A view from the cycle path: Happy New Year

Friday, 1 January 2010

Happy New Year

After a very pleasant evening with the neighbours and an awesome racket from fireworks into the early hours, we wake up today in a new year.

We got up late, and took our dog, Harry, for a walk. As normal, we did this by bike. Harry's a regular on the blog, having been featured going for a ride in the countryside and riding in his dog trailer. Now we're back on the same dog walking path as I covered earlier in the year.

However, it's a bit colder today. It just about crept up to freezing point before going down again later. It didn't snow today, but it should do so again tomorrow, and the temperature is predicted as being down to -9 C ( 15 F ) on Sunday - just in time for the children to cycle back to school on Monday.

This path is a bit slippery, but it's not a bike path so it can be so.

Next to a frozen ditch. Today Harry didn't go for a swim.

And over one of the bridges on our walk.

Now we're back on a bike path. You can see the difference it makes for it to have been gritted and swept regularly. The gentleman in the photo is walking his dogs using an electric buggy. One of the great things about having an extensive network of cycle paths is that they a resource accessible to all.

Another shot of the same cycle path as it turns into a bicycle road which goes directly to the city centre.

And here we're about to cross a bridge which was visible on another video from earlier in the year.

And along the cycle path by the side of the now frozen canal which provides the first part of my route to work.

We returned home to watch and listen to the wonderful broadcast of the New Year's Day concert from Vienna, including of course the Blue Danube waltz, as used by Mike Rubbo in his film of bikes in Amsterdam in the summer.

Anyway, it's time that I wished all my readers a Happy, Healthy and Prosperous new year.

7 comments:

Dave Telling said...: Happy New Year to you (from Paisley) and thanks for the insight into a fantastic cycling network :-); 1 January 2010 at 18:30
Mark W. said...: Happy New Year to you too David.

Great to see you still have snow! And even better to see what the cycle paths look like. Assen is doing a great job there. As you will know this is something local authorities have to organise and they don't all do it this well.

But here, just 200km south of you, it is not necessary anymore: we have been clear of snow for a week now.; 1 January 2010 at 18:46
James D. Schwartz said...: Happy New Year David!

We haven't seen snow on the ground yet here in Toronto, but it's snowing right now and the grass is almost covered. Hopefully we will see more people cycling through the winter this year, and more next year.

Thanks for showing the rest of the world that snow doesn't have to be a barrier to utility cycling.; 1 January 2010 at 21:01
Jim Robb said...: Happy New Year from Virginia USA.
We had an unusual Snow storm a couple of weeks ago which slowed down this southern town of Richmond.

Love your Blog!; 1 January 2010 at 23:14
Slow Factory said...: I am curious about the actual composition of the stuff they use to keep the ice at bay... do you know?; 2 January 2010 at 02:42
Steven Vance said...: I love how your bike lanes are plowed and gritted (first time I've heard that word). The ones in Chicago aren't, but as long as the motorists move their cars from key streets (like they're supposed to), it's usually okay.

I referenced a previous article you wrote about people in wheelchairs on my own blog.; 2 January 2010 at 08:25
Frits B said...: @GreenIdeaFactory: Essentially it's just NaCl, unrefined kitchen salt. Very bad for the environment, so nowadays it's premixed with brine and sprayed very thinly. Very effective but only after you have removed the actual snow.; 2 January 2010 at 11:01

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.