Whenever you see images of Amsterdam it is mostly of the historic city centre. Yes those pretty canals with their beautiful 17th century houses are what defines Amsterdam, but passed the ring of canals there is a large and much lesser known part of this vibrant city. When it comes to cycling infrastructure that rest of Amsterdam really has a lot more to offer than the traffic calmed city centre.
On September 30th last, I rode a bicycle through Amsterdam for the very first time in my life. It had just never come to it. With the help of OV-fiets and because I wanted to film both Nescio Bridge and Berlage Bridge (you saw those video’s earlier), I finally rode through the city in which my father’s father was born.
Well known junction design, with the distinctive traffic island,
is also common in Amsterdam.
More info in an earlier blog post.
To be honest, riding in Amsterdam wasn’t very special. Cycling infrastructure in the Netherlands is very similar wherever you ride. After over 30 years of experience a standard has grown which is widely used throughout the country. Just as there is a standard way of building motorways with similar exits etc. that is widely accepted as the safest way to build motorways, the Netherlands has developed a way to build cycling infrastructure, that is widely acknowledged to be the safest way to build it. This leads to very similar junctions and paths which is also in line with one of the pillars of Dutch infrastructure design: road design should be instantly recognized by road users to increase safety.
My ride in Amsterdam and the parts in green that can be seen in the video. Link to the map.
In order for you to follow where I rode, there is also a Google map with links to the corresponding time frames in the video. This was asked for the recent Maastricht video, so I thought it would be good to have for this video too.
Good video. This confirms the impression I have received of Dutch cities that I have cycled in. If you just see the centre, as foreigners will often do, you get a false impression that the cycling is all about the traffic-calmed streets and shared spaces and that the safety just arises from the large number of cyclists. You have to look at the suburbs to see the importance of the main-road and off-road cycle tracks in generating all that that cycle traffic and taking it to the centre of the city.
I didn't realise the Dutch used push-button crossings for bikes, but there is one at 2 minutes in.
@David yes we do have push-buttons. But as you can see at 1:15 they are usually combined with detection loops ahead of the junction. Which means that you only really have to use them in case the loop didn't detect you. Often (as at 1:15) the light turns green before you can even get to the button right at the moment you reach the light.
@442974 David didn't leave out anything, that was me, Mark.
Your StreetView picture of Ferdinand Bolstraat is very outdated! Amsterdam is building a metroline under that street. THIS is what it looked like a year ago. I think it didn't change much since last year. I don't know, because I haven't been there for a long time. Building will go on for quite a few years. After that, the street will no doubt be updated. Judging from the fact that cyclists can still use the street during the building activities, you can trust the street will never again look like your outdated streetview picture, but will have modern facilities for cycling. Google StreetView is no good tool to find out what Dutch streets look like now. As David has pointed out before: in the 4 years he has lived in the Netherlands he has seen a major change already. Most StreetView pictures are a lot older than 4 years. But they can be used to show a before and after image.
@James D. yes we all agree on that one: scooters áre dangerous on the cycle path. Not if they would stick to the maximum speed (25kph) because that is almost the same as a cyclist, but they never do. This is under debate.
Thanks for your reply, Mark. I'm still surprised that scooters are allowed on the path at all. There is no way to enforce a 25k speed limit, and owners of scooters seem unlikely to limit their own speed if they can get away with going faster. I can see road rage incidents developing at junctions when cyclists catch up with scooters that have just zoomed past them. Here in Australia we don't have the level of cycling paths that you do there, but if a scooter zoomed past me like that, I'd be tempted to push them into a tree!
As for mopeds. I think it's fair to say, as Mark did, that "we all agree" that we don't like mopeds. However, I feel I have to point out that the problems they cause are probably less than you think. In some places they seem to be genuinely a nuisance. In many others they're rarely seen.
Also the point about limiting their speed. As I understood it, that is supposed to be the top speed of the type of mopeds allowed on the paths i.e. same as an assisted cycle. So if I have that right, then it's not a question of the rider opening the throttle too much, but of de-restricting the moped or using a more powerful type of scooter.
And yes they were unsettling, but more of a huge annoyance.
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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. 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, including 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.
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A cyclist in a cycling family living in the capital of the cycling province of the world's greatest cycling country.
I was born in the UK, lived for over 8 years in New Zealand and have lived in the Netherlands since 2007.
I organise cycling infrastructure study tours, run an online bicycle shop, arrange cycling holidays and write a popular blog about cycling.
My email address is avftcp@hembrow.eu
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9 comments:
David, why did you leave out typical Amsterdam streets like Ferdinand Bolstraat
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/19739548/ppics/Ferdinand-Bolstraat.jpg
Good video. This confirms the impression I have received of Dutch cities that I have cycled in. If you just see the centre, as foreigners will often do, you get a false impression that the cycling is all about the traffic-calmed streets and shared spaces and that the safety just arises from the large number of cyclists. You have to look at the suburbs to see the importance of the main-road and off-road cycle tracks in generating all that that cycle traffic and taking it to the centre of the city.
I didn't realise the Dutch used push-button crossings for bikes, but there is one at 2 minutes in.
David
Vole O'Speed
@David yes we do have push-buttons. But as you can see at 1:15 they are usually combined with detection loops ahead of the junction. Which means that you only really have to use them in case the loop didn't detect you. Often (as at 1:15) the light turns green before you can even get to the button right at the moment you reach the light.
@442974 David didn't leave out anything, that was me, Mark.
Your StreetView picture of Ferdinand Bolstraat is very outdated! Amsterdam is building a metroline under that street.
THIS is what it looked like a year ago. I think it didn't change much since last year. I don't know, because I haven't been there for a long time. Building will go on for quite a few years. After that, the street will no doubt be updated. Judging from the fact that cyclists can still use the street during the building activities, you can trust the street will never again look like your outdated streetview picture, but will have modern facilities for cycling.
Google StreetView is no good tool to find out what Dutch streets look like now. As David has pointed out before: in the 4 years he has lived in the Netherlands he has seen a major change already. Most StreetView pictures are a lot older than 4 years. But they can be used to show a before and after image.
Great facilities. Except, why are motorbikes or scooters allowed on the cycle paths? That doesn't seem safe at all.
@James D. yes we all agree on that one: scooters áre dangerous on the cycle path. Not if they would stick to the maximum speed (25kph) because that is almost the same as a cyclist, but they never do. This is under debate.
Thanks for your reply, Mark. I'm still surprised that scooters are allowed on the path at all. There is no way to enforce a 25k speed limit, and owners of scooters seem unlikely to limit their own speed if they can get away with going faster. I can see road rage incidents developing at junctions when cyclists catch up with scooters that have just zoomed past them. Here in Australia we don't have the level of cycling paths that you do there, but if a scooter zoomed past me like that, I'd be tempted to push them into a tree!
I just realised why I knew the name of Ferdinand Bolstraat. There was an article about it earlier on this blog, talking about how the shopkeepers along the road want cyclists more than trams.
As for mopeds. I think it's fair to say, as Mark did, that "we all agree" that we don't like mopeds. However, I feel I have to point out that the problems they cause are probably less than you think. In some places they seem to be genuinely a nuisance. In many others they're rarely seen.
Also the point about limiting their speed. As I understood it, that is supposed to be the top speed of the type of mopeds allowed on the paths i.e. same as an assisted cycle. So if I have that right, then it's not a question of the rider opening the throttle too much, but of de-restricting the moped or using a more powerful type of scooter.
And yes they were unsettling, but more of a huge annoyance.
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