Why Amsterdam Works So Well for Bikes
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Why Amsterdam Works So Well for Bikes
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Re: Why Amsterdam Works So Well for Bikes
#2Interestingly, too, virtually any American city could copy all five.
Re: Why Amsterdam Works So Well for Bikes
#3You missed temperate climate. Yes there is a picture of snow but its rare. As are hot humid days where you get soaked just standing in the shade - which are all too common in much of the US.
Re: Why Amsterdam Works So Well for Bikes
#4It also helps that Amsterdam is flat and the population density is high.
Re: Why Amsterdam Works So Well for Bikes
#5Queue comments about what a travesty it is that US cities were built to accommodate the automobile.
To be honest, I think it's one of the coolest things that we take for granted. I can step outside, hop into my car right now, and drive literally anywhere in the US. I drive home from the Bay Area to LA all the time and I always find this very cool.
Do I think we need more public transportation? Absolutely. And more bike lines since I ride my bike to work too. While we're at it, better laws to protect cyclists and public facilities for bike storage and repair.
What I'm getting at is that we should embrace multiple forms of transporation and not take for granted what we do have.
Re: Why Amsterdam Works So Well for Bikes
#6Queue comments about what a travesty it is that US cities were built to accommodate the automobile. To be honest, I think it's one of the coolest things that we take for granted. I can step outside, hop into my car right now, and drive literally anywhere in the US. I drive home from the Bay Area to LA all the time and I always find this very cool. Do I think we need more public transportation? Absolutely. And more bi…
I don't take it for granted—it's a travesty I pay for your convenient transport.
Parking is one of many reasons why housing density is so low across the bay compared to many other cities in the world.
Re: Why Amsterdam Works So Well for Bikes
#7Queue comments about what a travesty it is that US cities were built to accommodate the automobile. To be honest, I think it's one of the coolest things that we take for granted. I can step outside, hop into my car right now, and drive literally anywhere in the US. I drive home from the Bay Area to LA all the time and I always find this very cool. Do I think we need more public transportation? Absolutely. And more bi…
I can step outside, hop into my car right now, and drive literally anywhere in the US. I drive home from the Bay Area to LA all the time and I always find this very cool.
I don't think anybody disputes that the Interstate Highway system between cities is a modern marvel. It's what we did inside cities that's tragic.
Re: Why Amsterdam Works So Well for Bikes
#8The trams and tram tracks in Amsterdam is still a problem for bicycles. Cross the tracks wrong and your bike tire gets stuck in the tracks and you go head first in to the street. Trams themselves can be as deadly as cars are to bicyclists. Fortunately they are more predictable and confined to their tracks.
Ideally, both trams and cars would be completely underground or above-ground, and have no possibility of collision with bicycles or pedestrians at all.
Re: Why Amsterdam Works So Well for Bikes
#9I'm totally confident that we could replicate Amsterdam in any US city if we wanted to. But before we get there, I need an article about what to do about the fact that so many of my fellow Denver Coloradans hate: bike lanes, buses, trains, places to live, sidewalks, wind turbines, solar panels (but also normal road maintenance and traffic). It's like there is a conscious effort to create more smog and traffic jams.
It is boggling. We can't even start to think about having nice things until we diagnose this particular social disorder affecting America.
Re: Why Amsterdam Works So Well for Bikes
#10Culture helps a lot. In the US bikes are seen as an annoyance by many drivers.
I was in Amsterdam this summer and without much knowledge of the city, found it easy, safe and fun to get around by bike.
Went to Paris and Barcelona as well and didn't feel as comfortable on a bike in either of those cities.