Your organization in 300 words

Besides education of the new generation of transport experts, which is the main focus of the Faculty, Faculty of Transport and Traffic Sciences of University of Zagreb (FPZ) has a strong alignment with national, regional, and international scientific, research and development projects funded by a wide variety of institutions, from local stakeholders to EU bodies. One of the main focal points of the FPZ project- and research-related activities for a number of years has been road safety with aptitude for road infrastructure safety and network-wide road safety assessment.

In recognition of this efforts, FPZ has been awarded the title of iRAP Centre of excellence, which proves its acknowledgement as a peak organisation that has demonstrated excellence in road safety engineering and is focused on activities for the public good. FPZ is also officially appointed by the Croatian Ministry of Transport to perform education and training of Road Safety Auditors and participated in establishing the legal framework for the implementation of Directive 2008/96/EC and 2019/1936in Croatia.

The Department of Transport Planning, established as an independent department within the Faculty, has developed several advanced methods for road infrastructure surveys and analysis through its Laboratory for Georeferenced Video. In 13 years of existence, Department has successfully implemented over 250 scientific and research projects mainly in the field of road safety, road infrastructure safety, sustainable urban mobility planning and transport.

So far, FPZ has performed road infrastructure safety assessment utilizing iRAP protocols extended by the specific requirements of road authorities on approximately 46.000 km of roads in various countries across the world, including England, Qatar, Lebanon, Senegal, Ethiopia, Ghana, Moldova, Bosnia and Herzegovina etc.

In over 35 years of existence, Faculty has conducted and successfully completed over 1000 project from different areas of transport. In the last 5 years, over 50 projects in the field of road safety have been conducted in the Department of Transport Planning alone.

Why you choose to be a PP in Sabrina – what is the most important output from your point of view

From the beginning of the Call, Faculty has been involved in writing the proposal, developing idea for the SABRINA project along with and under the excellent guidance of the Lead partner – EIRA. Therefore, in the mind of our team at FPZ, SABRINA is something of a child-project which we are extremely happy to see develop and grow and take its own life due to amazing consortium and joined efforts. Needless to say, it has been a hard work even more so with the fact that SABRINA begun in the midst of the pandemic making us incapable of implementing it the way it was envisioned. But with all the initial obstacles and difficulties, we are even more proud to be a part of this project and contributing to its growth.

50% increase in E-bikes sales in Europe last years, great increase in numbers in Cargo bike as well and the future looks to be on two wheels. How can we maintain the safety of the users when it gets faster, bigger (the bike dimension) crowed on our bike lanes?

Ministries and national road authorities responsible for cycling infrastructure, as well as cities, need to recognise that infrastructure needs to serve the user, and not the other way around. Since this is a strategical issue, a good first step in the right direction is updating the cycling infrastructure design guidelines, as well as city-level strategies, in order to ensure that all cyclists, no matter what type of a bicycle they use, can move around their cities safely and comfortably. SUMP documents are an important example of how vulnerable road user issues can be tackled in a systematic, fact-based and long-term way. It should be in the interest of every local municipality to invest in SUMPs and develop them according to real municipality necessities, building upon achievable goals. One such goal could be the safe infrastructure for vulnerable road users, in the context of which multiple solutions could be explored.  

How important is data/ scientific research when addressing politicians/ decision makers in your country. Which are relevant updates we should look into.

Unfortunately, Croatia is quite behind when it comes to cycling data collection and every time an infrastructural project is being designed, cycling data is collected from scratch and specifically for the project needs (if any). Once such data is collected, it becomes a very important tool when addressing politicians and decision makers as it illustrates the need for special attention when it comes to cyclists. Not only can the data be used in a qualitative manner to demonstrate that there is a need for cycling infrastructure, but it can also be used quantitatively to assess cost-benefit parameters of the investment or the reduction in CO2 emissions. Quantitative parameters offer a ‘’tangible’’ measuring unit which decision makers can understand and assess in order to determine if proposed solutions integrate well with their long-term strategies, and namely define if the upcoming investment is reasonable. Some recent examples are pedestrian zones in Zagreb, one implemented on a section of the Stara Vlaška str., while the other one being now tested in the Masarykova street. Local decision makers understood the need for spaces without motorised vehicles in order to increase the quality of life and offer more pedestrian and cyclist friendly spaces in the city centre, but unfortunately there is still obvious lack of understanding on how to design cycling infrastructure that is safe for both cyclist and other road users.  

Tech and cycling – will this go well together? Give me an example

In this day and age, tech and cycling are becoming more and more intertwined, starting from third-party navigation devices, cadence meters, power meters, alarms, smart lights, bike locators and many more. Depending on the type of cyclist, tech and cycling relationship can vary from a ‘’must’’ to just a gadget installed out of curiosity. Professional cyclists use all sorts of sensors in order to estimate their best bike performance settings. On the other hand, every-day, leisure rider can also benefit from technological accessories. GPS navigation is a great way to upgrade an ordinary bike, especially in those situations when the cyclist wants to travel between point A and B following the shortest route, but he is not very familiar with the local environment. GPS devices are also great for exploring unfamiliar regions. A route can be set in the device, which the cyclist can follow without much knowledge about the local context. Alarms and other safety features can aid urban cyclists in their daily tasks, for example a food delivery courier can install a loud alarm which can be easily activated once the bike is left in front of a building. In this way, there is no need to lose 5 minutes per delivery in order to find an adequate spot to secure the bike with a chain; the alarm will go off in case the bike is shifted which can already be enough as a theft protection measure. Another technological benefit is presented in the form of e-bikes. E-bikes can vary in shape or form and can be factory made or converted from ordinary pedal bikes using third party kits. E-bikes are usually already equipped with some of the mentioned features (for example smart lights or integrated multifunction screens). With e-bikes, older cyclist can enjoy cycling and all of the freedom that it provides, even though they are not in a great physical shape. E-bikes can encourage them to stay active for a longer period of years.   

How much should a km of a 5 star rating cycling infrastructure really cost? Leaving from no bike lane to a 5 stars one.

Typically, any dedicated cycling infrastructure which has the potential to adequately separate motorised traffic and cyclists is considered to be very safe, since it minimises the chance of a cyclist dying or getting severely injured as a consequence of a road accident. Some examples of this infrastructure are separated cycling paths and grade-separated cycling crossings. Projected costs of cycling bridges can range from around €1 million to €6 million[1], and separated cycling paths can in some cases cost around 300,000€[2] per km. However, it is important to keep in mind that there is no direct correlation between the infrastructure cost and it’s safety. This is because road safety, and consequentially star rating of any road, except for the infrastructure itself, depends on a number of other factors. This includes vehicle, pedestrian and cyclist flows, as well as the most important safety factor - vehicle speeds. This can mean that in some conditions, cheaper infrastructure can be much safer than the one which is more expensive. The Cross Section module of the SCRT tool, developed under SABRINA project, can be used to compare different infrastructure layouts where you can compare the costs and safety benefits.

[1]https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/742451/typical-costings-for-ambitious-cycling-schemes.pdf

[2] https://www.in.gov/indot/files/INDOT_TrailsCostCalculator_Memo.pdf