Monday, July 18, 2011

Rotterdam!

I made it home just fine from the Netherlands on Thursday. I apologize for not updating earlier, I've been rather busy trying to catch up on some work and dealing with the jetlag over the weekend.

So for our final field trip, the class took the train to see the city of Rotterdam. Off the train, we were given rental bikes to tour the city. From Rotterdam Central, we visited Rotterdam University where we were given lessons on the sustainable design of intersections (sustainable as in safe for all road users). A presentation was given on the methods of deciding which type of intersection to use (roundabout, signal, etc..) depending on the classification of the roads and the risk of its users. For instance, bicycles would receive priority in urban areas on roads of 30 km/h but cars would receive priority outside urban areas where the cars travel 50 km/h or more.

With this knowledge, the class was released to the computer lab where we were given an actual intersection just outside of the campus that needed to be redesigned. We were to use AutoCAD and some Google images to come up with desirable remodel of the intersection. Working with the TA, Tom, and a fellow PSU student, Kirk, we set about to discussing how to accommodate the multiple ways of accessing the intersection through different modes, including the north access which is told to be increasing to around 30 buses per hour entering and leaving the new Rotterdam Central station.

After a quick lunch, the class split into two groups and we were to explore Rotterdam by bike. My group set out for the first landmark, the Erasmus Bridge! I was looking forward to seeing this bridge since it was mentioned on the first week of class. Along the way we stopped by the intersection we were just working on redesigning and observed the traffic flowing though. Here we were able to see one of the older, more beautiful buildings that still stood in the city today. Rotterdam was decimated with incendiary bombs in World War II by the Germans, so most of the buildings in the city were of modern construction.

The building has a bridge for cars to access the second floor (seen on the lower left), and then a car elevator is inside to allow the vehicle to deliver to the floor it needs to.
The next brief stop was just further down in front of the Rotterdam Central train station, which is under a major reconstruction. To accommodate pedestrians wanting to enjoy the shopping here (since the Dutch place their shopping centers around transit stations), a tunnel was built under the main road / tram tracks which included more store fronts.

This tunnel connects both sides of the shopping district without having pedestrians conflict with the traffic and public transit.
Our next stop was the Erasmus Bridge itself. The bridge was a beautiful work of architecture, and it was efficient for moving traffic! The bridge had wide sidewalks and wide bike/moped lanes on both sides and could handle two cars side by side in each lane (although a truck made the lanes cramped). Hopefully the Columbia Crossing does just as well in providing access for pedestrians and bikes.

Approaching the Erasmus Bridge by bike.
On the bridge. Notice the bike lane, the sidewalk, and the traffic. This existed on both sides of the bridge!
These dampeners prevented the bridge from falling apart due to the wind and rain amplifying the frequencies in the bridge. To visualize what these prevent, check out the Tacoma Narrows Bridge.
Since Rotterdam is a major port city, you can see your share of boats from the deck of the bridge.
This building was where the cruise ships would moor and passengers would board.
Next, we rode on towards the Maastunnel Rotterdam, which was a tunnel under the river for bikes and pedestrians. Along the way to this landmark, we stopped by a cruise ship that was retired and currently used for a museum.

The cruise ship "Rotterdam".
From the other side of the "Rotterdam".
From there, we rode to the Maastunnel and took our bikes down the escalator and through the tunnel. The tunnel is 640 yards long and at its deepest is 66 feet below the surface. In its prime, the tunnel would serve a rediculous amount of bikes (around 30,000 bikes a day). One thing I enjoyed seeing in this tunnel was the separation between cyclists and pedestrians. Pedestrians walked on a lower level than the bikes, so the bikes had their own dedicated lanes avoiding any conflict.

We took our bikes down the escalator to the tunnel.
Separation between bikes and pedestrians at the bottom of the escalator.
View going through the tunnel. As one of our classmates found out the hard way, the lines are raised so it's difficult to cross.
After coming out of the tunnel, the tour concluded by heading back towards Rotterdam Central.

Tourist landmark viewed on the way to Rotterdam Central's information center.
At the Rotterdam Central information center, we were treated to a cup of coffee (coffee in the Netherlands is great by the way) and a presentation on the future of the station. The place is in the middle of a large remodel that should have the new terminal finished in 2013 (but construction planned on expansion up until 2030). When finished, the station will be mostly glass and will bridge the two sides of the tracks so people on the residential side can easily cross to the commercial side.

Scale model of Rotterdam Central. 
Another shot of the model. I find it neat that they used N-scale trains and track.
After the presentation, we visited the construction site where a parking lot was being built underground. A tunnel in front of the station (Weena Tunnel) will lead into an underground parking garage. The tunnel also separates the through traffic from the pedestrians crossing above on their way to the shopping areas.

Construction of the underground parking area (760 car capacity). There will also be bike parking (5100 bike capacity) under the station. 
Rotterdam Central from the walkway over the platforms. The roof is similar to that of a greenhouse.
Trains! The roof will extend all the way across the train station when finished.
After the tour, class was dismissed. Since it was the last day we were to be there, we enjoyed dinner with the Northeastern students and toured the waterside before boarding the train for home.


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