It was a lovely day yesterday and the cycle-paths of Drenthe were calling so I decided to make the journey to the Dwingelderveld to eat my lunch next to the somewhat famous radio telescope. Why there in particular ? I'm currently reading Harry Mulisch's "De Ontdekking van de Hemel" ("The Discovery of Heaven"). The author stayed in the area of the radio telescope during the time when he wrote the novel and the telescope features in the book as well as in the film adaption of "The Discovery of Heaven".
This was cycling for no reason other than it was pleasant to cycle so I looked at the map and roughly picked out a reasonably scenic 70 km round trip including the aforementioned planned stop for an extended lunch...
On the way out I stopped at a village bakery to buy some of their delicious, sourdough bread for my lunch.
Continuing onward, a reminder of the continuous progress being made. This country road isn't very busy, but it is used by some heavy vehicles and this cycle-path, which I followed for about 6 km before turning in a different direction, is a big improvement.
"For your and our safety, 60 km/h". A reminder that some places are yet to be improved.
The many cycle-paths through forests are a highlight of cycling in Drenthe
Sometimes cycle-paths through woods need bridges over areas of wet land.
The most beautiful cycle-path in the province, according to the local paper.
The destination
I made sandwiches with the bread I bought earlier and read a couple of chapters of the book.
A popular spot for hungry cyclists.
Europe's radio telescopes are linked to a centre near here, one of the many excellent things funded by the EU. The EU also contributed funds to build some of the cycle-paths along which I rode to arrive here.
On the way home, a reminder of what keeps us safe from the danger of large vehicles. It's not that Dutch drivers are especially skilled or careful, it's not that large vehicles don't exist here (for example, larger trucks are allowed here than in the UK), or that they're not allowed in to the same places as cyclists. We are safe because we rarely interact with those vehicles because both cycle-paths and the road junctions are designed to eliminate conflict and city centres exclude through traffic.
Also on the way home, the man in a fluorescent jacket is directing traffic in one direction at a time past the cherry picker. Cyclists were not hindered. Road works need not inconvenience cyclists.
I returned home about three hours after I left, having had a good bit of exercise and a very tasty lunch. A very enjoyable extended lunch-break, re-discovering a little bit of heaven here on earth, using nothing more than my muscles and one of the most efficient means of transport to do so.
Click for more information about the railway station including the excellent convenient access between the platform, the extensive cycle parking and these cycle-paths.
Imagine if sidewalks (pavements in the UK) for pedestrians were unidirectional. If you wanted to visit your neighbour who lived on the right side of your home then you could walk there directly, but to come back home again in a legal manner you'd be expected to cross the road, walk until you were opposite your home and then cross back again. Does that make sense ? Of course not. The inconvenience of expecting people to cross the road simply to walk in the opposite direction is absurd. All sidewalks are therefore bidirectional.
Bidirectional cycle-paths, well implemented, provide cyclists with a similar level of utility as do bidirectional sidewalks. Instead of having to cross a road to travel a short distance in the "wrong" direction, cyclists can stay on the same side of a road. This makes short journeys significantly faster. It also improves their safety because they don't have to cross the road twice. Crossing the road is a significant risk: I noted in a previous blog that the most dangerous locations for cyclists in many Dutch cities are often simple uncontrolled crossings (at least where more dangerous examples of infrastructure have been eliminated)
Directness of routes is important for cycling to succeed. The more efficient that we can make cycling, the more journeys there are for which people will find it a convenient mode of transport. Bidirectional cycle-paths allow for this convenience.
It is, of course, possible to create a poor version of almost anything. That includes bidirectional cycle-paths. Where they are criticised, look for other issues. For example, poor junction design which may create conflict or make cyclists less visible to drivers.
Here are some examples of where bidirectional cycle-paths make sense. Click on the links in the descriptions of the photos to see more examples:
In a city centre
In the city centre, where a cycle-path replaced a busy road, only a bidirectional cycle-path makes sense
In the countryside
Cycle-paths through recreational areas are almost always bidirectional. There would be no sense in making them otherwise.
Alongside a busy road
This bidirectional cycle-path is alongside a busy road through an industrial area which has four lanes of motor traffic, a central reservation and destinations on both sides. It is not desirable to require people to cross the road than is absolutely necessary. Bidirectional cycling is possible on both sides of the road.
in residential areas
This bidirectional cycle-path is in a residential suburb. In this case there is a canal on the other side of the road so it would make no sense at all to require cyclists to cross the road in order to ride next to the canal instead of next to the homes which are destinations for cyclists.
Brand new infrastructure linking a residential area to the centre of the city. There is a road behind the bushes on the right, but after the road there is nothing but the railway track. Here also it makes sense for cyclists to ride on one side of the road in both directions.
Where all destinations are on one side of the road
All destinations along this road, including shops and cafes, are on this side of road while on the other side of the road there is a canal. It would make no sense here to make cyclists cross in order to ride towards the camera. On the other side of the canal there is a bidirectional bicycle road which does not offer a through route to drivers. Note also how the road junction design reduces the danger of collision with motor vehicles. The turning radius is small and the black "cannonballs" prevent drivers from cutting the corner.
Roundabout design
One of several features which defines the safest urban roundabout design for cyclists is a design which allows safe use of bidirectional cycle-paths. These also increase convenience by allowing so few crossings to be made as possible (you are never required to ride across three arms of a roundabout to turn across traffic).
Traffic light design
Simultaneous Green traffic light junction. Cyclists can go in all directions at once when the lights are green for bikes. All motor vehicles are held behind red lights and all possibility of conflict with them is removed. A very useful design for use with bidirectional cycle-paths. Also note the width of the cycle-path, which can cope with large flows of cyclists. Also see a different traffic light design which feeds into a bidirectional cycle-path without conflict.
This bicycle road is on the other side of the canal from the last photo. Bicycle roads are of course always bidirectional for cyclists, though they are sometimes one-way for drivers.
Where a bicycle road ends and cycle traffic is led onto a cycle-path it would be absurd to use anything other than a bidirectional cycle-path such as is shown here. In this case there are some recreational destinations on the right of the road, but the vast majority of destinations (homes and shops) are on the left, and are served well by this cycle-path.
Adequate width for tidal flow or at junctions between cycle-paths
Just short of four metres wide, this cycle-path copes well with considerable cycling volumes, especially tidal traffic at school times (the low building behind the cyclists to the right is a secondary school). Behind the camera there is a busy road junction.
Junctions between cycle-paths require even more width. At this point, the cycle-path exceeds six metres in width. The bridges cross a canal.
Conclusion
We sometimes hear blanket criticism of the idea of bidirectional cycle-paths, but it is not justified. In many cases they improve both safety and convenience for cyclists. To a first approximation a bidirectional cycle-path is always more useful than a single-direction path for the simple reason that cyclists can use it in both directions.
