Launch of webtool to stimulate active transport modes in cities

On November 22nd, the 'PedBikePlanner' webtool is officially launched at the Polis Conference in Manchester. Based on the characteristics of a city, the webtool provides tailormade recommendations about how walking and cycling can be stimulated in that particular city without compromising safety. The tool is freely available at pedbikeplanner.eu and is intended for transportation professionals of European cities.

The core of the PedBikePlanner webtool is a database of more than 50 factsheets of possible measures to stimulate walking and cycling. Based on a number of simple, objective characteristics of a city, the tool automatically calculates which of the measures have the highest potential for that specific city, and suggests the most promising measures to the user. The tool already includes data from 1,170 European cities.

In addition, the measures are 'labelled' in various ways, allowing users to conveniently search for specific types of measures. For example, measures that also increase road safety, low-cost measures, infrastructural measures, measures targeted specifically towards children,…

The factsheets include a description of the measure, information on the expected effects of each measure on mobility, road safety and security, and concrete examples and guidelines for implementation. The information is presented in a concise format so that the user can conveniently get an overview of a measure and its effects, and includes direct links to more elaborate documents and manuals for implementing the measure.

The tool is online available, free of charge, at pedbikeplanner.eu. The information is tailored towards the needs of transportation professionals that are working for European cities. The tool allows them to check in a fast and convenient way what the best ways are to stimulate walking and cycling in their specific city.

The project is a cooperation between Vias institute and Polis (both Belgian), Stichting Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek SWOV (The Netherlands), the Technical University of Dresden (Germany) and the Institute of Transport Economics TØI (Norway). The project was funded by the Conference of European Directors of Roads (CEDR).