A COMPARISON OF EUROPEAN EXPERIMENTAL CYCLING PROJECTS IN NOTTINGHAM (UK), DELFT (NL) AND DETMOLD (FRG) ---PROCEEDINGS VELO CITY 87 INTERNATIONAL CONGRESS. PLANNING FOR THE URBAN CYCLIST, MARTINIHAL CENTRE GRONINGEN, NETHERLANDS, 22-26 SEPTEMBER, 1987.

As a result of concern in a number of European countries that provision for cyclists has substantially decreased safety, comfort and convenience for the very people they were supposed to benefit, the European cyclists' federation has adopted a policy statement on providing facilities for cyclists. This statement is as follows: for cycle facilities to be acceptable, and successful, they must be: (a) direct; (b) safe; (c) attractive to cyclists; and (D) well signposted. The three government demonstration projects in Nottingham, Delft and detmold are reviewed with direct reference to the demands made in that statement. The paper is not a technical report on the width of one type of path compared with another. It is more of a consumers view of the facilities that have been provided. Consideration is given to some fundamental questions regarding cycle planning, drawing on the experience of these demonstration projects. For example: (a) should cycle facilities be made compulsory? (b) is shared use of paths with pedestrians desirable and/or attractive? (c) are special cycle facilities a priority for improving conditions for cyclists? And (d) what are the most useful developments for cyclists?(a) for the covering abstract of the conference see IRRD 816307.