Do you also hate having to slow down and accelerate at every traffic light while cycling? The municipality of Haarlemmermeer is investigating whether cyclists can be better served with smart traffic lights. These lights know when you are approaching and request the green light for you. Provided you have your phone in your pocket and have installed a special app.
This concerns eleven intersections in Hoofddorp, three in Nieuw-Vennep, two in Schiphol-Rijk and one in Badhoevedorp. If the app works well, the municipality wants to use it in more places in Haarlemmermeer.
It works as follows: a cyclist downloads the Schwung app and shares his location, after which the app forwards this information anonymously. If the self-learning app sees or predicts that the cyclist is cycling to the relevant traffic lights, the app requests the green light. This increases the chance that the traffic lights will turn green sooner.
Text continues below the interactive map with the intersections in Haarlemmermeer.
To prevent misuse of the app, each user must enter their telephone number. The app then knows that the user is not a robot. The telephone number is no longer used for anything by the app and the information from the app cannot be traced back to a person, the municipality assures.
Since Haarlemmermeer continues to grow, the municipality wants to encourage the use of bicycles. “We want residents and visitors to continue to be able to move comfortably in the future,” says traffic councilor Marja Ruigrok. “Hopefully this app will convince more people to leave the car at home more often and get on their bike.”
Fewer traffic lights
Han van der Ploeg of Cyclists’ Union Haarlemmermeer has not yet used the app, but plans to do so. Many people in his area have already installed the app. “It is of course great for cyclists if they have fewer traffic lights. That shortens the travel time.”
Yet he also questions the operation of the app. “I don’t know yet how far it will turn out to be positive. If car traffic continues to have priority, cyclists won’t be doing much work,” he predicts.
The Municipality of Haarlemmermeer reports that cyclists are indeed not given priority over other road users. However, they are detected earlier. This should ensure that cyclists can continue cycling more often and have to wait less long. This pilot should show how big this difference will actually be.