Bus and bike access only. Don't bring your car.

Bus-road on the left, cycle-path on the right. There is no conflict between cyclists and buses. Also no conflict with car drivers on this route.

The new housing area of Kloosterveen on the edge of Assen has not yet been completed, however most of the transport infrastructure is in place. This photo shows the route from the western edge of the development into the countryside. It is for cyclists and bus passengers only. The cycle path is on the right in this photo and the bus lane (one bus in width, but for bidirectional use) is on the left. Note that while the bus road is not heavily used - there are only buses every few minutes - cyclists are not expected to share space with the buses. This would lead to conflict between cyclists and bus drivers, and a reduction in subjective safety for cyclists.

The sign makes it quite obvious what will happen to a normal car being driven over this obstacle, as does a close look at the second photo.

There are more routes out of the city by bike than by car, which is part of what makes cycling such an attractive option.

This is the cycle path you eventually end up on if you follow the route from the city centre to the new housing estate and keep on riding out the other side.

Earlier I featured another example of a bus road next to a cycle path, and posted about the lack of fears that cyclists have about buses in an environment where cyclists and buses only very rarely mix. There are also other integrated transport posts which might also be of interest.

Unicycling to school

Where child cyclists cross a bus-road near their school, it is the cycle-path which very obviously has priority.

The children shown in the photo are unicycling to a primary school here in Assen, unattended by any adults.

They're riding on the sidewalk alongside a bicycle path which provides the direct route to this school. It's perfectly safe to let children do this sort of thing here. The cycle-path provides priority for the children, including here where th cycle-path has priority over a road built specifically for buses.

There is another view of the same school, including a very short glimpse of a child with a unicycle, in my now quite famous video of children riding to school.

Lots of children here seem to know how to ride unicycles and it's not all that uncommon to see them going somewhere on them.

It doesn't even seem to be a particularly recent thing. This video (from BeeldenGeluid) shows a child unicycling to school in 1956:

The presenter says how "there are 500000 normal cyclists in Amsterdam, and one on a unicycle. He is joined by a peleton of other cyclists on the way to school. He is without bell, brakes, lights, steering but the police can't do anything about it."

This rider was 16 when the film was made, so he'll be 69 this year. I'd like to think he is still be riding that unicycle.

Note how he rides through something I've commented on before: an older Amsterdam which lacks cycle paths. It is sometimes assumed by people from other countries that the Netherlands has always been as it is now, but that is not true. There is a continual process of improvements for cyclists.

Leaving nothing to chance

Bus road next to cycle-path

A high level of cycling doesn't maintain itself.

Nothing is left to chance here. Cycle paths are designed in first in new developments and cyclists are not expected to slum it by sharing space with buses.

The picture shows a bus waiting at a bus stop on a bus road. This road is not a through road for cars, and has quite light use by buses, but cyclists are provided with a separate wide cycle path so that any possible subjective feeling of lack of safety is avoided. There is also a pedestrian path because cyclists and pedestrians don't mix very well either.

Note that the bus road is not a new road. This was the main route for all traffic until the 21st century when private motor vehicles were redirected to a different route and only buses and cyclists could remain on this route. Unravelling of routes reduces conflicts and reduces the need to slow down and stop. This can give both cyclists and public transport an advantage over private motor vehicles.

It's essential that cyclists are always catered for. Subjective safety should always be maintained. Having buses pass you or pull in or out on the road you're cycling on does not lead to a feeling of subjective safety and that's why combined bus and cycle lanes are not sufficient fort any place which wants mass cycling.

Other examples
When there are road works, the cycle route still has to be maintained. Temporary bridges are put up. While cycle paths are being resurfaced, an alternative route is provided by redirecting cyclists onto safe and convenient routes.

Note also the bicycle parking at the bus stop. There is very nearly always cycle parking at bus stops just as there is very nearly always a bypass for cyclists to avoid danger at bus stops. There is no need for buses to impact negatively on cyclists.