Urban fit

Under the heading of Urban planning there is reference to the oft repeated discussions between urban planners and traffic engineers (Traffic engineers’ sole wish: NETWORKING; Verkeerskundigen willen maar één ding: NETWERKEN ) at the actual planning level. There the discussion often revolves around the value of ‘activity’ , lines of sight, wide roads, etc. But there is a lot of potential tension at the more concrete level of urban fit as well. The Houten expansion demonstrates that, learning from past experiences, old traffic engineering principles may be incorporated into modern urban development: Houten traffic principles in a Vinex coating; Houtense verkeersprincipes verpakt in Vinex vorm.

Types of pavement are a case in point (‘no asphalt in old town centres’) as well as the colour of bike paths and lanes (Bicycle facilities colour the street; Fietsvoorzieningen brengen kleur op straat). In the past few years by far most cases involve bicycle parking. Urban planners generally find large numbers of randomly parked bicycles ugly: Bicycle absent in aesthetically sound town . Not only because of the functionality for pedestrians/shoppers but certainly also for these kinds of aesthetic reasons attempts are made in several town centres to only allow bicycles to the edge of the shopping area. The discussion often also rages in the vicinity of train stations - and all bicycles not neatly parked in the stands (no matter how great their distance to the platform or how great the lack of spaces) then tend to be classified as ‘obnoxious’: Obnoxious, dangerous or simply incorrect: fuzzy borders in practice.

The urban glamour of the station vicinity appears to play an increasingly greater role. Bicycles are seen as disruptive elements. At the same time there is often a - much more functional - lack of space and a need for ‘double use of space’. Leading to large and beautiful underground parking   facilities as glamorous but expensive solutions, see Bicycle parking facility at Leiden Centraal forecourt highly successful and Bicycle parking at the Groningen train station; a new approach!