What can Seattle learn from Dutch street design?
1–10 of 70 posts
Re: What can Seattle learn from Dutch street design?
#2I must say that I find it rather odd that apparently it is “phænomenal” that 25% of all trips are by bike.
What other means of transportation would one use for short distances where a bike is simply faster than a car due to ease of parking?
Personally, however, I use a skateboard fitted with 100 mm all terrain wheels for even greater ease of parking.
Re: What can Seattle learn from Dutch street design?
#3I remember seeing this video some years ago and, as a Dutchman, was astounded how much I learned about the Dutch way of treating cyclists. It just seems so obvious and normal when you grow up in it.
I started biking to school at age 6. No helmet, no parent accompanying. So did all my friends.
Later, I had shitty jobs in far flung industrial areas. All had proper bike lanes.
The list goes on. Remember though, as the video mentions somewhere, this is the result of hardcore decision making since the 60ties. Not an overnight succes.
Re: What can Seattle learn from Dutch street design?
#4This was from 2013.
Here is a recent blog post about a street redesign on a busy road in Seattle that was very successful in preventing accidents.
https://www.seattlebikeblog.com/2020/09/17/report-ne-65th-st...
Driving on this road before the redesign was very strange -- it was essentially two-lane but without stripes and no explicit bike lane. Since the redesign, the turn lanes, bus stops, and bike lanes are clearly marked and it has lead to a significant decrease in accidents.
Re: What can Seattle learn from Dutch street design?
#5I must say that I find it rather odd that apparently it is “phænomenal” that 25% of all trips are by bike. What other means of transportation would one use for short distances where a bike is simply faster than a car due to ease of parking? Personally, however, I use a skateboard fitted with 100 mm all terrain wheels for even greater ease of parking.
For myself, in the UK, it's not about which mode of transport is faster but which mode of transport is safer.
Re: What can Seattle learn from Dutch street design?
#6I must say that I find it rather odd that apparently it is “phænomenal” that 25% of all trips are by bike. What other means of transportation would one use for short distances where a bike is simply faster than a car due to ease of parking? Personally, however, I use a skateboard fitted with 100 mm all terrain wheels for even greater ease of parking.
For myself, in the UK, it's not about which mode of transport is faster but which mode of transport is safer.
It is truly unsafe to take a bicycle in the U.K.?
Re: What can Seattle learn from Dutch street design?
#7I remember seeing this video some years ago and, as a Dutchman, was astounded how much I learned about the Dutch way of treating cyclists. It just seems so obvious and normal when you grow up in it. I started biking to school at age 6. No helmet, no parent accompanying. So did all my friends. Later, I had shitty jobs in far flung industrial areas. All had proper bike lanes. The list goes on. Remember though, as the v…
Reading this comment, this is also the first time I realize that this is not normal.
It is unusual globally for six year olds to cycle to school?
Re: What can Seattle learn from Dutch street design?
#8Earlier quoted context omitted.
For myself, in the UK, it's not about which mode of transport is faster but which mode of transport is safer.
It is truly unsafe to take a bicycle in the U.K.?
Depends where you are. London is starting to get some good cycling lanes and some junctions are having traffic rerouted to make it safer for cyclists.
Sadly in many other places cycling only really works for confident riders. Lots of drivers are either unaware of cyclists or downright aggressive. I would have near misses on a weekly basis. Things are getting better but very slowly.
Re: What can Seattle learn from Dutch street design?
#9Earlier quoted context omitted.
For myself, in the UK, it's not about which mode of transport is faster but which mode of transport is safer.
It is truly unsafe to take a bicycle in the U.K.?
As a Dutch person who lived in the UK for a year, yes. Bicycle lanes are nearly non-existent outside of London and the boroughs seem to be hostile to the idea in general. The few bicycle lanes you do find often end as abruptly as they start, there's nothing connecting them and there are no bicycle crossings when you meet a road.
However if you get a mountain bike and stick to the dirt roads along the rivers and hills, it is a great place to enjoy cycling through the countryside. One of the best bike trips I've done is cycling for 30 miles along the Thames river.
So the UK is great for scenic cycling, terrible for a cycling commute. And yes, any Dutch expat you meet is silently judging your country on the safety of its cycling infrastructure.
Re: What can Seattle learn from Dutch street design?
#10I havn't watched the entire video so I don't know if it is mentioned, but one important factor imho is our traffic law protecting pedestrians and cyclist from motorised traffic[0].
Which basically boils down to that any non motorized traffic participant will get benefit of the doubt when determining blame in collisions or other traffic accidents over a motorized participant.
Due to this, right of way laws work for cyclist/pedestrians, instead of them just being coerced by cars into giving up their right of way or place on the road.
[0] https://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Artikel_185_Wegenverkeerswet