Making the Historic City Centre of Delft car-âfree. Spek, Stefan Christiaan van der â MSc PhD. Assistant professor Urban Design. Delft University of Technology.
Improving city centres for pedestrians Making the Historic City Centre of Delft car-‐free
Spek, Stefan Christiaan van der – MSc PhD Assistant professor Urban Design
Delft University of Technology Faculty of Architecture, Urbanism and Building Sciences | Department of Urbanism | Chair of Urban Design Visiting address Julianaln 132-‐134 | 2628BL | BG.West.800 | Postal address BG.West.620 | PO BOX 5043 | 2600GA | DELFT | +31 15 278 9860 | +31 6 3925 0981
Abstract Context
City centres are changing. More and more do they compete with suburban centres or other cities. Jan Gehl has proven that making historic cities car-‐free AND improving the conditions for pedestrians is a vital strategy (Hoeven et al, 2008). Since 2000 the City of Delft is implementing car-‐free zones in the historic city centre (with a lot of scepsis and opposition). In 2009 the results were evaluated. Delft carried out several questionnaires. The results were very positive – over 70% of the people appreciated the city more since implementing the car-‐free zones (DIP/2009) In this short paper I will discus the implementation and evaluation of making the city of Delft car-‐free: a essential intervention to keep the historic city alive, make it more attractive and improve the city centre for pedestrians.
‘Once there were cars. Now there is public space: a place for walking, a place for playing, a place for staying, a place for enjoying!’
Biography
Stefan van der Spek studied architecture at TU Delft followed by a PhD thesis called ‘Connectors – the Way beyond Transferring’. After finishing his PhD he became Assistant Professor for the Chair of Urban Design and started SC.Design: Office for Design and Consultancy, Architecture – Urban Design. Today, he is lecturer in the MSc and BSc for the Departments of Urbanism and Architecture and researcher in the field of Urban Design in ‘Activity Patterns in Public Space’. In January 2007 an international expert meeting was organised called ‘Urbanism on Track’. More information: http://bk.tudelft.nl/uot.
Introduction
A decade ago the City of Delft decided that the way to improve their historic city centre would be by reducing car accessibility (http://raad.delft.nl/raad/agenda/2001/Stukken/st34feb.htm). A plan consisting of four stages resulting in a car-‐free city was developed. Starting with some car-‐free squares taking out parked cars, which did not add any value to public space, most of the historic city is a car-‐free zone now. Evaluations show that the city centre is far more appreciated now: 70% of the people living in Delft assess the city as more pleasurable and more enjoyable since the realization of car-‐free zones. Two-‐third of the inhabitants think that the living conditions have improved radically. More important: almost 70% of the people supports continuation and thus further extension of the car-‐free city project (DIP, 2009).
Background
In the nineties the city of Delft concluded from a political and social point of view that its historic city centre urgently needed an upgrade to preserve and improve its unique cultural and historical values. In 1998 a vision was made called ‘The City centre of Delft: a quality impulse for the next century’. Central theme of the vision was the preservation of the historic city centre: the city centre of Delft is a unique historic example. The main approach to improve the centre was to reduce hindrance of car traffic and occupation of space by cars such as parking and logistics. Why should cars park in the middle of a historic city centre? This should result in more attractive public space and higher quality of public space (http://raad.delft.nl/commissies/cultuur_kennis/2006/Raadsstukken/c_2006_817142-‐2_r.html).
This paper….
This paper discusses the application of ‘car-‐free city’ for the city of Delft based on official documents and evaluations of the municipality. The first general question is: ‘What is a car-‐free city?’ After explaining this, the paper shows the implementation in Delft through time in a general way. After that, some issues are discussed: ‘Who will benefit?’ Finally, conclusions are drawn based on the Delft case.
What is car-‐free city?
Cities are hardly completely car-‐free. Sometimes, car access is essential for some functions: for inhabitant, for logistics, for events or for emergency. The approach in Delft is not based on completely banning car traffic, but on reducing car access to a minimum: Logistics are allowed only during specific hours (slots), but parking cars is not allowed anymore. Visitors cannot access the centre by car, inhabitants and shopkeepers limitedly. Therefore, new parking facilities outside the historic centre are constructed for visitors and inhabitants. Essential measurement is the reduction of parking spaces: changing streets and squares from car-‐dominant occupation into high quality and attractive public space. Delft offers three types of domains in public space: 1. pedestrian zone – for pedestrians only (bikes sometimes allowed) 2. car-‐free zone – priority for pedestrians and bikes, cars allowed as ‘guest’ 3. other – all traffic allowed A car-‐free city requires controlled access points, access street for logistics, short-‐time parking facilities nearby, long-‐time parking facilities at the edges. A clear parking system, including guiding, is essential to provide quick access to the city.
Stages (and secondary measurements)
The city developed a plan in four stages: it took 10 years to realise all stages. The stages include investment in public space and investment in parking facilities outside the city. In stage ONE the Northern part of the city centre was made car-‐free. This part consists of small streets and canals with unique, local shops and art galleries. A new parking policy for the centre and its surrounding neighbourhoods was introduced. In stage TWO the central market, adjacent to stage one, was made car free. For years, half of the central market was dedicated parking for visitors and inhabitants. Only on Thursdays, the market was used for other activities. In stage, the access streets to the market are for buses (and logistics) and bikes only. The market becomes free for new activities and events, and returns the new vital core of the city. In stage THREE the new shopping area becomes pedestrian zone and is connected to the Northern part by the Central Market area. A new parking facility is realised offering several hundred parking places. This city redevelopment area contains large scale shopping, stores, a huge supermarket, a huge movie theatre and housing. In the final stage FOUR surrounding streets and squares are cleared from parking and renovated: Streets are transformed in attractive walking routes, squares are transformed in interesting places to stay. The priority changes from car to pedestrian. The city offers new space for attractions and activities. The final stage was depending on the construction of a huge parking facility on the east side of the city. Now, the city offers three parking garages: Phoenix (West), Zuidpoort Mall (South) and Koepoort (East). Only the in the Northern part is not covered yet.
Figure 1: cars, (monitored) access points, and pedestrian alleys
Issues
Of course inhabitants and especially shopkeepers were not keen on the idea of reducing car access and parking in the city centre. Firstly, people have to get used not to have their car parked in front of their house. For shopping, you cannot park in front of or nearby the shop anymore. The question is if the access influences the competition with suburban shopping centres. A good car park guiding system is essential to offer efficient parking and to keep people coming to the historic centre. Further, hopefully people start using more sustainable forms of transportation: ie start biking or walking to the centre. New bike storages offering free parking or very cheap but safe parking to stimulate biking have been opened since a few years. A second aspect is the access route from parking to the destination. The access streets were designed for traffic: cars and logistics. These streets need to change into pedestrian friendly streets: larger curbsides, less parking, more attractive facades and shop windows. From the parking it should be very clear where to go to find your destination. A third issue is routing. By extending pedestrian streets, logical routes for cars, bikes and logistics should be retained. In Delft the bike network was extended – several pedestrian streets are now available for bikes as well making the city better accessible. Bike and pedestrian can coexist: 85% of the people disagree with banning the bike. Finally, for the city itself it is not only a question of taking out traffic by putting ‘pollards’ and ‘traffic signs’. Public space needs to be redefined and redesigned for its new primary function. Streets and especially squares should offer new places to stay, places for activities. This includes new furniture, new layout and street and city lighting plans. In Delft the former street and historic curbside are integrated creating a flat street, comparable with ‘shared space’ designs but including the historic elements. Barriers and obstacles should be minimised to improve walking quality (http://raad.delft.nl/commissies/cultuur_kennis/2006/Raadsstukken/c_2006_817142-‐2_r.html). These type of investments in public space are essential. Otherwise, the result will be an empty centre.
Figure 2: Shopping streets and squares within the pedestrian-zone
Conclusions
Making a city centre car-‐free seems successful based on the Delft case: according to evaluations inhabitants and visitors appreciate the pedestrian-‐friendly city. More and more people agree with the principles and continuation of the strategy: ‘Less cars is more quality’. Making a city car-‐free requires planning, time and money: a consistent idea for the future city should be developed including a strategy for alternative access and substitute parking facilities. Clear information for all (future) users is essential to be successful!
References
Hoeven, FD van der, Smit, MGJ, Spek, SC van der (editors), ‘Street Level Desires – Discovering the City on Foot’, Booksurge Publishing, Charleston, South Carolina, USA, 2008 Websites (Dutch only): http://raad.delft.nl/raad/agenda/2001/Stukken/st34feb.htm http://raad.delft.nl/commissies/cultuur_kennis/2006/Raadsstukken/c_2006_817142-‐2_r.html
