Road works vs the Dutch cyclist - a rural main route between village and city

Road works always risk placing cyclists at a dangerous disadvantage, which can result in people opting for another form of transport. To prevent this, cycle-routes must always be maintained, as can be seen in this video.

There are many other examples of this principle being applied in many different situations.

Four more examples of how to preserve cycling routes during roadworks. Road Works vs. The Dutch Cyclist

Road-works can seriously disrupt cycling. If cyclists are forced to dismount, to make longer journeys or to ride on roads full of motor vehicles then these inconveniences and dangers could cause people to stop cycling.

Cycling is fragile. It doesn't take many bad experiences to make people give up. If people break the habit of cycling they may not return very quickly. That is why it is important that the integrity of the fine grid of high quality cycling infrastructure required to achieve a high cycling modal share is maintained during road-works.

It is not exceptional or unusual that cyclists should be thought of during road works. These four videos were shot within the last week:


A large junction for cars in Assen is being reconstructed. It's on a busy cycle-route so this has been maintained by building an easy to use temporary route through the construction site.


While works take place on the ring-road of Assen, motorists are required to drive in one direction only on part of the ring road. Driving straight through attracts a €140 fine. This does not affect cyclists because we have a separate cycle-path.

A new roundabout is being constructed in a village. The road is closed to through traffic, but the cycle-path is not so cyclists can make their journeys just as conveniently as usual


Works in the countryside have meant closure of a short length of cycle-path. A lane from the road is taken in order to preserve good cycling conditions. This cycle-path is used almost entirely for recreational use, but it is still important that cycling should not be disrupted even here.

On this blog there are many other examples of how road works can be made not to prevent cycling. See all the "Road works vs. the Dutch Cyclist" blog posts for more videos and photos showing how road works in any situation are made to have as little effect on cyclists as possible.

A temporary signalled crossing for cyclists (Road works vs. the Dutch cyclist)

Where cycling is at a high level, chances can't be taken with what would happen if cyclists were redirected from safe and direct cycle-paths onto busy unpleasant roads. The result could be a catastrophic change in how people travel.

Cycling is very fragile.

If people have unpleasant experiences when cycling, they are likely to give up and make their future journeys by a different mode. This is why a comprehensive grid of very high quality infrastructure which keeps cyclists away from cars is essential to achieve the cycling potential of any area given local demographics and geography. It's also why in the absence of safe cycling infrastructure, no amount of training results in people cycling more.

The details are important. This temporary traffic island makes it possible for people to stop in the middle of the road in safety. In the video, a teenage boy starts to cross the road against a red light and benefits from this island. Note that just as at permanent crossings, cyclists are not required to stop in the middle and wait for another light. Crossing the road is always achieved in one motion.

Though this is a temporary cycle-path, the give way line is marked in an obvious way and there is a very flat transition between the road and the cycle-path. In fact, this temporary cycle-path is smoother than the service road to which it connects.

The signs, markings and signals are all familiar to anyone who is used to Dutch cycling infrastructure. There is nothing new to learn, no surprises due to anything operating in an unusual way. This consistency leads to safety.

In this instance it was not possible to construct a temporary crossing right next to the old crossing. Therefore the redirection signs had to be clear and obvious. This sign design is standard for redirections during road-works.

This is not an example of something exceptional, but of the norm. In the Netherlands it is normal that cyclists' routes are maintained when cycle-paths have to be dug up. Please read the many other examples of road works vs. the Dutch cyclist going back six years on this blog or see other examples of maintenance.

Road works vs. the Dutch Cyclist - resurfacing of a rural cycle-path

Before resurfacing

When Judy and I were planning routes a evenings ago we came along this cycle-path. It's being upgraded from an older surface to modern smooth concrete, as has happened on many cycle-paths. However, while the new concrete is setting you can't ride on it, so half the road has been closed for bikes and drivers must wait at traffic lights not just once but twice within a few km.

After resurfacing

This might seem exceptional, but in the Netherlands it's not exceptional at all. This is actually quite normal (see all the examples on this blog together). If you want a high cycling modal share to be preserved while there are works, the subjective safety of cyclists must be preserved while the works take place. If this is not done then people may stop cycling themselves, and more importantly they may stop their children from cycling to school, and that is the route to less cycling in the future.

Preserving cycle routes despite road works (Road Works vs. the Dutch Cyclist part 2)

It's nearly two years since my last roundup of videos showing how road works don't inhibit cycling in the Netherlands, and here are two more videos showing different examples of the same thing.

The principle remains the same: It is extremely important that cycle routes not only are kept open, but also retain a high degree of subjective safety, when there are road works. If this is not done then there is a good chance that people will be put off cycling, and if they are put off then they may never return to cycling.

The first example is from here in Assen. This is a secondary route into the city centre, on the other side of the canal from the primary route (a bicycle road which we've covered several times before). Even though this is a secondary route, and the detour to the primary route is short, this route has also been kept open for cyclists for the duration of the works, at the expense of drivers:


We saw the second example on our holiday last week. This is not in Assen, but in Apeldoorn, a town about 120 km south of here. In this case, a large junction was being reconstructed and the road surface had been completely removed. Drivers travelling in this direction have a long detour while the works take place. However, while there is necessarily a slight detour for cyclists due to the works, it's been kept to the shortest distance possible while preserving safe crossing points away from the works themselves. The reconstruction will include improvements to the cycling infrastructure, but for now it is necessary to cross the road and ride on temporary surfaces:


Cycling is inherently quite fragile. If it seems unsafe then people are less likely to take part.

If routes to school don't seem safe then parents won't let their children cycle to school (something which almost all Dutch children do). If older people are expected to develop extra strength to deal with riding in unpleasant conditions, then they also would be scared away.

This is why it is necessary to go to some lengths to keep cycling as an attractive and preferable alternative to driving or taking public transport even when works are necessary on cycle-paths or roads.

Only if cycling retains attractiveness and convenience for all can everyone continue to cycle. It is necessary for cycling to have this wide appeal in order to have a modal share which is greater than anywhere else in the world.

Countries with an ambition to grow their cycling modal share need to understand the importance of this. Cycling infrastructure needs to be seamless and simple to use for all ages and abilities, and cycling needs to be supported everywhere, not just where it is easy to do so. Only that way does cycling become a choice for the majority. Unless this is the case, cycling remains a minority pursuit.

See also see the previous installment of Road Works vs. the Dutch Cyclist, which included four other videos like these.

The second video in this post shows a small part of a 130 km journey home that we made together by bike last Sunday. As is usual when cycling in the Netherlands, this distance was covered mostly on cycle-paths but also on some stretches of roads with little traffic. Apart from cobbled surfaces through a few villages, leading in one case to another redirection. Not once on our journey did we experience off-putting conditions for cycling, and nor did we expect to find such conditions. Comprehensive infrastructure works not only for short journeys, but also for longer journeys.

Road works vs. the Dutch cyclist

On the way home from Groningen on Friday I found that the road had been redirected onto the cycle path. Sounds alarming, but actually there was nothing to worry about. Barriers had been erected and a tarmac temporary cycle path had been built so that cycling could continue as normal.

It's quite normal for this to happen. These are some of the other videos I've made of similar things which have happened in the past, some of which have also appeared on this blog tagged with "road works vs. the dutch cyclist":

Cycle-path is dug up

In this example, the road is converted to one-way with temporary traffic lights so that cycle flow is unimpeded.

Riding in a bus lane

Here the cycle-path was being resurfaced so bikes were directed into the bus-lane. This would have created a conflict between bikes and buses had buses not been temporarily banned from their own lane. Bikes are completely incompatible in the same lane as buses and therefore they are never mixed.

Riding on a dual carriageway

Here the cycle-path is again being worked on, so one half of a dual carriageway has been taken for cyclists while motorists use just the other side. Again, it removes any potential conflict which could have occurred had cyclists been expected to use the road with cars and trucks.

Sometimes there are temporary bridges installed, both small and large.

And why does this all happen ? Well, cycling is fragile. If people have bad experiences they may stop cycling. If it is desirable to create and maintain a high rate of cycling then a good degree of subjective safety must also be maintained.

More temporary bridges for cyclists

If people are put off cycling, even temporarily, they may not return. For this reason, much effort is expended to make sure that cyclists are not endangered or inconvenienced by road works in the Netherlands. This film by Mark Wagenbuur shows two different examples of temporary bridges being built to maintain cycle routes in 's-Hertogenbosch.

See the labels below for more bridges, more from Den Bosch, more from Mark and more coverage of what happens to cyclists when there are road works.

Redirection

These photos were taken near work a few days back. The sign says "Through-going cycle traffic to the left cut off. Follow(2)". The numbering system means that more than one redirection is possible at any one time.

Keep following in the direction of the signs and of course you get directed back to where you would have been if road works had not interrupted the cycle route.

As covered previously, cycle routes are generally not cut off when road works take place as it's important to maintain cycling. However, this can't always be the case, and this is the alternative.

Follow these signs to find the alternative route.

There are several other stories about road works and how they affect cyclists.

Free bicycle for commuters

I really can't add anything to this story from the fietsberaad, so I'm repeating it verbatim below:

The minor road N302 in Harderwijk will soon be overhauled completely. A bicycle transfer point is provided for motorists willing to cycle the last stretch to work during construction operations. In addition they will be provided with a free bicycle.
plaatje

Overall 150 people will have a transfer bicycle on loan during work on the N302. In return they are expected to cycle to work from the transfer point at least three times a week (in a five-day working week) over fourteen months. Anyone meeting these requirements is allowed to keep the bicycle (at a value of 700 Euro) afterwards. The electronic entrance to the bicycle shed registers daily who is retrieving and returning his bicycle. Participants may choose from eight different types of bicycle. Participation is completely free. The underlying reason is that supplying and maintaining a bicycle transfer point is expensive, but a shuttle bus is far more expensive. By now over 150 people have applied for the free bicycle.

Cyclists do quite well over here when there are road works. We've more examples, including how road lanes are reserved for cyclists during road works.

What happens when the cycle path has been dug up ?

On the way home a bit earlier today the cycle path had been completely dug up. This is, of course, no bother at all to the Dutch cyclist as they can expect to be treated with respect by contractors.

Alongside the cycle path in this location is a two lane road, which normally has one lane in each direction. Today the road is reduced to a single lane, and in using it drivers in the two directions have to negotiate. Cyclists have been given one of the lanes for full time use in both directions. Yet again, cyclists come first, and have the least disruption.

The video shows the temporary arrangement in use:

Explanatory captions on the video are only visible when it is played on a computer and not on a mobile device.

Cycling is always a reliable way to get about here. You don't find unpleasant surprises due to things like road works. It's all part of making sure that people always want to cycle.

This is one of a number of posts which illustrate examples like this. Please view the videos of the other examples.

I have other examples tagged road works. Also on the photos page there is a temporary bridge for cyclists.

Subjective safety in Cambridge

We used to live in Cambridge in the UK. While there is a low rate of cycling by Dutch standards, this city has the highest rate of cycling in the English speaking world. Unfortunately, they don't pay much attention to what it would take to increase subjective safety to the level where everyone will cycle, and as the results of a poll in the local paper ("Do you think cycling through Cambridge is dangerous?") show, it's a place where many people don't feel safe to cycle.

The poll was linked to an article that the Cambridge Evening News ran yesterday about a dangerous set of road works in the city which have been causing problems for cyclists for months. I wonder how many people have given up cycling across this busy bridge as a result of the works ?

Cyclists are given no choice but to ride in front of cars using the restrictions and are being hassled by drivers as they cross the bridge. The bridge is steep enough to cause many cyclists to slow quite considerably, increasing the conflict caused by this arrangement.

I can't imagine such designed in conflict being a feature of road works in this country. I've pointed out before, on the Cambridge Cycling Campaign website amongst other places that road works here reduce conflict with cyclists in order to make sure that cyclists keep on cycling (that was five different links to five different examples), even if it means having to put up temporary bridges which maintain cycle routes while the usual route is cut off due to works.

Take a look at the following videos for two examples. In both cases the cycle path is being resurfaced. In this one the bus lane has been converted for cyclists only for the duration of the works:

And in this case half the dual carriageway has been set aside for bikes for the duration of the works:


If the intention is to maintain and perhaps grow a cycling culture, it's really no good to let people get hassled off the road.

It's not unique, of course. There is a past history of road works in Cambridge causing problems for cyclists, and of new developments leaving a mess behind.

We organise study tours on which we show off the excellent infrastructure in the Netherlands. Where there are road works you'll not see cyclists pushed into dangerous positions. You'll also see an awful lot of cyclists because very few people feel that cycling is unsafe here.

Fietsers Oversteken

There is a lot of resurfacing of cycle paths going on at the moment. The result of this is closed cycle paths which can be quite a nuisance. There are, of course, ways to avoid most of the problems, and luckily the result of the resurfacing is generally much improved over what went before. Here are two examples of resurfacing happening at the moment. One is part way between Groningen and Assen at Paterswolde, the other in Groningen itself.

First the cycle path shown in the photo on the left. I met this temporary "Fietsers Oversteken" (Cyclists - cross the road) sign part way back from Groningen a few days ago. This is an oldish 2.5 m wide rural bike path which is normally single direction. There's another on the other side of the road for people travelling in the same direction as we are in this photo. You can see that at this point it's being dug up in order to improve the surface.

The second photo, on the right, shows the surface on the other side of the road. This is a gloriously smooth concrete. The temporary yellow sign reads "Tegemoetkomende fietsers" - warning that because of the works having closed the cycle path on the other side of the road, cyclists using this new 3 m wide path will have to contend with it being bidirectional until the other side has been transformed in the same way.

You'll note that in the modern style, the cycle path goes through the side road uninterrupted. There are also give-way triangles for motorists. There can be no doubt here about who has priority at this junction.

I also made a video of crossing the road here.

Next we have the second example of a redirections for cyclists due to resurfacing of a cycle path. In this case, the sign says "take care - cyclists in the bus lane".

However, when you ride past this sign you find that you're not expected to ride with the buses. Buses and cyclists are generally kept apart here, and the buses have been banished to the main traffic lanes so that cyclists get the bus-lane entire for themselves. You can see it on video.

It's important to make sure that cyclists don't get put off cycling when there are road works. These efforts to preserve conditions for cyclists, even while the works are intended to improve conditions for cyclists long term, are important.

When resurfacing work like this is carried out, there is co-ordination between the local government and the water, electricity, gas and telecoms people, so that they can replace wires, pipes etc. under the path as it is being resurfaced. This prevents a brand new path from being dug up again immediately.

I've previously written about the effect of road works on cyclists, giving different examples.

Road Works

How cyclists are treated when there are road works varies greatly depending on where they are.

I took both of the two photos, spaced in time over a couple of years. The first was taken when I lived in Cambridge and the second since we moved over here to the Netherlands.

In the British example, due to major works on the roads in the North of Cambridge, it is clearly important that two lanes of motorized traffic are allowed to flow. An absolute minimum of space has been taken from the road to provide a shared use bidirectional path of 60 cm in width. With cyclists going in both directions, dog walkers, people pushing prams etc. expected to use this narrow space, there was no room for comfort.

In the Dutch example, near an industrial estate in Groningen, the road works are on the cycle path itself, which is being resurfaced. While is is being done, a whole lane is taken from the road, leaving motorists with one lane to use instead of two, and resulting in a route for cyclists which is still comfortably wide.

I've seen many examples of this kind of thing since we moved, including the closure of a bus lane to make a temporary cycle path and even of a dual carriageway being reduced from four lanes to two in order that the other two lanes can be used by cyclists. I've also seen cyclists excepted from road closures due to works, and temporary bridges built to maintain cycle routes when the main route has been broken by works on the canal.

Cyclists don't disappear when road works are under way, but the habit of cycling can be undone very quickly by making conditions for cyclists unpleasant and it can be very difficult to encourage people back onto their bikes after they've stopped cycling.

You may have seen the first photo before. It was used on the cover of Cambridge Cycling Campaign newsletter 65.