How the Dutch got their cycle paths

[onekgguy]

An interesting video but I wonder how well this would work with some of us who abhor bike paths preferring to mix it up with traffic instead? Maybe it would be an apples to oranges comparison.

How the Dutch got their cycle paths (http://youtu.be/XuBdf9jYj7o)

Kevin g

[Grant McLean]

An interesting video but I wonder how well this would work with some of us who abhor bike paths preferring to mix it up with traffic instead? Maybe it would be an apples to oranges comparison.

How the Dutch got their cycle paths (http://youtu.be/XuBdf9jYj7o)

Kevin g

let's build thousands of miles of separated bike lanes,
raise the average mode share of cycling for transporation
from 1.5% to 35% and find out!

-g

[Ray]

A couple of lines in that piece really made me almost laugh. First, after the first oil crisis in 1973, their president made a speech on TV telling the country they had to change their policies to become less dependent on energy. We had a president who tried that after the second oil crisis a few years later - he was immediately booted out on his ass in favor of mourning in America or something like that. There was also a line about the cycling infrastructure coming about due to the "political will to change". Uhhh, we don't have that around here until forced into it by major crises.

OTOH, with the level of suburbanization and the decreased densities in housing outside of urban areas, this type of infrastructure (and mass transit for that matter) can only work in our urban centers. And, actually, it is happening and working pretty well in some of our urban centers. Its just that not very many Americans live in those centers anymore (hence, the lack of political support), so it doesn't have a huge impact on ridership over the whole society, but it HAS had a pretty marked impact in those urban centers. So, maybe we're doing as well as we can expect given the land use pattern we've evolved or devolved into over the past 60-70 years...

-Ray

[jr59]

I just want to know why the Dutch don't lead the world in head trauma.

I mean look at all those people on bikes w/o helmets. Yet no outcry from the people because of not using the "head saving" helmets.

[rwsaunders]

I just want to know why the Dutch don't lead the world in head trauma.

I mean look at all those people on bikes w/o helmets. Yet no outcry from the people because of not using the "head saving" helmets.

That's because they use mirrors. :cool:

[67-59]

A couple of lines in that piece really made me almost laugh. First, after the first oil crisis in 1973, their president made a speech on TV telling the country they had to change their policies to become less dependent on energy. We had a president who tried that after the second oil crisis a few years later - he was immediately booted out on his ass in favor of mourning in America or something like that. There was also a line about the cycling infrastructure coming about due to the "political will to change". Uhhh, we don't have that around here until forced into it by major crises.

OTOH, with the level of suburbanization and the decreased densities in housing outside of urban areas, this type of infrastructure (and mass transit for that matter) can only work in our urban centers. And, actually, it is happening and working pretty well in some of our urban centers. Its just that not very many Americans live in those centers anymore (hence, the lack of political support), so it doesn't have a huge impact on ridership over the whole society, but it HAS had a pretty marked impact in those urban centers. So, maybe we're doing as well as we can expect given the land use pattern we've evolved or devolved into over the past 60-70 years...

-Ray

Agree completely. Political will only works if enough people support it...and we have so many people living in spread-out areas where cycling isn't as much of an option as a matter of national policy. On a smaller scale (like within cities like Portland or Minneapolis), development of cycling infrastructure seems to be working pretty well.

[Bob Loblaw]

And fewer cars to run into them, and the cars they do have are probably driven by bike riders. :beer:

Helmets are definitely a good idea, but they are certainly not putting ER doctors out of business.

BL

That's because they use mirrors. :cool: