Support road.cc

Like this site? Help us to make it better.

news

Swiss city Basel says trial allowing cyclists to turn right at red lights a success

Pilot running since mid-2013 found no conflict with cyclists and cars, and pedestrians in favour

Basel, the third most populous city in Switzerland, has been conducting a trial that allows cyclists to turn right at a red traffic light – and the results are a resounding success, with no collisions reported and pedestrians said to be in favour of the experiment.

According to the website of Swiss cycling magazine Velojournal, the trial was launched in mid-2013 by the canton of Basel-Stadt on behalf of the federal government’s roads agency, ASTRA.

The canton’s construction and transport department, BVD, has now said the pilot, conducted at four junctions in the city by traffic management consultancy Rapp Trans, has been “very positive.”

Under the pilot, a yellow flashing bicycle signal meant cyclists were permitted to turn right at red traffic lights, or when there was a green pedestrian signal allowing people on foot to cross the road.

As well as resulting in “significant fewer conflicts between cyclists and cars” – no incidents were recorded – the initiative was also said to be well-received by pedestrians.

Roland Chretien, CEO of campaign group Pro Velo Basel, told Velojournal that he had not heard of any complaints about the pilot.

The magazine says that the BVD intends to ask ASTRA for authorisation to extend the pilot scheme, as well as a change to traffic regulations at federal level to allow it to applied permanently – also raising the prospect that other places across the country could follow suit.

A similar trial has taken place in some parts of Paris, commencing in 2012, while last week the Australian state of Victoria said that it was considering letting cyclists ride through red lights, among other possible measures aimed at improving the safety of cyclists.

Simon joined road.cc as news editor in 2009 and is now the site’s community editor, acting as a link between the team producing the content and our readers. A law and languages graduate, published translator and former retail analyst, he has reported on issues as diverse as cycling-related court cases, anti-doping investigations, the latest developments in the bike industry and the sport’s biggest races. Now back in London full-time after 15 years living in Oxford and Cambridge, he loves cycling along the Thames but misses having his former riding buddy, Elodie the miniature schnauzer, in the basket in front of him.

Add new comment

14 comments

Avatar
SimonS | 10 years ago
0 likes

Yep, I'd agree with that. We are still getting new infrastructure that puts cycle lanes/paths on the pavement and 'shared space' schemes. If bikes and pedestrians can safely share space in those circumstances there's no reason red lights should be anything other than 'Give Way' for non-motorised vehicles.

Avatar
stem | 10 years ago
0 likes

I'm definately in favour if this, would save quite a bit of time being able to left-U-left to get through a red at a crossroads.

Avatar
bigshape | 10 years ago
0 likes

i don't know why left turn on red isn't allowed in the UK for cars as well as cyclists.
saves fuel, cuts pollution, cuts journey times, saves on frustration when sat at a red at a clear junction.

Avatar
benb | 10 years ago
0 likes

I think this could go further.
The law should be changed to make red lights the equivalent of give way junctions for cyclists.

Avatar
farrell | 10 years ago
0 likes

Wouldn't this be the equivalent of cycles being allowed left turns over here, thus avoiding conflict with cars setting off early?
It'd be right turns would put you across the front of cars.

Surely the easiest way of protecting left turns would be a segregated corner cutting path that didn't actually go through the red light? Perhaps with a bollard on the corner to the right hand side of the cycle lane? I may well be missing something blindingly obvious with that suggestion though.

Avatar
kie7077 replied to farrell | 10 years ago
0 likes
farrell wrote:

Wouldn't this be the equivalent of cycles being allowed left turns over here, thus avoiding conflict with cars setting off early?
It'd be right turns would put you across the front of cars.

Surely the easiest way of protecting left turns would be a segregated corner cutting path that didn't actually go through the red light? Perhaps with a bollard on the corner to the right hand side of the cycle lane? I may well be missing something blindingly obvious with that suggestion though.

The segregation would be nice but wouldn't be practical everywhere, the rule OTOH could be implemented immediately and with practically no cost.

Avatar
trigwill | 10 years ago
0 likes

America has been using a similar system for donkey's years and it works well with a country dedicated to car driving. Can't see it happening in UK though not with our bureaucracy.

Avatar
Beaufort | 10 years ago
0 likes

I'd love to know how many on here also drive and wether they are prepared to admit the fact. How do they drive around bicycles on the road ?

Avatar
farrell replied to Beaufort | 10 years ago
0 likes
Beaufort wrote:

I'd love to know how many on here also drive and wether they are prepared to admit the fact. How do they drive around bicycles on the road ?

I drive and many, many people on here have said they do as well, I'm confused as to why you would think people wouldn't be prepared to say they do?

I avoid driving unnecessarily, I wouldn't drive to the office as I work in a city centre so my commuting time would be almost treble, sometimes worse if something goes wrong on the roads, not to mention the increased costs due to fuel and parking.

I also usually avoid driving to the supermarket as I live pretty near so it seems a bit wasteful to drive such a short distance, and again, other options are faster. If I'm just getting a handful of items, say just one bags worth I'll ride. If it's a bit more I'll walk. If it's a proper car-full of shopping then I'll meet my wife at the supermarket when she is driving home from work, or link it in with another journey.

As for how I drive round cyclists? Plenty of space when passing, staying out of bike lanes and ASLs, slowing down when necessary, eye contact at junctions, you know, the basic stuff, not driving like a cunt is all it boils down to.

It's really, really not difficult to drive round cyclists on the road, try driving a loaded up transit van or pick up truck, at night, in seriously muddy conditions, at a music festival with thousands of drunk and drugged punters jumping out from all angles at you. Now, that really takes some concentration!

Avatar
hoski replied to Beaufort | 10 years ago
0 likes

I drive, although fairly infrequently.

I'd like to think I drive considerately around bicycles, leaving an appropriate distance, plenty of room when passing, not overtaking unless it is absolutely safe, etc.

HTH.

Avatar
PonteD | 10 years ago
0 likes

Having seen the sheep mentality of most car drivers, how many UK drivers are going to assume the lights have turned green for themselves and set off into the unsuspecting traffic once they see the cyclists pootle past (remember we are anecdotally talking about a driving populace that will happily drive off bridges and piers just because their satnav tells them to, and we a l know they'll tank it off the "starting grid" without even looking to see if the road is clear).

Avatar
CanAmSteve | 10 years ago
0 likes

But in Switzerland, everyone follows the rules

Avatar
truffy | 10 years ago
0 likes

This is great news, but requires sense from all users. It will work as long as cyclists and other users are aware. We don't know the full details of what happened in Central Park, but cyclists need to be respectful of pedestrians (et v.v.).

Quote:

the Australian state of Australia

 22

Avatar
tatsky | 10 years ago
0 likes

This just seems like common sense.

I have a number of traffic lights on my commute which when I stop at the red light (and I always do) I am actually putting myself in danger from the motorists revving their engines and eager to gain pole position as soon as the green light glimmers into life. If I were able to carry on through the light, even at a slower pace but maintaining some momentum, it would put me out of harms way when the wacky races mob set off again.

I hope we see something like this here.

Latest Comments