
Cycling Lessons Learned from Amsterdam - bane
https://slowstreets.wordpress.com/2015/03/30/cycling-lessons-learned-from-amsterdam-that-no-one-talks-about/
======
dirktheman
As a dutchman visiting New York City a couple years back, naturally I rented a
bike. A couple of random observations:

\- NYC in theory is ideal for traversing by bicycle. Congested yet flat, much
like (old) Amsterdam

\- It's not so much the lack of bike lanes in the city, it's more the
ignorance of drivers that poses a threat. I can't tell you how many times I
was cut off, simply because the driver didn't see me or didn't expect a
cyclist.

\- On the other hand, fellow cyclists were behaving like mad men. I can
totally see why people are having issues with cyclists. Running red lights,
taking sidewalks, zooming in front of cars, that doesn't get you a lot of
understanding.

\- Cycling in Central Park is somewhat annoying: joggers use the bike lane
because they're faster than normal pedestrians. I've been given a stink eye
more than once because I wanted to overtake a jogger. How dare I use a bicycle
on a bike lane...

\- The Manhattan Waterfront Greenway is fantastic! Except for the parts where
it suddenly stops and you're forced to cycle through heavy traffic to get
around the UN building (taking 1st or 2nd Avenue). I get that this is an
ongoing project, but can they at least alert drivers that they're sharing the
road with cyclists at that point?

\- I did wear a bike helmet while cycling in NYC, but I wouldn't think of it
at home. Cycling is relatively safe here because of the minimal speed
difference when you share the road. This is backed up by numbers: there are
currently 19 million bicycles and 8 million cars on 16 million inhabitants.
About 25% of all movements is made by bicycle. Last year, 212 people died in a
car crash, and 112 people died in bicycle accidents. The vast majority in
these cases were one-sided accidents by elderly people. In perspective: only 2
children died in bike accidents.

~~~
akgerber
NYC traffic and cycling is in a state of transition. Only now, after years of
advocacy, are we starting to get the NYPD to even think about enforcing
traffic laws, and likewise it took tons of work to get even a limited number
of speed enforcement cameras to ticket drivers going over 10mph over the speed
limit.

Likewise, many city cyclists still practice the lawless messenger/madman style
that was necessary to survive in a city with no bike lanes and no traffic law
enforcement, and others revert back to it after being cut off by turning cars
and riding past 10 blocks of a bike lane being blocked by cabs and cops and
...

We're making steady progress in NYC, but we're not there yet. It seems like
we're making a dent, with some actual enforcement of speed laws taking place,
and widespread media concern about dangerous driving and people being killed
in crashes. CitiBike bikeshare is a normal part of the city transit system,
and now has competent management that are fixing its software and investing in
its expansion.

As you note, there's a gap in the East Side bike path due to the UN
Headquarters. It's being filled, but since the UN Headquarters is sovereign
territory, it's a very complex process.

------
Cthulhu_
Re: cars are permitted, this is true, but it's completely impractical to drive
a car in Amsterdam - narrow roads, busy streets (cyclists, tourists, and the
worst, tourist cyclists), and if you just need to move around inside the city
itself, taking the bike or public transit is simply faster.

Re: cycling routes separated from main traffic: In most parts of the
Netherlands this actually is the case. In Amsterdam though, as you can see
from the pictures, there's simply not enough room for extra lanes (unless they
get rid of the canals). There's barely room for a sidewalk, and those are
barely walkable because of the parked bicycles. There's plenty of space (and
space used) in North America, on the other hand - in fact the sprawl is the
reason why people use cars all the time.

That's also why businesses in Amsterdam have no problems with having bike
lanes - they know that only very few cars are physically able to park in front
of their store, and that their customers either generally live close by, or
are tourists walking through town.

Re: Parking, yes it is available everywhere, but Amsterdam has one of the
highest parking costs of any city in the Netherlands - also again to reduce
the amount of cars in the city center and discourage their use.

Bike lanes don't prevent crucial business deliveries because said trucks will
just park on the bike lanes, street, or sidewalk - cyclists are agile, they
can go around.

------
Derbasti
Often, the problem with US cities is that they use a lot of space for parking
lots. In order to be practical for walking and cycling, businesses have to be
very densely packed. Having a parking lot in front of every business spaces
them too far apart for cycling or walking. Thus, adding parking lots
necessitates cars, and cars necessitate parking lots. A vicious cycle.

~~~
michael_h
Hmmm, I would say that the typical urban US model (that I've seen) is to have
centralized parking lots, not a parking lot in front of every business.

~~~
CalRobert
The net effect is still a reduction in the density of businesses.

------
logician76
Being dutch I think that the roads that share bikes and cars in the
Netherlands are actually not by design but by necessity. Especially in
Amsterdam where there simply is not enough space. If you look in rural areas
if there is room, they are always seperated. In the cases where there is no
room, the buildings and/or streets are usually historically protected as
monuments and will not be demolish-able to make more room.

~~~
mercer
I'm not sure that's true. I've read articles about how they intentionally
create shared roads because it makes both bikes and cars more careful, similar
to the initiative of removing signs and lights in traffic (which, counter-
intuitively, is often safer).

Plus, I personally recall separated bike lanes being converted to shared
lanes.

That said, I'm not 100% certain.

------
nmc
I was thinking this guy got them all, but as I just realized, here is
something he did not mention: Amsterdam is _flat_. _FLAT_.

This is not a surprise, the whole country is flat anyway.

However, this makes such a big difference! In a city with several hills like
Paris, cycling can be anything from lazy (going downhill) to utterly
exhausting (going uphill).

* * *

There is a corollary to this, because going uphill not only requires more
energy, it also makes cycling slower.

In Paris, almost all bus lanes are shared with bicycles. The only bus lanes
forbidden to bicycles are the ones that go steeply uphill — because bicycles
would be too slow and hold up bus traffic.

* * *

Source: currently living in Paris, I spent about 2 years in Amsterdam.

~~~
michael_h
Behold, the cyclocable:
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7j1PgmMbug8](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7j1PgmMbug8)

Obviously, you're not traveling at top speed, but it keeps you at a constant
pace and you're not wobbling all over the place.

~~~
nmc
Awesome! I had no idea anything like this existed, thanks for sharing.

------
Rainymood
Funny to read about as I'm from Holland and have lived a great deal of my life
in Amsterdam. A little tip for you people planning/going to Amsterdam in the
future: please don't jump off the sidewalk onto the bike lanes without looking
around you!

------
D_Alex
I don't know about Vancouver, but here in Australia you must wear a bike
helmet when riding a bike. That stops many people riding bikes (please do not
argue about this, it has been done to death), and unfortunately has - probably
- had the unintended effect of worsening public health.

The pictures from the article show not a single person wearing a helmet...
there is a lesson here I'd like the Australian regulaors to learn.

~~~
victorhooi
I also live in Australia, and am an avid cyclist - I ride to work every day,
and I'm sorry but _no_ , I strongly disagree.

There is nothing wrong with wearing a helmet - I've come off my bike before
and its made a potentially very bad situation painful rather than life-
threatening - and really look, on the list of worries of cyclist, having to
wear a helmet is the least of our worries.

(The law about "not riding on a footpath" is probably more annoying -
occasionally, you need to, when its the only safe option).

However, what is an issue in Australia with cyclist is attitude particularly
with car drivers. Until that changes, it will always discourage potential
cyclists.

Whether it's cars who will literally chase you down and scream about how they
"deserve to be on the road and you don't", or people who open doors into the
bike lane without checking for cyclist etc.

Ironically, I find it actually tends to be the lower socio-economic areas that
find the concept of cycling most puzzling.

In the more expensive areas, cycling seems to be more of a thing - sadly, road
cycling is a rich man's hobby here - when you have groups of Cervelo and
Bianchi's out on weekends, those people _often_ tend to be a bit more
considerate when you're on the road yourself during the week.

I do wish cycling was more mainstream, or at least car drivers better educated
- but I don't think that removing helmets is the way to do that.

~~~
chronolitus
Note that he's not arguing against the use of helmets.

only on giving people the choice: feel safer with one, wear one, if you don't
don't.

~~~
victorhooi
It's like seatbelts - I don't know what the legislation is where you are, but
over here (Australia), they are very much mandatory. The fine for not wearing
your seatbelt is quite hefty.

Sure, you can argue that it's a bit nanny-state (and I know in certain
countries, that's not a very popular stance), but it's also a bit of public
health/safety.

Yes, sure, it's not as convenient wearing a seatbelt all the time, or wearing
a helmet all the time, but over here, where we have government healthcare, it
would probably cost them additional money if they had to cover potentially
preventable accidents.

Also, I don't disagree that head accidents aren't the most common bike injury.

However, think about it - you graze your knees, or you break your arm -
they're painful but not usually life threatening.

You hit your head, get a concussion, suffer some kind of brain damage - you
are very much screwed.

Guy at my church, his brother in law is a cyclist. He got attacked by magpies,
fell off and suffered a head injury. He can't work at the moment, and is in
rehab at home.

Sure, the chance may be low, but do you really want to take it?

I would glad take a grazed knee over a head injury any day of the year. Hence
why helmets are mandatory here, and not say, knee guards.

And if the government if funding your healthcare, you can bet it costs them a
pretty dime to care for you for the rest of your life, if you were to suffer a
disability from a head injury.

~~~
nols
The common argument is that forcing people to wear helmets reduces bicycle
use, which contributes to poorer health through reduced activity levels and
poorer air quality, which creates an overall higher health cost than the
injuries that would be sustained if helmets were not mandatory. This also
ignores the impact having more bicyclists on the road have on driver
awareness.

I'm all for wearing helmets and encouraging their use, but it's more
complicated than "Helmets are safe, they should be mandatory".

------
nomercy400
There is a move in the Netherlands to get old city centers free of cars. What
you see in the first picture with cars everywhere is usually only for people
living there and licensed goods trucks. Delft already has such a policy and
some shopping areas can only be crossed by foot or by bike.

Just as not all roads have cycling lanes, not all roads are accessible to
cyclists. It's usually only smaller streets with low speeds that encourage
cyclists.

To be honest, Amsterdam is really cramped when it comes to traffic. It is an
old city amended with all the new stuff like cycling lanes, bus stops and no
space to unload cargo.

One point they are missing: The safest bike is the one that looks most worn
down and has a lock more expensive than the bike. It should also be attached
to a fixed object.

------
coloroadie
One more: Most Dutch don't feel the need to dress in bright colored lycra
uniforms and ride $6,000 racing bicycles simply to commute to work. I'm
American and an amateur racer, but I wear normal clothing when commuting to
work. I'm not sure why so many Americans feel the need to "kit up" for the
daily commute. I think it actually turns a lot of would-be commuters off.

~~~
modo_
To be fair, the Denver/Boulder area has a ridiculous number of semi-pro
cyclists, and commuting on your race bike _is_ a convenient way to cram
training miles into a busy schedule. (but they do look silly, regardless)

------
scubadude
I read that for 40 years the Dutch principle behind road design has been that
the smallest vehicles should be the safest. Everything is designed around
that.

~~~
huuu
True. And for example ciclist are also protected by law in case of an accident
with a car.

------
chema
These lessons are a constant part of dialogue here in the US, particularly in
cities like SF and NY. I would even call them universal.

The challenge is convincing folks that they are applicable to their street.
Most people here are so attached to the car as the only viable form of
transportation that they do not see bikes or transit as complete
transportation alternatives, despite the best formed arguments.

~~~
bsimpson
It can be maddening to see both how little vision and how much time change-
resistant people have to protest.

Polk Street in SF could have been the coolest public space in the region if
they'd simply had the balls to say "Cars dominate every other street within a
mile of here. We're going to make Polk into an open-air promenade that you're
welcome to walk or casually bike through." They could have even razed a
building within a couple blocks of there and put it ample parking if that's
what it took to make progress. Our commercial districts should be
destinations, not thoroughfares, and Polk was so close to becoming that before
they caved to a propaganda war by some frightened old-timers.

On a completely separate note, if you're interested in cycling policy and
working with stubborn merchants like those on Polk, chat with Gary Fisher.
He's a smart guy who's spent a lot of time thinking about how to work
collaboratively with people who are nervous about changing street priorities.
He also is pretty easy to bump into if you hang out with cyclists in SF or
Marin.

~~~
chema
It is maddening, but I also understand where some Polk merchants are coming
from. They're being asked to stake their livelihood on a relatively radical
proposal, at least by American standards.

I would like to see the City create some sort of financial incentive (like a
tax credit) to bring them on board when it comes to safety improvements. In
the long run, it would pay for itself.

I've worked with Gary in the past but thanks for the bringing him up, I'm
going to reach to him and have a beer!

------
junto
I live in a German city that is very bike friendly. The priority goes like
this:

\- tram

\- bike

\- pedestrian

\- car

If you are driving and arrive at a T- junction for example, you need to give
way to pedestrians and bicycles on the primary route, and then check for other
vehicles.

Coming from the UK, this was a shock to the system. We were used to
pedestrians giving way to us, unless there was a proper zebra style crossing,
and even then that was somewhat voluntary. This switch around of priority is
important in calming traffic and subscribes to the moto of "go at the pace of
the slowest". It works rather well in my opinion.

------
mightymaike
I think it's good to stimulate a healthy way to go to work (free exercise).
Living in Amsterdam I'm getting 1 hour of exercise every day going to and from
work. Also as cities get more crowded, bikers tend to take up less space and
being less dominant in traffic.

------
TulliusCicero
"Only 50% of the cycling routes in the Netherlands are separated from
vehicular traffic."

Oh, ONLY 50%? Compare that to America, where, including protected bike lanes
and bike trails, it's probably what, 5%, tops?

~~~
nl
In "bike advocacy" circles it's common to hear people claim that bike lanes
have to be separated from vehicular traffic all the time.

This is pointing out that view is wrong.

~~~
TulliusCicero
I think most people believe that bike lanes have to be separated all the time
from cars for arterials where traffic moves relatively quickly. The sort of
shared road space the article talks about, with intensive traffic calming,
isn't terribly common in the US. I think bike advocates here would be fine
with that kind of thing, too, it just may not be on their radar as much.

Neighborhood greenways are a somewhat similar idea, although it looks like the
level of calming is a lot higher in the Netherlands relative to its
implementation in parts of the US like Portland.

------
205guy
I'm glad this article is looking at many factors that are involved in making
cities cyclable and walkable. But it seems it is missing one huge factor: the
average size of vehicles in the US. It works in Europe because city cars and
delivery vans are small (as illustrated in the photos). Of course this is also
because of the design and growth of the city predating motor vehicles. In the
US, the sunk cost in oversized vehicles, as well as marketing and regulatory
capture (CAFE exemptions) mean that everything has to bend to the will of the
car culture.

~~~
roel_v
Only partially true. It's true that there aren't that many F150's driving
around here (in absolute numbers), then again how many people drive those in
American suburbia? Dutch car's aren't, on average, smaller than Camry's or
Priuses.

~~~
analog31
You'd be shocked. There have been years when Ford's F series pickup trucks
were the best selling car in the US. Most are bought for passenger use. In my
hometown, south of Detroit, virtually every other car is a full size pickup
truck.

------
bash-j
If you liked this article you would probably enjoy the BicycleDutch youtube
channel, filled with lots of great videos about cycling in the Netherlands.

[https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC67YlPrRvsO117gFDM7UePg](https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC67YlPrRvsO117gFDM7UePg)

~~~
Someone
The videos are great, but the blog
([https://bicycledutch.wordpress.com/](https://bicycledutch.wordpress.com/))
is more informative, combining text with the videos, and adding search
facilities (the by theme one in particular is useful)

------
makeitsuckless
I'm glad someone finally notices that cycling paths aren't everywhere in the
Netherlands, and that a lot of our streets have to juggle cars, cyclists,
pedestrians and trams in less space the US uses just for cars.

IMO, the main problem to changing traffic behavior in the US is the utter lack
of respect for other types of traffic, enforced not just by culture but by
law.

It's so weird to me that in a country where the majority supports "responsible
gun ownership" people are perfectly okay with the notion that when driving a
big hunk of metal you don't have any kind of responsibility not to hit
cyclists or pedestrians.

------
plq
My opinion based purely on anectodal evidence says the essential reason why
bikes are highly preferred by the people of Amsterdam is that it is mostly a
flat city. Compare this to Istanbul, where even seemingly trivial journeys
have 100m climbs in it.

Example for a popular home to work commute:
[http://cycleroute.org/?slat=41.061029&slng=29.00681199999996...](http://cycleroute.org/?slat=41.061029&slng=29.006811999999968&elat=41.0543842&elng=28.98497999999995&mode=DRIVING)

