Corridor Study Zwolle – Enschede – Münster
January 2022
After being involved in the creation of multiple Cycling Super Highways, we were asked to to work on an international sustainable transport corridor study between Zwolle in The Netherlands and the City of Munster in Germany. Together with the German engineering firm Fischer Teamplan and Intercultural Management Cross-border Cooperation Jan Oostenbrink, a corridor study was conducted for which several routes were investigated, including links to and from the stations along Euregio Railway Zwolle – Enschede – Münster.
Commissioned by the Municipality of Enschede and its partners (municipalities and provinces in both the Netherlands and Germany), the collaborating partners investigated a 140 km long corridor from Zwolle via Enschede to Münster, funded by the INTERREG subsidy. The research not only looked at existing cycling infrastructure and plans for the future, but also explicitly into the cohesion with public transport, with a focus on the railways. By strengthening the cycle routes to and from stations, the Euregio Rail lobby to further strengthen the regional position of the corridor is strongly supported.
The corridor was divided in six sub-routes, for which a detailed analysis was made of existing routes and existing plans, both at municipal and regional level. This will ultimately lead to a concrete determination of the main route, as well as the determination of the routes for the additional routes from local destinations and stations, the so-called ‘feeders’. We were particularly involved to harmonize the German and Dutch approaches in particular.
Consultant Hannah Worringer has roots on both sides of the Dutch-German border and was able to communicate powerfully with the various stakeholders. For the follow-up process, the cross-border cooperation should be deepened further. Dutch and German parties can keep learning from each other, both in concrete planning and implementation.
Hannah: „The most enriching thing about this project for me was the collaboration, not only with the co-executing parties Fischer Teamplan and Jan Oostenbrink, but with all the different stakeholders, such as Borken and Steinfurt councils and Münster City Council on one side and the province of Overijssel and the representatives of the Euregio Enschede-Gronau at the other side. From Jan Oostenbrink I learned to look closely at all the interests of the stakeholders and the environment as a whole from a broad perspective. From the German side, there is a great hands-on attitude. Various subsidy programs are available to accelerate the construction of cycling infrastructure there.”
“The trick is to use the available subsidies as effectively as possible. Due to our involvement in the Euregional Mobility Plan for the Euregio Rhine-Waal, we are well aware of what is currently going on, both on the German and the Dutch side of the border. That also benefits this project. By looking not only at a fast cycle route itself, but at an entire corridor, including the rail, many enriching insights have been created.”
The study has been delivered to the clients January 2022. It is now up to the consortium of clients to take the next steps towards implementation of recommendations. Naturally, we are happy to share our cross-border knowledge again during the next stages of the project.
