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Cycling City, 1.11 (V) How the dutch got their cycle paths

1.11 (V) How the dutch got their cycle paths

The Netherlands has the world's largest number of cyclists, but it is also the safest place in the world to cycle. That is largely because of the perfect cycling infrastructure that can be found throughout the country. How did the Dutch get this network of high-quality cycle paths? Some think, including many Dutch themselves, that cycle paths have always been there. That is only partly true. Yes, there were some cycle paths but they were of an entirely different type than today. Narrow, of poor surface, dangerous or even absent at junctions and not connected. Cycle paths weren't really necessary. Cyclists outnumbered other traffic by far. After World War II everything changed. The Dutch had to rebuild their country and they became incredibly wealthy. From 1948 to 1960, the average income got up by 44 percent, and by 1970 it was a staggering 222 percent more. People could now afford expensive goods. From 1957 on especially this led to many more cars in the streets. Streets of mostly old cities that were not built for cars. So buildings were demolished to make room for the car. Even some of the old cycling infrastructure was removed. City squares were turned into car parks. New developments had huge roads for motorized traffic. The daily travel distance went from 3.9 kilometers in 1957 to 23.2 kilometers in 1975, but this progress came at a terrible cost. Cycling was marginalized, it decreased by six percent every year, and 3,300 lives were lost in 1971 alone. Over 400 of these deaths were children under the age of 14. The slaughter of kids caught people on the streets to protest. Stop the child murder called for safer streets for children, as pedestrians, and cyclists. Their calls were heard. Especially when in 1973 the first oil crisis halted the country. The then prime minister told the people of the Netherlands that this crisis was life-changing that they would have to change their ways and be less dependent on energy, but that was possible without a decrease in the quality of life. Policies to encourage cycling fitted perfectly in that picture. The car-free Sundays to save oil were a reminder to people of what the cities looked like without cars. Around this time, the first city centers were made car-free permanently and the protests continued. Mass motorization killed people, the cities, and the environment. Mass cycling tours through the cities of the Netherlands and smaller protests in favor of cycling facilities created an awareness that eventually changed thinking about transport policies. In the mid 1970s, municipalities started experimenting with complete and safe cycle routes away from traffic. Financed by the national government, the first cycle routes were created from scratch in Tilburg and The Hague. In retrospect, they could be seen as the start of the country's modern cycling policies. Cycling increased in a spectacular way in The Hague by 30 to 60 percent, and in Tilburg by 75 percent. Build it and they will come proof true in the Netherlands. So to sum it up, what caused the changes in the Netherlands? There were the problems of cities that couldn't cope with the increasing traffic that lead to demolitions and to a public outrage over the amount of space handed over to motorized traffic. Unintelligible number of traffic deaths that again led to mass public protests. An oil crisis and an economic crisis that led to gas shortages and high prices of energy. A solution was found in the political will on a national and municipal level with both decision makers and planners to deal with the situation, by turning away from car centric policies and making way for alternative transport like cycling. Cycling is now an integral part of transport policies. What success did the protesters have? The child deaths went down from over 400 to 14 last year. This street got its cycle path. This bridge didn't keep its cycle name, instead it got a cycle path. This painted cycle lane became a permanent cycle path, and cars were totally banned from here. It is now famous site of the I amsterdam sign. Earlier, also a site of one of the mass protests. The protesters would have been a lot more comfortable lying down there today. The Netherlands problems were and are not unique. Their solutions shouldn't be that either.


1.11 (V) How the dutch got their cycle paths

The Netherlands has the world's largest number of cyclists, but it is also the safest place in the world to cycle. That is largely because of the perfect cycling infrastructure that can be found throughout the country. How did the Dutch get this network of high-quality cycle paths? Some think, including many Dutch themselves, that cycle paths have always been there. That is only partly true. Yes, there were some cycle paths but they were of an entirely different type than today. Narrow, of poor surface, dangerous or even absent at junctions and not connected. Cycle paths weren't really necessary. Cyclists outnumbered other traffic by far. After World War II everything changed. The Dutch had to rebuild their country and they became incredibly wealthy. From 1948 to 1960, the average income got up by 44 percent, and by 1970 it was a staggering 222 percent more. People could now afford expensive goods. From 1957 on especially this led to many more cars in the streets. Streets of mostly old cities that were not built for cars. So buildings were demolished to make room for the car. Even some of the old cycling infrastructure was removed. City squares were turned into car parks. New developments had huge roads for motorized traffic. The daily travel distance went from 3.9 kilometers in 1957 to 23.2 kilometers in 1975, but this progress came at a terrible cost. Cycling was marginalized, it decreased by six percent every year, and 3,300 lives were lost in 1971 alone. Over 400 of these deaths were children under the age of 14. The slaughter of kids caught people on the streets to protest. Stop the child murder called for safer streets for children, as pedestrians, and cyclists. Their calls were heard. Especially when in 1973 the first oil crisis halted the country. The then prime minister told the people of the Netherlands that this crisis was life-changing that they would have to change their ways and be less dependent on energy, but that was possible without a decrease in the quality of life. Policies to encourage cycling fitted perfectly in that picture. The car-free Sundays to save oil were a reminder to people of what the cities looked like without cars. Around this time, the first city centers were made car-free permanently and the protests continued. Mass motorization killed people, the cities, and the environment. Mass cycling tours through the cities of the Netherlands and smaller protests in favor of cycling facilities created an awareness that eventually changed thinking about transport policies. In the mid 1970s, municipalities started experimenting with complete and safe cycle routes away from traffic. Financed by the national government, the first cycle routes were created from scratch in Tilburg and The Hague. In retrospect, they could be seen as the start of the country's modern cycling policies. Cycling increased in a spectacular way in The Hague by 30 to 60 percent, and in Tilburg by 75 percent. Build it and they will come proof true in the Netherlands. So to sum it up, what caused the changes in the Netherlands? There were the problems of cities that couldn't cope with the increasing traffic that lead to demolitions and to a public outrage over the amount of space handed over to motorized traffic. Unintelligible number of traffic deaths that again led to mass public protests. An oil crisis and an economic crisis that led to gas shortages and high prices of energy. A solution was found in the political will on a national and municipal level with both decision makers and planners to deal with the situation, by turning away from car centric policies and making way for alternative transport like cycling. Cycling is now an integral part of transport policies. What success did the protesters have? The child deaths went down from over 400 to 14 last year. This street got its cycle path. This bridge didn't keep its cycle name, instead it got a cycle path. This painted cycle lane became a permanent cycle path, and cars were totally banned from here. It is now famous site of the I amsterdam sign. Earlier, also a site of one of the mass protests. The protesters would have been a lot more comfortable lying down there today. The Netherlands problems were and are not unique. Their solutions shouldn't be that either.