A view from the cycle path: The evolution of one Dutch road over 200 years

Wednesday, 19 August 2009

The evolution of one Dutch road over 200 years

Mark Wagenbuur has made a great new video showing how a street in Utrecht, the Amsterdamsestraatweg, has evolved over 200 years.

Mark says "Good cycling infrastructure is also possible in old streets. This street in Utrecht (Netherlands) was designed by Napoleon when the Netherlands were part of the French Empire in 1812. It was part of the "Route Impériale no. 2" which connected Paris via paved direct roads with Amsterdam. The street design was changed several times in 200 years. It got the separate cycle paths that exist today around the year 2000."

While the video focusses on just one road so that the story can be told, it's important to point out that similar things have been done right across the nation in hundreds if not thousands of different locations across the Netherlands.

This is also a video showing a bit more of the same street. It carries on from where the other video left off, and includes some of the older infrastructure including on road cycle lane and junctions with no real priority for cyclists.

5 comments:

Rasmus Jensen said...: I found your blog a few days ago and have read all your posts and I have to admit that I am envying the Dutch cycling infrastructure.

I am a Dane, but I now live in Bristol so I am used to cycle a fair but but seeing the Dutch approach and then compare it to the Danish approach tells me that things could be a lot better than I thought possible.

There is a link here to one of the most busy junctions in the town I lived in in Denmark and while most of the junction is good, the approach from north (in the middle of 2 lanes with quite a lot of lorries (mainly going west though)) is not perfect as you risk ending between 2 lorries. I cannot remember if that happened, but every time I approached the junction from north I always made sure that I would not end in the middle of 2 large vehicles.

I am now living in Bristol and looking forward to what will hopefully become a cycling city, but I dont feel that it is the roads and missing cycling lanes that are the biggest problem over here, it is rather the attitude from passing drivers and the (lack) of distance when overtaking.

I can fully relate to everything you write about encouraging cycling while discouraging car driving through the infrastructure as parked cars is a problem on most roads.

I admit that I am mad about cars but while living in Denmark I never got a driving licence (I am 20 now, moved to UK when I was 19) simply because I rarely needed a car, as bike or trains was sufficient.

Now living in the UK I have been thinking about getting a driving licence and a car (something I never thought about getting in Denmark even if I had got a licence) even though I am living with my partner and we already have 1 car.

My best friend is still living in Denmark, got a driving licence as soon as he turned 18, recently got a car but he only uses that when he goes out of town, never while cycling around in the town he lives in.

When I lived in Denmark I often thought about moving to the UK, mainly because of the car friendliness here, but after I have tried cycling here and read your blog, I suddenly want to move to the Netherlands or back to Denmark again so I can cycle normally :)

Before reading your post I had not given infrastructure much thought, but I can now clearly see that here in UK people buy cars because of the infrastructure, and the authorities are making the country more car friendly based on those forecasts and not thinking about stopping this trend towards more cars as the Dutch obviously did in the 70ties.; 19 August 2009 at 01:40
MiddleAgeCyclist said...: Great video. I envy the Dutch passion for the bicycle. Thanks for posting.

Mind you when playing on the roads in the UK; pothole dodging, dicing with car drivers lost in a world of their own, running out of cycle lane just as you approach a pinch point has a certain...excitement! Seen in that light dedicated cycles lanes seem a bit namby pamby!!; 19 August 2009 at 09:54
John in NH said...: hmm, is that lane meant to be two way>? it seems majority of traffic is one direction, is there a sister lane on the other side or perhaps on another street? it would make sense to be two way, and obviously more then one person uses it as such but its interesting with these, do they tend to just create one segregated path that's two ways on one side? or is it more likely its a duel segregated path... one travelling in each direction... or is it with most things that it depends on what you have already :P; 25 August 2009 at 05:14
David Hembrow said...: John, the cycle path is one way. There is an identical one on the other side of the road for people heading in the opposite direction. However it is quite common that people use the paths in the opposite directions in order to travel short distances on the wrong side of the street. I guess cyclists are just lawless.; 25 August 2009 at 07:43
David Hembrow said...: And... I forgot to mention that this couldn't be a two way path simply because it isn't wide enough. In this part of the Netherlands, at least, 2.5 m is the minimum for single direction paths and 4 m for bidirectional paths. The pedestrian bit is in addition to this.; 25 August 2009 at 07:46

Posts sorted by subject

The positive stuff
Three types of safety - As well as preventing injuries and death, high quality cycling infrastructure addresses both subjective safety and social safety which are of vital importance in encouraging people to cycle.
A second revolution took place on Dutch streets in the late 20th century, transforming streets which were just as clogged by cars as those of other nations.
Pedestrians are well catered for in the Netherlands and pedestrianized shopping streets are common. Usually they allow cycling for access.
Dutch Safety Figures - Cyclists in the Netherlands are the safest in the world, but it has little if anything to do with "safety in numbers".
Sustainable safety - the principles which have lead to Dutch roads, streets and cycle-paths being safe.
A million per hour - The scale of cycling in the Netherlands is enormous. Dutch people make more cycle journeys each day than the entire English speaking world put together.
Campaigning - a collection of posts about how to campaign for more cycling. Primarily campaigning should be for children to be able to cycle. These links include reference to "Stop the child murder", a successful campaign from the 1970s.
What Works - examples of policy, infrastructure and campaigning which have made a different in the Netherlands.
Superhighways - "Cycling superhighways" are not a new idea in the Netherlands
Cycle Paths - Well designed cycle paths benefit all cyclists, regardless of experience or speed
Segregation without cycle paths - you don't always need a cycle path to keep cyclists safe from motorists
Unravelling of routes is vitally important
History - how the Netherlands got to where it is now. See especially "Stop the child murder"
Before and After - views of places before and after they have been transformed for cycling
Directness - examples of prioritising cycling
Traffic Lights - examples of how cyclists can be prioritised and kept safe at traffic light junctions. Note that it's almost always possible to turn right on a red light when cycling in the Netherlands.
Roundabouts - roundabouts in the Netherlands have one very important feature to learn from: They keep cyclists away from motor vehicles. This is far more important than the differences in geometry vs. roundabouts in other countries.
Exceptional infrastructure is always nice to see, but remember that a dense network of mundane routes is far more important to boost cycling modal share
Gritting of cycle paths - dealing with snow and ice.
Children - It may seem hackneyed, but children really are the future. If they can't cycle safely then where will future adult cyclists come from ? This is why children should be the primary focus of campaigners. Note also that according to UNICEF, Dutch children are the happiest in the world.
School travel - Everyone knows that Dutch children cycle to school, but it's a surprise to many people that school trips are also usually by bike.
Cycle Parking - including our favourite design of stand.
Cycle Parking at railway stations, see in particular Groningen and Assen as each have multiple posts showing how the cycle parking has grown over time.
Health effects of cycling
Road Works - It's important that cyclists are thought of when there are road works. If the environment becomes hostile for cyclists then they may stop cycling and never start again.
Commuting - Commuting cyclists are interesting, but they're not the only people who should ride bikes.
Anatomy of a reliable everyday bicycle - the common features of bikes used by nearly every person every day in the Netherlands.
Speed - Some people have the idea that Dutch cyclists are slow. This isn't true. It is just that in the Netherlands, everyone cycles, including the slow people. Fast cyclists are as fast as anywhere. These posts show people who ride faster than average, using the same infrastructure as those who ride slower.

The less positive stuff
What not to do if you want a cycling "revolution" - Long list of interventions and policies which are not helpful.
Copy the best examples from the Netherlands - a short list summarising the above. Important to copy the best examples, not just anything "Dutch". Bear in mind that the Netherlands is not perfect.
Shared Space - this much hyped idea simply does not work well. It disenfranchises the vulnerable and claims of safety are exaggerated. Don't confuse the concept with far more successful nearly car free streets.
Shared Use Paths designed to be used by pedestrians and cyclists together. These rarely work well because the two user groups are too different and it leads to conflicts. They are not built in the Netherlands (but cycle access to pedestrianized zones is good).
Strict (or presumed) liability - If you think this is an important part of why people cycle in the Netherlands then it is probably not what you think it is.
Helmets - one of several ways of scaremongering about the supposed dangers of what is actually a very safe means of transport

Myths about cycling

Long list of myths and Excuses - Various reasons that many people, even existing cyclists, give for why the cycling rate is low in their country, including:
  "our streets are too narrow"
  "it's too expensive"
  "our population is too spread out"
  "we have hills
  "our distances are too great"
  "it took decades in the Netherlands"
  "it's because of the price of gas"
  "it's the weather"
  "Cycle-paths cause indirect journeys"
  "Cycle-paths make people slow"
Cycling is "booming" in Britain - a claim we hear remarkably frequently, but it'll take a lot more than the action taken now before it will be true.
The Truth about Copenhagen - Pretty pictures and nice branding are all very well, but facts are important too. Denmark has no explanation of why the cycling modal share is falling in Copenhagen. The Netherlands has avoided this problem and sets a much better example of how to achieve a high cycling rate.
The Truth about Cambridge - Cambridge in the UK has made claims of being a true cycling city. The city does have the highest cycling rate in the English speaking world, but there are special reasons for its high cycling rate which cannot be copied elsewhere. Most people don't talk about this. I do.
London Superhighways - Unfortunately, London seems to be having trouble coming to grips with the idea of prioritizing cyclists.
Boris Bikes - London's bike share scheme, just like others worldwide, lacks the capacity to make any real change, and makes up for it with hype.