The Seville Bicycling Story

What Seville Accomplished for Better Cycling: a good model for Alexandria

Installed a 50 mile low-stress, child-friendly bicycle network in just four years
Bicycling share of transportation mode increased from nearly 0 to 10%
- Bikes serve 70,000 trips daily, compared with their light rail line at 44,000 daily trips
- Costs were $36 million versus $906 million for light rail
35% of cyclists are women
Seville is a world leader – Calgary and Edmonton copied the model by quickly building low-stress, child-friendly bicycle network in their downtowns to demonstrate the concepts and build political support

How they did it

Began with poll in which 90% of respondents said cycling infrastructure was good for the city, demonstrating strong political support for cycling to elected officials
Delivered entire network within single four-year election cycle
“It starts working, and the people see that it works, and then they support it” although tweaks were made after completion
Everyone was invited to take part in the design

Relevance for Alexandria

Cycling in this region has been increasing for the past 20 years
Infrastructure has been struggling to catch up.
The Seville story says the reverse model works – we should build a complete cycling network quickly
Cycling infrastructure costs are lower by an order of magnitude compared to mass transit or highways
Many Alexandrians say they would bike if they felt safe – separated cycling lanes provide that important sense of safety.

Watch the Video.