A view from the cycle path: Koninginnedag (Queen's Day)

Friday, 30 April 2010

Koninginnedag (Queen's Day)

Mark Wagenbuur has made another marvellous video showing scenes of cycling in the Netherlands. Ideal for Koninginnedag, or "Queens Day", which is a national holiday here in the Netherlands, and is today. The 30th of April. It's a great event, with lots of Orange everywhere, music, a free market... Mark says "This time the cycling really takes place in Holland (which is in the west of the Netherlands). In North-Holland to be precise, in and around the city of Alkmaar. Since it is all windmills, tulips and bicycles in this video a bit of corny music seemed fitting. 'Ik hou van Holland' (I love Holland) by 1950s child singer Heintje, a street organ and on the accordion. You can't really go much more Dutch than this..." The music is also used by a very amusing TV show with the name "Ik hou van Holland", which is not the most serious thing on Dutch TV. Anyway, we'll be in the town centre enjoying the festivities...

6 comments:

Kevin Love said...: Here in Canada, the Queen's Birthday is celebrated on May 24.

Before you say "but wasn't she born on..." I'll point out that May 24 was the birthday of Queen Victoria.

Ever since, every subsequent monarch has had his or her birthday celebrated on May 24. And if that day does not fall on a Monday (as it does this year)it will be moved to the nearest Monday to give everyone a long weekend.

On May 24, I'll be out at the Queen's Birthday Parade in Toronto.; 30 April 2010 at 00:30
Freedom Cyclist said...: love it! can't wait to try it all out!; 30 April 2010 at 02:46
Frits B said...: @Kevin Love: April 30 isn't the actual Dutch Queen's birthday either. It's her mother's. Beatrix' birthday is January 31 when it would be too cold for outdoor festivities. And as her son's birthday is on April 27 I suppose Queen's, or in his case King's Birthday will continue to be on April 30 for the sake of convenience. That's how traditions are born.; 30 April 2010 at 11:57
Neil said...: I think in the UK the Queens official birthday is early June, but it's not a holiday unless you are a civil servant.

Strange that Canada use Queen Victoria's birthday but that we don't (given I don't think our date has any relevance at all).; 30 April 2010 at 13:34
Anneke said...: @ Frits: maybe a new law should be passed, making it illegal for any Dutch monarch be have his/her birthday on any day other than april 30th? :P

Anyway, I'm not particulary fond of Queensday. Boring music and lame artists. So I just stay home and make my own fun. :); 30 April 2010 at 15:46
Unknown said...: I was born on April 30...I'm still wondering why we in Canada don't have a national holiday on this day :p

As for May 24, I'd hazard a guess that 99% of Canadians do NOT celebrate it as the Queen's birthday. Most call it May two-four, for a reason (case a 24 beer). It's usually considered the first long weekend of summer where the cottages open up and the heavy drinking begins.; 1 May 2010 at 02:45

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.