The Pedestrian and Bicycle Transportation System of Oulu

摘要

Oulu is the largest city in northern Finland with some 110,000 inhabitants. In this city thernmodal split was in 1995 as follows: car traffic 50%, public transportation 6 %, cycling 35 %rnand walking 9 %. During winter the share of cycling is around 20 %. The share of cyclingrnhas increased by about 4 % annually in the years 1990 - 1995. The use of helmets isrngradually gaining more popularity with some 20 % of cyclists wearing a helmet today.rnThe pedestrian and bicycle transportation system of Oulu has often been referred to as thernmost developed system in Finland. In the international comparison, the system competesrnsuccessfully, too. Oulu has been the model for the city of Hutchinson (Minnesota, USA)rnwhere a pilot project for pedestrian and bicycle traffic planning was started in 1993. Oulu isrnalso the first Finnish city and the first winter city to join the Cities for Cyclists network ofrnECF. The pedestrian and bicycle route network bridges and the connecting paths in therndelta of the Oulujoki river where awarded with the title the bicycle route of 1996. Thisrnannual award is given to the most beautiful bicycle route in the country.rnThe pedestrian and bicycle transportation system has evolved through consistent andrnextensive co-operational development efforts in the past decades. It has taken considerablerneconomic investments to create 300 km of public bicycle routes and 130 bridges. Thernbicycle routes are maintained operational in the arctic winter period of northern Finland.rnThe greatest challenge today is the maintenance of the system and the enhancement ofrnbicycle use. For the city of Oulu cycling is a mode of public transportation and the onlyrnmode from a sustainable development perspective.rnHow has the pedestrian and bicycle transportation system been created? How does itrnfunction and in what ways is it to be developed for future needs?