Freiburg im Breisgau

A couple of weeks back, I took you on a little tour of Vauban, a neighbourhood in the southern German city of Freiburg im Breisgau. This week, I'm taking a look at the city centre itself.

There's no Google Streetview in Germany which is a disadvantage when trying to double check where one has been, but in common with many of the places we have visited on our mainland jaunts, we have stayed at campsites on the edges of cities where we have the ability to get to by car (5 of us and full camping kit), but to travel into the city by public transport and Freiburg was no different.

We stayed at Busses Camping on the edge of the city because it was a short (1km) walk to a tram stop and as mentioned in the previous post, we could also rent a Donkey Republic hire bike. We arrived on a Thursday afternoon and after getting set up, we were eager to head into the city. My son and I rented bikes and we met my wife and girls in the city as they went by public transport. On the Friday, my son and I cycled to Vauban and then met up with the others after. On both trips, we got the tram back.

Freiburg has an historic core surrounded by a ring road and a couple of large roads going out to join the motorway network. There is an extensive tram network in the city which connects the edges to the centre and at the city's station just to the west of the ring road, there is interchange with trams and buses. The tram and bus network is owned by the city's transit company VAG;

Cycling around the city is OK, but infrastructure is still designed around the car and some large junctions are quite intimidating such as here on Basler Straße with its lovely murderstrip;

We had been travelling along an OK cycle track (shared-use, segregated) and we needed to turn left towards Vauban. Our route meant we had to leave the track into a cycle lane between an ahead and left traffic lanes because we had to turn in two stages, despite the road layout and markings not being helpful. Many of the large junctions are like this and in dire need of work to make them feel safe. The main roads had cycle lanes and tracks, but quality varied meaning it was hard to relax.

There were also glimpses at some 1970's style engineering such as this underpass at Schwartzwaldstraße which tries to compensate for the large road running through the adjacent neighbourhood. In fact, the tram and the car compete for speed along this corridor to the east of the city showing it's possibly too easy to drive around;

Closer into the old city, the neighbourhoods are older and streets narrower and so there's quite a bit of filtering of traffic and contraflow one-way working making the layout quite familiar with other parts of Europe;

Although in many cases, it was all a bit inconsistent and we did feel exposed to poor driver behaviour in some places. There was some protection, but again, it was just painted lines on the footway;

It does rather seem like a bit of a basic network was built, but nothing has really been developed and things like this dropped kerb reminds us who the streets are for;

Still, there were plenty of people cycling and so at least that does show progress. I haven't cycled extensively in Germany, but what I saw wasn't vastly different to what I saw along the North Sea coast area, so it's not an isolated design issue;

In contrast to the edges and the area around the ring road, the city centre is completely different, although to get there you are lumped in with people on foot such as this toucan (two stage) crossing over Schlossburgring to the south-east corner of the old city;

However, once inside the old city the change is striking. There is some access to traffic, but the centre is largely the domain of walking and cycling with the odd tram going past (well, quite a few in some streets) and it is wonderful (and tricky to follow without Streetview);

The city centre streets are quite logically laid out with more defined walkways on the wider streets, clear space for cycle parking and of course the tramways;

One fascinating feature of the city centre is the network of rills which were originally built to supply water to parts of the city;

Freiburg's city centre is extremely walkable and walking-friendly. There are plenty of cobbles which are not always great walking surfaces, but the level of maintenance means that most of the time, they don't present a problem. There are also lots of hidden places where peace from the crowds can be found;

The quality of the paving is something for the budding kerbnerd to behold. Here we have the "carriageway" area to the left in smooth cobbles with a bitumen pointing to keep things nice and flat. A water rill and then a footway made from small stones which have been cut on half and bedded in to provide a flat walking surface;

I also loved the inset mosaics in front of businesses which explained what the business was, like this office for the city transit company;

Back out from the centre and back on a bike, there is also some interesting developments of bicycle streets (Fahrradstraße) which essentially prioritise cycle traffic with local access or other traffic restrictions. At junctions, the cycle route has priority and it means cycle speeds can be maximised;

Freiburg is definitely a place to visit for a few lazy days and the transport system and walkable city is a joy to use. If only the city could tame the car a bit more and build some decent cycle tracks on the main roads!

The Ethical Question

Yesterday saw the global climate strike and as I was on the train to work, it led me to pose a question on Twitter about how my industry should respond.

The tweet spawned some really good debate during the day and I am grateful for the various options and comments given. There was of course a wider discussion across Twitter and it had me thinking for most of the day to the point where I thought it might be helpful to put some longer thoughts down. Of course, the best tweets have a mistake in them because I of course meant conscientious objectors!

I think that a largest issue we face is that we are dealing with irrational humans who in the main cannot grasp the enormity of the situation. In fact, there are stark parallels with the only piece of management training that has stuck with me - the Kübler-Ross model of the five stages of grief (something I have covered before) and while it has its critics, it serves a useful reference point of me - as an engineer, I like to have things nicely compartmentalised!

• Denial
• Anger
• Bargaining
• Depression
• Acceptance

Literally, we have climate change deniers which covers people who simply do not believe there is a problem and people who know full well what is going on, but their interests depend on denying it.

I think I have to put a chunk of my industry at the first stage given the type of schemes we are working on, but is it as simple as that? Let's take the expansion of Heathrow Airport. Should everyone in the industry simply say "no, we're not going to work on it as we'd be complicit in adding fuel to the fire"? 

The problem with the purist approach is that there is absolutely no way anyone is going to get everyone involved to simply walk away from a project like this and to think that would happen is naive. I'm afraid that's a hard truth for many to understand because at the same time as we are campaigning for the future of our children, there are people working in the industry (and indeed at the airport) who rely on their jobs to feed their children. 

This brings us to the next stage - anger. So we are past denying climate change, but we are angry. Those of us in the West are being told we need to radically change our lives and this means being less comfortable than we are now - it especially sticks in the craw when we are being told this by the Boomer generation who have had it all (wait until you hear about the people on our planet with nothing). People working on the Heathrow scheme are now being vilified for their involvement and they are now angry after investing their careers in the airport.

But hang on, we can maintain our standard of living because we are clever. What we can now do is develop a whole new technology of electrically powered aircraft. We can use public transport to support the expansion and so in doing so, we protect jobs and people can carry on as they are. Of course, many people cleverer than I will tell us that we simply don't have the resources on the planet to decarbonise Western transport with a business as usual approach. It doesn't matter because other people cleverer than I think we can mine the materials we need from space. Yes, we are now in the bargaining stage.

Eventually, we realise that we do in fact need to change, but it's a massive challenge and as individuals or companies, we cannot possibly deal with climate change. We may as well crack on and expand the airport because after all, the UK's contribution to climate change is nowhere as much as other countries. It is extends to the personal as well, we can cycle, eat less meat and put solar panels on our roof, but it needs government-level change.

Finally, we accept the reality of climate change and we realise that effort is needed individually, locally, regionally, nationally and internationally. We also accept that people and systems are not binary, we accept that people are fallible and we realise that every step taken is important. Perhaps over time, people is West London decide that a career at Heathrow isn't for them. People choose or are taxed to the extent where there isn't so much demand and expansion plans are scaled back or shelved. Designers start to see that there is more work in rail electrification and so start bidding on those projects.

Beyond the five stages of grief, we can talk about my industry as a profession and by that I mean that the professional institutions, trade bodies and societies with their membership need to start discussing climate change with a great deal more urgency. This discussion also needs to permeate through to where we all work too. As someone said to me yesterday, we can come up with a low-carbon motorway, but it's still a motorway!

In parallel to the people working on the Heathrow expansion, I have many years invested in my industry and at least in the medium term, I can't see myself doing anything else. It's probably ironic that I'm a highways engineer who doesn't support road building, but we are where we are and I know it is possible for me, my colleagues and my industry to use our skills and knowledge to do better. A properly designed and constructed cycleway uses the same kind of knowledge and design process as building a road after all!

So back to my original question;

"Do we refuse to work on roads schemes as conscientious objectors, or do we try an influence how they're done?"

I'm in agreement with my peers who responded to the tweet saying both. If the government is absolutely determined to expand Heathrow, then perhaps working on the project to make sure airport workers can easily cycle to work is better than throwing our hands up in the air as the runway surface is laid. 

We are expanding our trunk road network and so is it possible that we can argue for grade separated crossings as part of a dualling scheme at the same time as arguing against the scheme (close to home that one) - perhaps we can make that argument while taking a general position against expanding the road network. Can we work on a new retail park, but at the same time encourage our client to make walking and cycling into it/ around it easier than driving?

I know there may well be a whiff of cognitive dissonance here, but what is the alternative? If everyone in my industry who are even vaguely aware of the scale of climate change stopped working on anything vaguely damaging, then I'm afraid there are plenty of people who don't know about the impacts of climate change or are not bothered and so I actually think it is very important that we are in the thick of it trying to push change. 

As members of institutions, trade bodies and societies, we should keep raising the issue of climate change - even the odd letter to a trade magazine means the message reaches other people or a question at a learned society meeting might challenge the status quo. Getting people elected to boards and councils will help shift an organisations position. There are lots of things we can do to make a difference.

I think this Mister Gotcha cartoon by Matt Bors probably sums things up for me quite well;

Of course, you may disagree with me. In fact I want you to disagree because we need to be challenged at every stage. But I will put this to you as well - I think we need people out on the streets shouting for change for sure, but we also need people sitting in client meetings and institution meetings putting the case for change. It's not either or.

Suburban Serenity

Long before I got interested in how our urban places are put together I read about the city of Freiburg in southwest Germany and more specifically, the neighbourhood of Vauban which was built as a low-car eco-development.

A few weeks ago I finally managed to visit as we'd picked Freiburg im Breisgau (to give the city its full name) as a camping stop on the homeward leg of our summer holiday. I'll write about the city another time, but for this week, let's have a look around Vauban. The neighbourhood is to the south of the city, about 3km southwest of the city centre.

To get there, my son and I hired a couple of bikes from Donkey Republic, a system I used last year in Copenhagen and Malmö which conveniently had a virtual docking station at our campsite on the edge of the Waldsee neighbourhood to the east, arriving at about 11am on a Friday morning.

We cycled about 5.5km along a range of roads and streets which I'll cover in another post. We entered Vauban via the main street, Vaubanallee which runs roughly east-west through the centre of the neighbourhood. 

Vaubanallee does several things. Along the centre, there are a pair of tram tracks providing a connection to the city - they are actually one line because the route loops at the western end of the neighbourhood forming an interchange with a little bus station. The speed limit is 30kph throughout.

To the north of the tram line there a wide pedestrian boulevard within which cycling is permitted;

To the south of the railway line there is a carriageway providing access for motor vehicles;

The key thing about the road layout is that it is completely filtered. You can drive into the neighbourhood and you can access the streets, but you cannot drive through. Modal filtering before it was famous!

The street layout has been designed in such a way that walking and cycling is welcomed everywhere. It is all shared-use, but because it is a fully accessible grid, there is not going to be any conflict to worry about;

Motor traffic can access some streets off Vaubanallee, but drivers are guests because of the home zone approach taken with little loops for motors which removes the need for turning heads;

There were cars around and some parked up in the side streets such as this guy who was cleaning out his car;

Even late morning, there were plenty of people about, mainly using cycles to travel and what was striking was just how quiet the place was;

It's a mixed density development with flats and houses, but it is arranged in such a way that it feels open and spacious - not having wide roads for traffic and parking means more space for landscaping and greenery;

There is some on-street parking along Vaubanallee, including loading space, accessible parking, pay-and-display and e-charging;

So, where are all the cars because Germany is not famous for being car-free. Well, Vauban is low-car rather than car-free because residents can own a car, it's just they can't leave it on the street, it has to be parked in a communal car park which they pay for, perhaps reflecting the true cost of storage. A city car club does allow people access to a car if they need one. 

One other eco-feature within the street network is a series of swales do deal with surface water run-off;

For more information on the background to the development, please look at Steve Melia's 2006 report of his visit. It's a fantastic concept, but it shows that decent public transport and access to cycling networks are required to give people genuine transport options. Definitely a place to spend time in if you get a chance.

Take Me Down To Luxembourg City

Take me down to Luxembourg City where the grass is green and the trams are pretty. Yes, I've been on holiday and of course, there was plenty of interesting transport-related stuff to see. This week, Luxembourg City.

Nestled between France, Germany and Belgium, Luxembourg is a small country and Luxembourg City is by far the largest urban area, although with around just under 120,000 citizens, its population and physical size seem small to an Outer London borough resident like me! First, here's my usual health warning that my views should be tempered with the fact that this was a holiday and a few days doesn't allow one to become an expert on how a city works!

We stayed at a campsite right on the edge of the city, some 4.5km from the historic core which is served by a a bus route which runs between one of the city's park and ride sites and the centre. We arrived on a Saturday during the city's Schueberfouer Fair season and which had free weekend bus travel to encourage people into the city. In fact, under 20s have free travel in any case.

So, we got the bus times and wandered to the stop for the 18 route passing the campsite and immediately had a taste of some of what was to come;

We had to wait at a temporary bus stop because of major road works along one of the main routes into the city, but a new pedestrian crossing and accessible bus stops were being built as part of the upgrade. Further north into the city, the works continued, including some bus priority. The 18 route is direct and has fairly well-spaced stops which works well with the high capacity bendy buses being used;

On the buses themselves we were treated to real-time route mapping which shows stops and interchange options (including cycling). Sorry London, this is head and shoulders above London Buses' offering!

The city bus network is extensive and so it is pretty simple to catch a bus from the suburbs to the city centre;

There were also plenty of roadworks going on in the city such as here on Boulevard Royal where the city's new tram line is being extended;

I did have half an idea to rent a cycle and pootle around the city, but the traffic on the main roads and the roadworks did rather put me off, so that might have to be a future visit. There is, however, a popular hire bike scheme operating in the city the Vel'oh with 100 docking stations across the city.

Getting into the city core immediately saw the noise left behind to an area which is largely pedestrianised;

There are some streets which still allow motor traffic and despite the park and ride sites outside the city, there are still city centre car parks which are by no means expensive. Seeing a pop-up beach built on an underground car park at the Place du Théâtre makes me wonder if there is a tussle going on with the car!

For cycling, there are routes through the city core along with contraflow cycling in one way streets. The busiest shopping streets don't allow cycling at peak times which is a bit disappointing, but similar to other cities I have visited - cutting through the city core is far nicer than the main roads of course.

The Place d' Armes is a wonderful square in the middle of the city which not only has extra seating for the resturants flanking it, but space for public events such as markets;

There is also a bandstand at one end which brought some music to the proceedings;

Away from the core, there are some large roads, including Avenue Emile Reuter which cuts through the city's Parc Municipal, although at least there is a half decent walking and cycling crossing to connect the two parts;

One very surprising thing we found was the Pfaffenthal neighbourhood to the northwest of the city centre along the Alzette River which flows within a gorge. An old part of the city is on the floor of the gorge and to connect the neighbourhood with the rest of the city, we found some unusual pieces of public transport. The Ascenseur Panoramique du Pfaffenthal connects the edge of the Parc Municipal to the Rue du Pont;

As well as being a great tourist attraction, the 71m elevator is free and open between 6am and 1am providing a direct and much needed public transport link between the two parts of the city.

On the other side of the gorge, there an another impressive piece of public transport in the form of the Pfaffenthal-Kirchberg Funicular which  gets people from the floor of the gorge up to Pfaffenthal-Kirchberg Station which also interchanges with the tram back to the city centre;

It's an impressive piece of engineering and of course another piece of fun to be had by a tourist!

There was more astonishment to be had. As we got out of the elevator, a sign caught our eye for the City Shuttle.

It's a test for autonomous vehicles which sees a 15 seater electric AV bus run between the elevator and the funicular;

Again, it was a but of fun, but on the serious side for me, it does rather suggest how far the technology has to go. The shuttle had a safety attendant who did have to fiddle with the on board computer to get the thing to move properly and the sensors were extremely cautious where other vehicles and people were concerned.

It's certainly interesting to see something running on live streets and not the test tracks and closed systems I have seen so far and potentially this could be a useful innovation to help people move within larger pedestrianised areas who might otherwise struggle, but there is a long way to go.

The tram system is being built and opened in stages and will eventually interchange with the city's central train station;

At the Pfaffenthal-Kirchberg Station stop, there was also a secure cycle park which hints at the efforts the city is making to link transit with cycling as a transport solution;

One thing which I found interesting (not being up on tram technology) is that some parts of the route ran without overhead wires which would great from a streetscape point of view and in some places, the route was almost like a linear park;

Finally, we have the rail system. With buses and the (under construction) tram connecting with Gare Centrale (central station), people making longer journeys can easily join one of the comfortable double-decker trains (modelled here with #TheDoodle);

The station serves as a hub for the rest of the country along with international services which really shows how the county is trying to position itself from a public transport point of view. Of course, the trains also have clearly marked cycling provision;

From a public transport integration point of view, Luxembourg City is fascinating because it is still clearly a place lots of people drive, but the alternatives are being built. I hope in the future there is some car restraint in the centre so space can be given back to the people. Even more astonishingly, public transport will be free across the whole country from next year.

That's not to say the outlook is utopia. There is criticism that the infrastructure is not keeping up with growth and demand and certainly I'm aware that away from the city, public transport is more patchy and the infrastructure old and in need of upgrade. This article from City Metric is probably a fair tempering of my holiday enthusiasm and reminds us of how much of a status symbol cars are for many people.

What Luxembourg City does show, however, is that there is a vision to make things better which is being backed up by civil engineering on the street and I wish them the best of luck with it.