Do all those involved have the necessary experience and expertise?

The City of Lausanne has the Service de la mobilité et de l’aménagement des espaces publics, which is devoted to mobility and the development of public spaces, within the Department of Finance and Mobility. The head of the department, Florence Germond, has been committed to sustainable mobility since assuming her post in 2016. One of her staff members oversees all matters relating to bicycles. The office develops and supervises projects at the interface between different modes of transport, as well as projects relating to urban planning and the environment, such as building out the cycle lanes on Rue Belle-Fontaine to the east of the main railway station.

Can the place be reached on foot or by bicycle?

Anyone who has travelled around Lausanne on foot or by bike knows it is a journey that goes steeply uphill and downhill. As a result, conventional bicycles are increasingly joined by e-bikes on the Rue Belle-Fontaine. According to figures from the Swiss trade association Velosuisse, every second bicycle sold will soon be an e-bike. This trend is also noticeable in Lausanne, where since the pandemic noticeably more people are cycling – and especially on e-bikes.

Does the place foster sustainable mobility?

The volume of motorised traffic in the city remains high. However, since 2020, city authorities have been dedicating more space on the roads to bicycle traffic by expanding the network of cycle routes and widening lanes where possible to allow faster cyclists to overtake slower ones. In Rue Belle-Fontaine, an additional cycle lane for straight-ahead travel has been created in the straight-ahead lane for motorised traffic. This cycle lane and another one for right-hand turns are marked as red surfaces to make them clearly visible to all road users.

Will the place remain attractive in the long term for living, working, leisure and/or tourism?

The aim of those responsible is clear: to increase the number of safe routes for users of an environmentally friendly and space-saving means of transport. The work on Rue Belle-Fontaine was carried out to completion in August 2020. Comparable cycle lanes will also be established elsewhere in the city. The city’s mobility report 2023 foresees an increase in cycling to 15 per cent of total traffic by 2030, with a corresponding reduction in motorised traffic.

Is the place socially robust?

A safe public space contributes significantly to the well-being of our city’s inhabitants. This includes an attractive environment for non-motorised traffic, where young and old can move around easily on foot or by bicycle. The intervention on Rue Belle-Fontaine, between Avenue de Rumine and Avenue Mon-Repos, involves a structural measure on the roadway at the area of incline, as has been done in Paris. The barrier separates motorised traffic from cyclists, as the two types of vehicles travel here at distinctly different speeds.

Was the place thoroughly analysed prior to the intervention?

Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, the City of Lausanne had been working to extend and improve its cycle path network. When the pandemic broke out unexpectedly in 2020 and the population avoided public transport, the city wanted to prevent people from switching to their cars. So it acted quickly to implement its existing plans. Work began at the end of June and was completed in October.

Is the place notable for its distinctiveness?

The cycle lane markings in Lausanne are conspicuous. Not only is there an abundance of red-painted road surfaces, but there are also numerous yellow bicycle pictograms and turn arrows. At the intersection of Rue Belle-Fontaine and Avenue de Rumine alone, there are ten bicycle pictograms painted on the ground. What was well intentioned can be a little overwhelming here.

Does the design of the place take the surroundings into account?

The bicycle markings are adapted to the prevailing conditions. The colours used, red and yellow, stand out against the dark road surface and are thus clearly visible to all road users. In many places, the markings appear to form a graphic pattern – such as at the intersection of Rue Belle-Fontaine and Avenue de Rumine.