Pilot ‘Olifantenpaadje’: faster route to Utrecht Science Park

The project is an initiative of two lecturers from the Hogeschool voor de Kunsten, Floor Bouwmeister and Friso van Booij, who won the bicycle spreading challenge of platform U-Forward with their idea ‘Utrechtse Olifantenpaadjes’. Together with Utrecht municipality, they designed signs equipped with a real-time pressure meter and advise on a quieter route, designated as ‘elephant path’. This alternative path bypasses busy points such as Tivoli and directs cyclists via the Ledig Erf, for example, a route that is just as fast and more comfortable despite the extra kilometre during rush hour. Congestion is indicated by colours: green (quiet), orange (normal) and red (busy).

With the pilot, which runs until the end of November 2024, the municipality wants to investigate whether cyclists find the signs useful and are willing to choose an alternative route. The alternative routes offer fewer intersections and traffic lights and pass through greener parts of the city. In this way, the municipality hopes to better regulate bicycle flows in Utrecht.