The Koeport garage is a recent underground garage system near the market square of Delft. It was created as part of a 4 garage system to stop cars from going through the center of city. Along with the garage, the traffic plan also closed down the road Oostsingel to cars. Oostingel can still be used by pedestrians and cyclists even though cars are not allowed. This traffic plan was genious in that it allows cars to get close to the market square but not through. Through traffic brings no economic value to the city, in fact: it only adds more traffic and safety hazards throughout the city. People should be able to access the city by car but only through limited roads. Instead of taking the through road: Oostsingel, people can taked the parallel by pass. At our lecture at Den Haag Frank Botma told us that their city also did this to most of there city center roads. As a result to this and many other changes they made Den Haag much safer and the citizens much happier. Pedestrian and cyclist only roads brings a sense of peace and safety to the citizens of the town. The Koeport garage, also known as the Market garage is open 24/7 for the convenience of those driving to the market square and surrounding businesses. The front sign at the opening even lets drivers know how many parking spots are available in the garage. This is so that drivers are not wasting time looking through the underground garage if they know there is no spots. There is a fee of €2.20 per hour and €7.00 per day. Having a fee for parking encourages people to walk and cycle. The Netherlands always encourages walking and cycling over driving, this is evident by the numerous amounts of pedestrian/cycle roads and the intricate network of cycle paths throughout the country.

Inside the Market garage a spiralized ramp with beautiful architecture can be seen. This is similar to Rotterdam where every building has unique architecture. They could put in a regular parking garage for less money but the Dutch value the uniqueness and the beauty of architecture. When you are in the garage you do not even feel like you are underground, the bright lighting and playful floor paint make you feel safe and well taken care of.

I believe we could shut down some of the through roads in Kelowna. Downtown Kelowna could be all pedestrian and cyclist only roads and the small businesses would still thrive! All of downtown is human-sized and therefore could be walked easily without taking too much time. To do this, similar garages to the Market garage would have to be provided on the outside of downtown.

 

#10: Haantje

Background

Haantje is a road just outside of Delft in a town called Rijswijk. Haantje is a suburban road that contains both residential houses and businesses. The length of Haantje is 1.09 km long and follows a canal the whole way. There is one railroad crossing on Haantje.

Current Conditions

Haantje contains mostly single family homes that are at most two stories tall. There are also a few businesses and shops such as car rentals and a mechanic. Even though the road has a high speed of 50 km/h there is no bike separation. There is two mixed-use lanes for cars and bike, a single marked parking lane, and a sidewalk for pedestrians on the side of the houses. When I walked down Haantje I realized how busy this suburban road really is; I counted 25 vehicles pass me in a time span of ten minutes. That is a high amount of traffic for a residential road. There was also a few cyclists on the road as well. I may not have had a good representation of the number of cyclists usually on Haantje due to the fact that it was raining when I walked down the road. The Dutch always know when to and when not to cycle because of the Doppler app. There are currently painted ‘X’ marks in the driveways of the parking lane. This painted symbol is to stop cars from blocking driveways on Haantje. The railroad crossing has a ramp and raised intersection so vehicles and cyclists can cross safely. This increase in elevation is marked by white painted lines to warn the drivers/cyclists of the change in road. It is obvious that an effort has been put in to calm traffic/ increase safety because there is a mirror for turning traffic, a speed sensor, and a sign warning drivers it is a bus route.

Diagnosis and Changes

Haantje does not meet the Dutch safety standards that you can see in Delft. It is very dangerous having mixed traffic on such a busy road and such a high speed. To encourage cycling I would add a cycle track on each side of the road. To make room for this cycle track I would get rid of the single lane of parking. There is enough parking in driveways and green spaces in front of businesses to allow the demand of cars in the area. Having a cycle track along the canal would allow for a beautiful, scenic ride and encourage biking over driving. I would also change the speed of the road to 30 km/h instead of 50. 30 km/h is the standard speed for residential roads in the Netherlands. Due to high rail traffic that crosses Haantje, I would add warning lights right before the crossing to warn drivers and cyclists of the train. An example of this can be seen in front on Delft Technical University where cyclists and pedestrians have to cross the tram tracks.