It is true that the bicycle is one of the most sustainable means of transport, as it helps decrease car usage and congestion, thus improving the environment. The Netherlands is one of the countries with the best integration of bikes in everyday life. However, this is not the case for a large number of cities around the world.
Almost a month ago I went on a two-week excursion, in Belfast city, together with other TU Delft students and staff, for the purpose of the Sustainable Design Graduation Preparation course. Working on the Urban analysis of the city center, I came across a newly integrated “rent a bike” network (it started operating six months ago), with the main purpose of encouraging the locals and the tourists to change their transportation habits. Docking stations exist at 32 points around the city center and a trace for a main cycling path can be seen along some distances. With an annual fee of 20 pounds you can rent a bike any time you want. Economically speaking, this sounds very convenient! However, my impression is that the cycling paths, going up and down the pavements, being interrupted for long distances, have not been properly developed so far, creating the need for a lot of improvisations. The impression of the locals, though, is that as a cyclist you should, or at least you can, follow the same roads as the automobiles. Keeping my eyes on the cyclists of the city, during these two weeks, I have to confess that, I admired their courage many times, when cars and trucks were moving around them, on a high speed, expressing a disrespectful driving behavior in relation with the cyclists. This situation definitely creates the circumstances for possible accidents to happen.
I wonder whether it was a wise decision on the part of the Belfast City Council, to start this function within this urban context, without first proceeding in the demanded changes of the mobility network. The “rent a bike” concept is a great one. But truly, when is a city ready to host a “rent a bike” activity? Are all the cities suitable for this trend?
The phasing in of a new activity, within an area, could be a way to go through this, not only for Belfast city, but also for any location. Why not pick a small, appropriate area of the city, for this purpose and start a trial “rent a bike” activity, that is (and feels) 100% safe. As the psychological factor is very important for people of all ages in order to accept and support such a change, if the start of this change creates room for accidents to happen, then it is likely that the project will fail, not because the idea was not great, but because the implementation is lacking on specific points that are of a great importance.
Sustainable ideas for the city can be proven useful on many different levels (environmental, economic, social, health-related etc.) and, potentially, not only cure the urban environment but also upgrade the quality of every day life. However, the realization of a great idea has to be equally exceptional in order to bring a successful result.