The Danish city Aalborg is developing at a constant pace, with a net increase by 1600 inhabitants per year. The car jams are getting longer and there’s pressure on public transportation. If the many newcomers will have the same commuting habits as today, the daily transport will increase by 400.000 km. Without a better alternative, 79% of the increase will consist of car traffic.
The numbers speak for themselves.
To solve the future challenges, and support the development of the city, the new bus route Plusbus is currently in the making.
“We need to deal with more cars in the future and many urban spaces are packed with closely parked cars. It’s important that we offer an alternative way of getting into the city. With this project, we hope that more people can see the advantages of taking public transportation instead of the car”, tells project leader Niels Bresemann Jensen.
The system will be a so-called BRT, Bus Rapid Transit. The busses will have their own dedicated road and first priority at traffic lights. The 12 km bus route is planned to be completed in 2023 and will drive from east to west – through the center of the city and to the new Aalborg University Hospital.
One of the visions with the Plusbus project has been to combine functionality, sustainability, and urban development and create a synergy between public transportation and recreational urban spaces. By providing space for trees and greenery along the route, it will offer urban spaces inviting the public to stay and interact.
Bodil V. Henningsen and Laura Græsdal Maajen are both architects working on the Plusbus project and the design of the surroundings of the route. Bodil tells us:
“Most importantly the mission with the BRT project is to solve a traffic problem. That being said, it’s important to create synergy between sustainable urban development and support sustainable mobility. Plusbus is more than effective public transportation – it’s also an opportunity to transform the city.”
Laura continues:
“This is more than just a bus line driving through the city. It has to offer something extra. We want to create small urban “pockets” spread around the route, where it’s pleasant to stay and pass through. They have to make travel easy, but they also need to add quality of life to the city and the cityscape.
The small green “pockets” will be found along the route in the form of 10 new recreational squares in front of the stations. Each of them will have their own characteristics based on the neighborhood in which they are situated. The transformation of the squares will help create coherence and ensure optimal changing and waiting conditions on the most popular parts of the route.
“This is more than a traditional road project. It’s been important to make use of the city’s potential and create spaces, where people thrive. The spaces need to be linked to public transportation, but they also have to be inviting and make people want to sit on a bench, enjoy the green environment, read a book, drink a cup of coffee or do some shopping. These are all conditions that will create life in the urban space around the new bus system”, Niels elaborates.
Laura adds:
“The bus route needs to act as a green elevator through the city. We don’t want a highway or a big traffic machine through Aalborg. We want green mobility because this is a place where people live their lives.”
In the district plan, principles for adding greenery have been a significant part of the project. The greenery has to add extra value to the route and make it a nice place to stay and move around. Niels tells us how it has been important to plant the trees the right way, so the people in Aalborg can enjoy them for generations to come. One important thing has been to provide the tree trees with sufficient uncompacted soil volume around the roots, so that more water, nutrients, and airflow reaches the roots.
“We care a lot about adding greenery the right way, so the many trees have optimal growth conditions. This way we can all benefit from the trees for many years to come. In the city center, we find many impervious surfaces. For the tree pits, we use Milford’s root-friendly soil cell systems that can give the trees better conditions. We have prioritized the green and because of this we need to do it the right way”.
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“The bus route needs to act as a green elevator through the city. We don’t want a highway or a big traffic machine through Aalborg. We want green mobility because this is a place where people live their lives.”
The Danish city Aalborg is developing at a constant pace, with a net increase by 1600 inhabitants per year. The car jams are getting longer and there’s pressure on public transportation. If the many newcomers will have the same commuting habits as today, the daily transport will increase by 400.000 km. Without a better alternative, 79% of the increase will consist of car traffic.
The numbers speak for themselves.
To solve the future challenges, and support the development of the city, the new bus route Plusbus is currently in the making.
“We need to deal with more cars in the future and many urban spaces are packed with closely parked cars. It’s important that we offer an alternative way of getting into the city. With this project, we hope that more people can see the advantages of taking public transportation instead of the car”, tells project leader Niels Bresemann Jensen.
The system will be a so-called BRT, Bus Rapid Transit. The busses will have their own dedicated road and first priority at traffic lights. The 12 km bus route is planned to be completed in 2023 and will drive from east to west – through the center of the city and to the new Aalborg University Hospital.
One of the visions with the Plusbus project has been to combine functionality, sustainability, and urban development and create a synergy between public transportation and recreational urban spaces. By providing space for trees and greenery along the route, it will offer urban spaces inviting the public to stay and interact.
Bodil V. Henningsen and Laura Græsdal Maajen are both architects working on the Plusbus project and the design of the surroundings of the route. Bodil tells us:
“Most importantly the mission with the BRT project is to solve a traffic problem. That being said, it’s important to create synergy between sustainable urban development and support sustainable mobility. Plusbus is more than effective public transportation – it’s also an opportunity to transform the city.”
Laura continues:
“This is more than just a bus line driving through the city. It has to offer something extra. We want to create small urban “pockets” spread around the route, where it’s pleasant to stay and pass through. They have to make travel easy, but they also need to add quality of life to the city and the cityscape.
The small green “pockets” will be found along the route in the form of 10 new recreational squares in front of the stations. Each of them will have their own characteristics based on the neighborhood in which they are situated. The transformation of the squares will help create coherence and ensure optimal changing and waiting conditions on the most popular parts of the route.
“This is more than a traditional road project. It’s been important to make use of the city’s potential and create spaces, where people thrive. The spaces need to be linked to public transportation, but they also have to be inviting and make people want to sit on a bench, enjoy the green environment, read a book, drink a cup of coffee or do some shopping. These are all conditions that will create life in the urban space around the new bus system”, Niels elaborates.
Laura adds:
“The bus route needs to act as a green elevator through the city. We don’t want a highway or a big traffic machine through Aalborg. We want green mobility because this is a place where people live their lives.”
In the district plan, principles for adding greenery have been a significant part of the project. The greenery has to add extra value to the route and make it a nice place to stay and move around. Niels tells us how it has been important to plant the trees the right way, so the people in Aalborg can enjoy them for generations to come. One important thing has been to provide the tree trees with sufficient uncompacted soil volume around the roots, so that more water, nutrients, and airflow reaches the roots.
“We care a lot about adding greenery the right way, so the many trees have optimal growth conditions. This way we can all benefit from the trees for many years to come. In the city center, we find many impervious surfaces. For the tree pits, we use Milford’s root-friendly soil cell systems that can give the trees better conditions. We have prioritized the green and because of this we need to do it the right way”.
