Solutions designed as part of the KST IV tram route received a positive opinion from the team tasked with reviewing the safety of vulnerable road users. Wherever area conditions allowed, bicycle paths were designed on both sides of the investment and separated from pedestrian traffic.
The team – being part of Public Transport Authority in Kraków – started reviewing the KST IV design in June and allocated some time for collecting opinions from the residents. Intensive work has been made since then to adapt the infrastructure for pedestrians and cyclists to the standards required by Kraków. Two meetings have been held between the designer and the audit participants while the review procedure ended with a positive opinion.
– The safety of vulnerable road users is a very important aspect of any project and designs are always reviewed by experts. The design of tram route to Mistrzejowice was no exception. We are happy the opinion is positive and now the designer will be analyzing the last comments – said Marcin Hanczakowski, Director of Kraków Municipal Road Authority (ZDMK).
The design involves the construction of new and partial reconstruction of the existing bicycle paths along the entire length of the tram route. They are planned on both sides of the route on the section between Lema–Meissnera intersection and the entrance to Water Park. They will be integrated with the infrastructure for cyclists in the areas adjacent to the project or they will enable smoothly joining the general traffic.
– For safety reasons – as much as possible given the area conditions – we followed the general rule of separating the bicycle and pedestrian traffic: the former one closer to the pavement, the latter on the inner side – says Paweł Motyka, Deputy Project Manager with Gülermak implementing the project. Whenever possible, the bicycle paths designed are 3m wide and safe geometric layout has been secured.
In the tunnel sections, pedestrians and cyclists may freely use the infrastructure at all levels. Spacious lifts have been designed for cyclists, people with reduced mobility and parents with prams to move between the levels. There are plans to build a bicycle parking lot at the Mistrzejowice terminus as well as numerous bicycle stands – their exact locations will be agreed at the detailed design stage.
A positive opinion from the team tasked with reviewing the safety of vulnerable road users in the city introduces the last remarks on the proposed solutions. The designer will be analyzing them to possibly take them into account. The sheets with the design are available at www.tramwajdomistrzejowic.pl/en.