The City of Oulu is considered the capital of Northern Finland and one of Europe's "living labs." With more than 200,000 inhabitants, Oulu is the 5th largest city in Finland and the fastest-growing city of Arctic Europe. Furthermore, Oulu is committed to becoming carbon neutral by 2035.
Although snowy weather in Oulu can last up to 6 months or longer, Oulu is the cycling capital of Finland and the “unofficial” winter cycling capital of the world. Oulu’s cycling history dates back to the early 1970s when the city approved its first Development Plan for Bicycle and Pedestrian Traffic (1972). It was then that the gradual but consistent development of cycling infrastructure in Oulu and its surrounding areas started. The city planners and traffic engineers understood the importance of cycling and made several clever decisions to ensure a fast and safe cycling experience. This included separating cycling paths from vehicular traffic, connecting key destinations with the shortest route possible, and avoiding street crossings to limit conflicts with cars.
More than 50 years later, the development of cycling infrastructure is still part of Oulu’s Strategy and Environmental Programme. The city approved a plan for building cycling superhighways in 2018 to redevelop the old infrastructure and improve the existing cycling network by incorporating modern design guidelines in line with the current and expected level of usage (number of cyclists). Developing cycling superhighways in Oulu means:
- widening the existing cycling paths from 3.0m to 6.6m;
- separating pedestrians and cyclists;
- removing dangerous intersections;
- smoothing sharp turns;
- avoiding traffic lights;
- building new underpasses;
- overhauling the street lighting infrastructure;
- improving the stormwater management system;
- designing for winter.
Oulu plans to build 75 km of cycling superhighways by 2030. The city has already built 19 km of cycling superhighways since 2018, and the next 22 km are already in the planning stage. Moreover, the city is also building new underpasses and installing traffic-yielding signs when needed to make the cycling experience even more convenient.
Oulu’s success is easily demonstrated through numbers. More than 70% of Oulu’s residents cycle at least now and then, and 40% cycle weekly. An average citizen in Oulu cycles 562 km/year, which is twice the amount of an average citizen in Finland (266 km/year).
What were the key drivers supporting the implementation?
- Political support & commitment: Oulu is a good example of a city with a long-term vision, political support, and a systemic approach to developing and investing in cycling infrastructure. The city has gradually but continuously been developing a comprehensive and well-connected cycling network in its urban and surrounding areas, ensuring that citizens can cycle safely at least 20 km in any direction from the city centre. The city also has an annual budget for cycling infrastructure to ensure continuous availability of funding (partially subsidised by national funding in recent years).
- Geographic context: Oulu and its surrounding areas are located in a geographically flat region with abundant nature areas providing favourable conditions for cycling.
- Urban design and land use planning: The choices made by city officials and traffic engineers when developing the original cycling paths (separated from car traffic, using public spaces & nature areas) have enabled the possibility to expand the cycling paths into cycling superhighways thanks to the availability of space. In many instances, Oulu has been prioritising cycling over car traffic by introducing yielding signs for car traffic and ensuring the maintenance of cycling infrastructure over city streets, especially in winter. Finally, the municipality has continuously pushed for the promotion of an active lifestyle for their citizens through actions such as the development of a school and kindergarten network that is well connected with the cycling network and the provision of sufficient bicycle and parking spaces.
- Communication: Positive messaging is crucial for building everyday cycling culture, for example by avoiding framing cycling as a sports activity, but creating an image that cycling is an everyday activity accessible to everyone in any weather and without any specific equipment.
What were the challenges and barriers?
- Changing the mindset: It is challenging to change the mindset of designers, city officials, and people. It is an ongoing process that continues to spark debate amongst Oulu’s citizens and at a political level. One of the examples is the decision to replace street-level car parking with bicycle parking spaces in the city centre.
- Technical know-how: There are no design guidelines for cycling superhighways; therefore, Oulu has been developing its own quality criteria and innovative solutions to make the cycling experience easier and more enjoyable.
- Environmental impact on nature areas: Expansion of old cycling paths sometimes requires cutting down trees or other major changes in nature areas, which necessitates political and public discussions. This has led to developing methods to deal with and reduce the environmental impact, if possible, and put extra effort in the design phase.
Potential for replication & lessons learned
With sustainable mobility being the key driver for reducing GHG emissions in the transport sector, more and more cities are looking for ways to integrate or improve the cycling experience and foster cycling culture among their residents. Several cities around Europe are starting to upgrade their cycling infrastructure and invest in cycling superhighways as a logical next step in their journey towards sustainable mobility. Moreover, with electrical bicycles gaining popularity, cycling is becoming more accessible to a wider population and a viable option for more diverse geographic contexts.
Regardless of whether a city is only starting to develop their cycling infrastructure or already has a network of cycling paths, several lessons can be learned from Oulu’s example:
- There is no quick way to build cycling infrastructure in the city. It takes years of systemic and targeted investment based on a long-term vision. Oulu’s experience has shown that it takes 20-25 years to change the city and citizen behaviour significantly.
- Creating a safe, pleasant, and inclusive cycling experience is crucial for facilitating behavioural change and cycling culture in the city.
- Consistent prioritisation of cycling is the best way to send a clear message about the city’s values and foster changes in people’s mindsets.
- In comparison to investment in road infrastructure, developing cycling infrastructure or cycling superhighways is a comparatively inexpensive endeavour. For example, Oulu has invested 16M EUR in cycling superhighways over the last eight years in comparison to 115M EUR invested in road infrastructure for the same period. Moreover, some of the creative solutions implemented by Oulu, e.g., traffic-yielding signs, cost very little but have a significant impact on traffic organisation and societal perception of the city’s priorities.