Bicycle traffic signal in Amsterdam – Photo by James Schwartz / The Urban Country
It is 1:00PM and the train is stopped at a station in a northern Belgian town. The train will be leaving one minute later than its scheduled departure time so that the passengers can have a minute of silence to pay their respects and condolences to the 22 children who died just a few days prior in a terrible bus tragedy.
As the train rolls across the Belgian countryside, I suddenly notice a drastic change in scenery. Out of nowhere, I begin to see red-asphalt bike lanes appearing everywhere, and people in regular clothes riding their bikes.
No helmets, no lycra, no sporty gear.
Instead of lonely country roads standing on their own, I now see bike paths alongside them, and people on bikes are actually using those paths. Then there is the vast farm-land with cows in the pastures with bike lanes passing nearby. Cows and bike paths, an interesting combination.
The Netherlands provides its citizens a continuous network of connected bicycle paths throughout the entire country – in rural and urban settings, and everything in between. A person could ride around the entire country, from city to city, from urban to rural to urban, using bicycle paths the entire way.
As the scenery turns from rural to urban, I see train stations packed full of bicycles. Some of these bicycle parking lots stretch longer than 100 metres, while others stack bicycles up several levels high.
Netherlands bicycle parking – Photo by James Schwartz / The Urban Country
Netherlands bicycle parking – Photo by James Schwartz / The Urban Country
Along the way I also notice underpasses built specifically for bicycles that run beneath the train tracks. This is one small measure that helps ensure bicycles are the most convenient mode of transportation in the Netherlands:
Netherlands bicycle underpass – Photo by James Schwartz / The Urban Country
Netherlands bicycle underpass – Photo by James Schwartz / The Urban Country
Where tunnels don’t exist, bicyclists are provided with their own dedicated surface level crossings:
Netherlands bicycle train crossing – Photo by James Schwartz / The Urban Country
As the train arrives at Amsterdam Central station and I subsequently leave the train station, I see bicycles everywhere. There are elderly men, young women, children, and everything in between – riding throughout the city.
Cargo bikes with small children merrily traveling with their parents, children under 10 years old riding on their own bikes alongside their mum and dad. Dozens of families picking up their kids at school on their bicycles and socializing with their friends and children on their journey home.
Amsterdam certainly is the cream of the crop for bicycle transportation.
Now if only I could convince people in my home country that a trip across the city can indeed be enjoyable and absent from traffic congestion. Good bicycle infrastructure is the first step to making our cities more enjoyable cities to live and visit.
Stay tuned for more articles in the coming days detailing my Amsterdam experience.
James D. Schwartz is a Transportation Pragmatist and the Editor of The Urban Country. You can contact James at james.schwartz@theurbancountry.com or follow him on Twitter.
Related Articles:
- Brussels: Narrow Lanes & Neon Vests (March 2012)
- My Dutch Family History (Feb 2011)
- Dutch Cycle Chic – Toronto Style (Dec 2010)
- Amsterdamizing The World (Jan 2011)
- Ghettoize Me, Please (Jan 2011)
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