinki City Planning Department
Traffic Planning Division
Aleksanterinkatu 26
00170 HELSINKI
FINLAND

Tel: +358 9 1693491
Fax: +358 9 1693778
E-mail: eero.pasanen@hel.fi

Abstract

In the City of Helsinki, the number of injury-causing bicycle accidents per km traveled is 5-times higher than for motorcar traffic and 10-times higher than for bus traffic.

A recent study in Helsinki showed that it is safer to cycle on streets amongst cars than on our two-way cycle paths along streets. It is hard to imagine that our present two-way cycling network could be rebuilt. But in those countries and cities which are just beginning to build their cycling facilities, two-way cycle paths should be avoided in urban street networks.

Even in more advanced cycling countries like Denmark and in the Netherlands, with a lot of cyclists and with their one-way lanes and paths, cycling is still much more dangerous than car driving or public transport.

Still, we want to increase cycling for environmental and health reasons. But are these reasons strong enough to compensate the serious safety problems of cycling, especially when cycling seems to compete mainly with the very safe public transport? The important question is: Does increased cycling weaken the level of public transport service?

Cycling is nice and healthy for cyclists, but public transport is essential for many and perhaps the most manageable way towards sustainable traffic.

It is clear that we must radically improve the safety of cycling. But how can this be done?

So far, most of the important successful steps in traffic safety work have been based on restrictions of the freedom of car driving. When trying to improve the safety of cycling, the starting point is different. Popular arguments for sustainable traffic and the freedom of cycling often seem to neglect safety problems.

***

In the City of Helsinki, the number of injury-causing bicycle accidents per km traveled is 5-times higher than for motorcar traffic and 10-times higher than for bus traffic (Figure 1). The heavy rail traffic system is almost free of accidents. Hospital statistics would show even worse figures for cycling.

A recent study in Helsinki showed that it is safer to cycle on streets amongst cars than on two-way cycle paths along streets (Figure 2). The distribution of bicycle use was estimated by assigning a sample of real trips on a map. We got the origins and the destinations of the trips (street addresses) from travel survey data /2/.

The basic problem seems to be that car drivers are not afraid of cyclists. At crossings, car drivers focus their attention on other cars rather than on cyclists /3,4/. This causes troubles for cyclists,   especially in a two-way cycle path system (Figures 3 and 4).

Figure 2 shows that 45% of the cycling kilometres in Helsinki are on cycle paths along streets, but 56% of injury accidents happen to these cyclists.

In the City of Helsinki (500 000 inhabitants), we have built 800 kilometres of two-way cycle paths (Figure 5). More than half of these are the dangerous ones, located along the streets. It is hard to imagine that this system could be rebuilt. But in those countries and cities which are just beginning to build their cycling network, two-way cycle paths should be avoided in the urban street network.

There is a good number of potential physical countermeasures to improve the safety of cycling. Yet, their expected effect on the totality is far from satisfactory /8/. More comprehensive solutions should be introduced. An effective area-wide speed management of motorised traffic could be one.

We want to increase cycling for environmental, economic and health reasons. But are these reasons strong enough to compensate the serious safety problems of cycling -- especially when cycling seems to compete mainly with the very safe public transport

Cycling competes with public transport

Cycling competes rather more with public transport and walking than with the use of private motor vehicles. Most Europeans do not even have a chance to drive a car in their daily routines. In large cities with limited parking and street capacity, there is an additional problem. A car driver who chooses to ride a bicycle instead may only provide an opportunity for somebody else to utilize the car.

In Helsinki, cyclists were interviewed at the edge of the downtown area in summer 1998 /9/. 53 % Of these cyclists make the same trip by public transport during winter months; 18 % on foot and only 6 % by car.

Cycling is sensitive to weather conditions. In Helsinki, the cycling mileage during the wintertime is only 5 % of the summer peak (Figure 7). Elsewhere in Finland, this share is much higher because of less effective public transport and more bicycle-friendly weather. In Norway, the respective figure is 18 %, and in the Netherlands it is 40 % /10,11/.

The validity of comparisons between statistics for cities in different countries with different history, culture and infrastructure is questionable. However, figure 8 may give some hints about the problem in question.

Although the seasonal variation in cycling is much weaker in Eindhoven than in Helsinki, it looks as if the public transport system of Eindhoven has serious problems with the variation in cycling.

Cycling is attractive and healthy for cyclists, but public transport is essential for many and perhaps the most manageable way towards sustainable traffic.

Increased cycling does not automatically mean decreased car traffic. Reduction of car traffic probably also requires restrictions in car use, especially in city centres. The Dutch city of Groeningen is a good example of such traffic policy /14/.