The name Trafikistan is Swedish, meaning traffic in the city. My articles are mainly about how the city works for cyclists, how different road users behave and cooperate, how good and bad design affects behavior, and about laws and our relation to them.
All articles are written in Swedish, but below I have started to create an index with very brief descriptions in English for some articles. If I get requests, I may try to translate some articles and make the translations available through their english titles on this page. A couple of articles have already been translated. You are also welcome to point out things that can make my English translations better. No reader is helped by wrong terms or bad text flow.
You can reach me either in the comment fields, or else …
… you can also reach me here.
(Latest update of the list below was on 18 november 2021)
Why these extra curves? – This bike path makes a strange bend with sharp curves instead of a soft line for which there is room. Why?
(Varför denna svängfest?)
Role models on the shared-use path – Bicycle and walking symbols work as role models for where we should go and cycle. Some symbol placements are exemplary, others counteract good interaction.
(Förebilder på GC-banan)
Crossing without traffic lights – Traffic lights are sometimes inefficient. In this film, you can see how smoothly road users can interleave in an intersection without traffic lights.
(Korsning utan trafikljus)
Smooth or humpy cycle path – Why do repairs after excavation work often become so dented with uneven joints? In contrast, some other repairs become exemplary.
(Jämn eller bucklig cykelbana)
Get out of the way, rental bike parking lots! – Some of the new parking places for our ”Styr & Ställ” rental bikes unobtrusively intrude on cycle paths. Is it really wise to turn a bike lane into a bike parking place?
(Ur vägen, Styr och Ställ!)
My response to the coming municipal comprehensive plan – I have focused on the climate impact of traffic and on how important the bicycle is in order not to completely spoil the possibilities of achieving sustainable traffic for real.
(Mitt remissvar till ny ÖP)
Boulevard without bicycle obstacles – A long bike commuter path into Goteborg is well protected from all obstacles by an adjacent heavy traffic route. But according to plans, it will all be changed into a boulevard. How can we avoid this from destroying the best bicycle commuting route we have?
(Boulevard utan cykelhinder)
Blocking traffic signals at our new central bridge – I have measured the poor prioritization of cyclists in the traffic signals to the new bridge ”Hisingsbron”. The biggest culprit for passability becomes clear.
(Hisingsbrons rödljus)
About the coming municipal comprehensive plan – My draft for a dialogue with my readers before my final response on a new general plan for Gothenburg.
(Inför översiktsplan-remissen)
Pedestrian’s positioning in the roadway – What difference does it make to the bicycle’s passability if you go to the right, to the left or in the middle of the carriageway? I have measured on a quiet street.
(Gåendes placering i körbana)
What traffic can the climate withstand? – The balance between the modes of transport is absolutely crucial. I show the life cycle-based climate impact of the various modes of transport.
(Vilken trafik tål klimatet?)
Wavy bike commuter lane – A wonderfully smooth path was exposed to excavation work. The repair became really dented. I compare repaired with unaffected part.
(Pendlingscykelbana i vågor)
Bus stop in the middle of the bike path – How can you insert a bus stop in the middle of a bike path without the cyclists being lead aside? I ask and get answers.
(Hållplats mitt i cykelbanan)
How is the green city zone measured? – In the Gothenburg Green City Zone pilot project, the goal is completely emission-free transports as early as 2030. But is the climate impact measured in a life cycle perspective?
(Hur mäts green city zone?)
Too narrow bike turn – No one can manage to make a 90-degree turn without overtramping at this narrow bike crossing. Are these dimensions really acceptable?
(Alltför trång cykelsväng)
Reckless chicanes – These chicanes obstruct bike traffic day, night and weekend even though the workplace is actually on a connecting road. A dramatic difference from another workplace on the same track!
(Hänsynslösa chikaner)
Stepping out from the sidewalks – How common is it for us as pedestrians to look around before stepping out into the roadway if traffic is sparse and quiet? I have measured.
(Trottoarernas utklivare)
Long red light for short bus passage – Public transport sometimes gets huge margins when their signal prioritization stops pedestrians and cyclists. We can get red light for a very long time both before and after a passage. The tchnology of 2020 should be able to do much better than that.
(Mycket rött för lite buss)
How much traffic can our climate tolerate? – The balance between all different modes of transport is absolutely crucial for the climate. The differences are huge! The more people who cycle, the more margins is left to those who really have to travel far and less climate-smart.
(Vilken trafik klarar klimatet?)
A great analysis of traffic today and tomorrow! – An expert panel in western Sweden discussed traffic, traffic types, society, politics, urban development, the future and climate change. A solid holistic approach! The bike comes out well, in fact the best of all. Watch the program!
(En fantastisk lägesbild!)
It’s easy to park your e-scooter with consideration for others – How difficult is it to find a place to park your electric scooter without it being in the way of others? Just take a tour in the city and you’ll see that lots of people have managed to park their kicks well. An image gallery.
(Lätt att parkera sparken bra)
Where cyclists choose to place themselves in the lane – Where on the bike lane do most cyclists place themselves spontaneously? How easy will it then be to overtake them? And how does their placement change if the lane has some form of discreet division? An opportunity to investigate it appeared recently.
(Cyklisters placering på banan)
Problems with e-scooters in the city – What has the City of Gothenburg done and what can it do to deal with poorly parked and poorly ridden electric scooters? What requirements can be placed on leasing companies? I describe the situation, i.a. with info from the urban transport administration.
(Elsparkcykelproblem)
Misdirected priority for public transport at traffic signals – Public transport generally has priority in Gothenburg’s traffic signals. But sometimes they cause red for cyclists even though the vehicles take a different path. I describe some places where this happens and suggest solutions.
(Missriktad kollektivprio)
New climate strategy for consideration – Here is my consideration request response to Gothenburg’s new environmental and climate program. My point is that public transport, walking and cycling have different impact on the climate. It must be stated in the program so that the municipality makes the right priorities between them.
(Nytt klimatpgm på remiss)
Who am I? – Today, the newspaper Göteborgs-Posten published a long article about me and my non-profit interest in improving everyday cycling in the city.
(Vem är jag egentligen?)
Why use the Publicus bicycle stand? – Publicus is a large shackle-shaped pole for parking and locking the bike. It is common in Gothenburg, but I can see several disadvantages compared to a pure bicycle pole. These problems are described here.
(Varför cykelstället Publicus?)
Food distribution by bicycle vs moped – Goods transport by bicycle is climate-smart and something we should favour. But mopeds can be real super polluters. I have measured the distribution between bicycles and mopeds for two companies that drive home restaurant food. They differ a lot!
(Mat per cykel kontra moped)
Don’t count food as bicycle fuel – Should the food needed by pedestrians and cyclists be counted as fuel in LCA? It could quadruple the cyclist’s greenhouse effect and neglects the health aspect.
(Se inte mat som cykelbensin)
Urban development increases the barrier for cyclists – The urban development around the central station of Göteborg isolates the southern commuter bike lanes from our most important bridge, and multiplies conflicts with pedestrians.
(En helt central cykelbarriär)
Saddle cover with advertisement for everybody? – Every now and then, cyclists in the inner city get advertisement saddle covers put on their bikes. Do cyclist want that? I have examined the acceptance in different ways.
(Reklam-sadelskydd till alla?)
Trams cause too long periods of red ligth for cyclists – I’ve measured for how long time pedestrians and cyclists get red light when a tram passes in a specific crossing. It is red significantly longer than necessary.
(Spårvagnar orsakar lång-rött)
This design does not promote good pedestrian-cyclist teamwork – The design of Stenpiren in Göteborg seems to be more focused on beauty than on teamwork. A study from the urban transport administration is the base for my reflections on this.
(Stenpirens samspel haltar)
Environmental impact of e-bikes – A recent study shows that the electric scooter you rent on the street is much worse for the environment than you might think – maybe even worse than an American passenger car!
(Elsparkcyklars miljöpåverkan)
How to fool cyclists to think they should keep driving straight ahead – Several cyclists have asked why this bicycle passage ends in a one-way sign. But there is a hidden reason for this. The design could be much more obvious.
(Läraregatans luriga korsning)
Mingling trams – Why build mingle sections among pedestrians on our most important commuter bike lanes? Think about same strategy for trams that also pass here. Does it still make sense?
(Minglande spårvagnar)
Why this extra curve? – Some extra curves for cyclists may be understandable. But what’s the use of this squiggle? It is really difficult to understand.
(En svårbegriplig svängfest)
Bicycle and e-scooter traffic in central Göteborg – I have counted cyclists and e-scooter riders. What are the proportions? How many of each ride on the sidewalk? How many drive on the wrong side of the road?
(Cykel och spark på Avenyn)
Göteborg cares about bicycling along this route – Many good things along the Delsjövägen bike commuter highway that the planners working for increased bicycling should get cred for.
(Delsjövägen gynnar cykling)
Rerouting at Pustervik – Rerouting of bike commuter highways should be carefully signposted. But this one sends the cyclists right out in the fog and totally misses the best way.
(Omledning vid Pustervik)
Red paths in the new Korsvägen area design – The planner’s visualization image shows distinct red paths on the surface. It really looks like bicycle paths, but this time it is used for the opposite, as paths for pedestrians. The city loses one of its means of expression for road users.
(Korsvägens röda stråk)
New municipal comprehensive plan under consideration – There is a new version of the municipal comprehensive plan for Göteborg open for consideration. The local department of the Swedish cyclists community Cykelfrämjandet has sent in the following statement of opinion, and I was one of the co-writers.
(Ny översiktsplan på remiss)
Rerouting for whom? – How should the signs for reroutings be designed to be easily understood by everybody? I think the signs for cyclists at Korsvägen lack an important key to understanding.
(Omledning för vem?)
The new central town area by bike – There is now a total re-make of the city center of Göteborg going on. But how is the bike commuter network handled in this process?
(Centralenområdet per cykel)
Pedestrians crossing a cyclist flow – Is the flow of 900 cyclists/h along a path a problem for crossing pedestrians? Would it be better to widen the cyclist flow to create an unstructured mix with the pedestrians? What can a one hour flow study tell us about that?
(Korsvägens gc-korsanden)
How well does Göteborg promote bicycling? – Göteborg describes in its website ”För liv och rörelse” how bicycling is promoted in various ways. I comment good and bad things for some of their statements.
(Liv och rörelse med cykel?)
How does the city prioritize bikes? – How seroius will Göteborg be about its new bike commuter network concept? By cherry picking in the different strategy documents, very different answers may be constructed to fit a specific planner’s wishes.
(Hur prioritera cykeln i stan?)
Traffic rules for public squares – Is it allowed to cycle on public squares in Sweden? And do pedestrians have any responsibility to pay attention and adjust to other traffic? Here are answers from the Swedish Transport Agency and my comments to that.
(Trafikregler på torgyta)
The bicycle flows at Korsvägen – My documentation of bicycle flows at a morning rush hour in june 2018. I documented 914 cyclists and their paths.
(Korsvägens cykelströmmar)
More retail apocalypse without bikes? – Can pedestrian and bicycle traffic be the solution to the retail apocalypse? Is this a provocative question? The consulting company Sweco has investigated that instead of just guessing.
(Mer butiksdöd utan cyklar)
How will they fill up the bus? – The public transport organization in western Sweden says in a poster all around Göteborg that a full bus takes away a car queue of 328 m. I discuss a number of problems concerning effectiveness, unbalanced demand, attracting other than car users and the risk of promoting society to get more spread-out.
(Hur ska bussen fyllas?)
Traffic against a red light in Örgryte, Göteborg – Measurement and analysis of how car drivers, cyclists and pedestrians respect yellow and red light.
(Trafik mot Örgryte-rödljus)
Stop light for no reason – For how long are cyclists stopped by red light although the way is free? I measured that throughout “Allén” in Göteborg. Is it possible to reach 20 km/h average speed on the bike commuter lane despite the ineffective traffic lights?
(Rött ljus i onödan)
Cycle or walk against red? – Do the cyclists bother less about red light than pedestrians do? Is it better to walk than to cycle against red? Does the law give free pass to pedestrians? And what is the very purpose of red light?
(Cykla eller gå mot rött?)
Tricked to miss teamworking – This design is really misleading, because to give cyclists and pedestrians a chance to cooperate, it should distinctly show both parties that the other can be expected where their ways actually cross.
(Bortfintat gc-samspel)
How will our regional government reduce CO2 emissions? – They want to reduce the environmental impact of the transport sector by 80 percet until 2030 by promoting car traffic as usual. What?? I am problematizing this.
(Hur ska VGR minska CO2?)
Obstructing long term parked bikes – Short term bike parkings in central Göteborg get filled up with abandoned bikes. The problem, an inventory and solutions are discussed.
(Långparkerade cyklar hindrar)
The good rerouting at Sprängkullen – A good temporary bikeway in Göteborg uses a complete car lane. Such bike priority is otherwise only seen in the Netherlands. And the contractor shows great interest in listening to problems reported by cyclists.
(Sprängkullens bra omledning)
The enduro trail at Vasagatan – A constant flickering of surface materials on the bikeway warns for everything and nothing. It shakes bikes into pieces and makes cyclists concentrate only on their own business. And the design doesn’t tell pedestrians that they are crossing a bikeway. These are effective obstacles for teamwork.
(Vasagatans endurobana)
Advertisement can cause bike-pedestrian collisions – Advertising signs really want to attract attention, but that can make them hide road users for each other. Here is an example where I was a hairbreadth from a collision. People tend to think that what you see is all there is.
(Reklam för GC-kollision)
Biking in New York City – Interesting and positive experience from my biking in Manhattan.
(Cykla i New York City)
Test the width needed for bike overtaking bike! – How wide does a bikeway need to be to allow cyclists to overtake each other? Here is an excellent place where you can test this irl!
(Testa omkörningsbredden!)
Compose symbols on signs carefully – The orientation and grouping of symbols on a sign may cooperate or counteract with the message they are supposed to convey.
(Vänd cykelsymbolen rätt)
What is good separation between cyclists and pedestrians? – My digging into the problem of how different separation design can work, and why.
(Vad är bra gc-separering?)
A bikeway in raking light – The car headlights give us a raking light on the bikeway and reveals substantial irregularities. This gives us also an indication of how they were created.
(En cykelbana i släpljus)
All have to cooperate – The traffic designers, the law and the police must join hands with the road users. And this cooperation must be built on knowledge in psychology and social forces. So don’t just let down the road users, asking them to fix problems induced by the other participants.
(Alla behöver samspela)
Prevent eternal red light – Prioritizing public transport can steal all green light periods from cyclists that want to cross. There must be a limit for how many traffic light cycles that cyclists can be forced to wait.
(Förhindra evigt rödljus)
The power of our unconscious – A number of researchers explain how much of what we are doing that is actually unconscious and automatic rather than based on rational considerations. Our traffic environment is not always designed with this in mind. Designers rely too much on our rational reasoning.
(Kraften i det omedvetna)
How fast do people bike? – I have measured the speed of 155 cyclists and 54 pedestrians where there was plenty of room for both. People walk in 5-6 km/h but bike in 15-30 km/h. That’s a large difference between pedestrians and cyclists, but also a large difference within the cyclists group. And is a bike passing at 30 km/h seen as dangerous for pedestrians but not a car doing the same?
(Hur fort cyklar folk?)