Rostock: Promotion by cycling monitors
Rostock counts cyclists. In total, eight cycling monitors keep track of the number of cyclists on the most important cycling routes in the urban area. “In terms of data collection, prognostics, and traffic planning resulting from it, cyclist thus are increasingly being considered as fully-fledged road users, equal to motorists. After all, the automated data collection with respect to motorized road traffic has been common for years, “ says Senator for Civil and Environmental Engineering, Holger Matthäus. “Thus for the first time the city receives valuable data on the extent of cycling and not, as used to be the case, just once a year, but 365 days of the year, around the clock," says the Senator .
In the first three months, around a quarter of a million cyclists have already passed by the cycling monitor. The data are stored in a box and transmitted by radio. Via internet, the Hanseatic City can then access the information, which has already been validated. These data are also available to the public. On the website of the cycling campaign "Rostock steigt auf" one can find continuously updated data from the cycling monitors. The keyword is “cycling in numbers (Rostock in Zahlen)”: www.radregion-rostock.de/radregion-rostock/radverkehr-in-zahlen
Thanks to the availability of data gathered by the monitors, influences of weather, investment, campaigns, or holidays on the amount of cycle traffic can be analyzed. In addition, the scoreboards serve to advertise cycling. "The message sent out to cyclists is that they are being taken seriously as road users , but the monitors also give the motorist, perhaps stuck in traffic, food for thought and perhaps create some motivation to at least occasionally switch to riding the bicycle," says Senator Holger Matthäus.
Due to the continuous improvement of the cycling situation, authorities expect the number of cyclists to increase in the coming years.
Rostock: 2nd Cycling Monitor at EuroVelo 7
The Hanseatic City of Rostock has installed the second cycling monitor at the long distance cycle route Berlin-Copenhagen / EuroVelo 7 which is also an important route for commuters at this place. The cycling monitor is situated close to touristic highlights in the old town, the city harbor and the busiest road in the region. The new cycling monitor indicates the number of cyclists per day and per year on a big display and additionally temperature and time. The inauguration ceremony on 20th of June attracted a lot of press media as well as project partners and interested inhabitants. Senator for construction and environment Holger Matthäus unveiled the cycling monitor together with Magdalena Struwe who is one of three winners of the photo competition “face of the cycling region Rostock” in the frame of the first climate action day "Straße frei" 16th of September 2012.
1st Cycling Monitor in Rostock
Rostock has built up the first Cycling Monitor in the city in September 2012. It is situated in the “Lange Straße” close to the pedestrian zone in the inner city. The Cycling Monitor shows the number of passing cyclist per day and per year on a display. The cyclists are counted by a loop in the cycle lane.
Three more cycling counters without display have been installed in Rostock in September 2012:
- Am Strande / Holzhalbinsel
- Hamburger Straße / Braesigplatz
- Hamburger Straße / Liningweg
The investment was prepared by the engineering office LOGOS from Rostock. A call for tenders has been performed and decided in July 2012. The counting technology is developed by the company Eco-Counter from France. The display for the cycling monitor is the product "iSight" from the British company Traffic Technology Ltd.
The Cycling Monitor was opened and presented in a ceremony during the car free Climate Action Day.
Cycling monitor - data
Here you can find data from all cycling monitors in Rostock:
- cyclists passing during the last day
- cyclists passing since the installation of the counter
- location and numbers in detail
By kind permission of eco-counter.
