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That's how bicycles came to the Netherlands. Many think bikes always existed since the beginning of time but that's not true: during the rebuild in the immediat
by eecc 9y ago
That's how bicycles came to the Netherlands. Many think bikes always existed since the beginning of time but that's not true: during the rebuild in the immediate post-war cities were designed around car-based transportation. Only after a couple decades, raised awareness about street safety , accidents causing death of children, the first Oil-shock and general tree-hugging '60s eco-friendliness did the country evolve into the cycling paradise it is now.
That is to say: anyone can do the same, anywhere. So get on with it.. :)
- cdnsteve 9y agoAmsterdam has figured it out for sure. They even have parking garages for bikes only and they're full. The city is a great reference for others looking to go a similar route. Painting lines on streets can showcase demand, which is smart because you need to validate your product/project with minimal cost. Long term, dedicated lanes are needed, for safety, and someone has to pay for them.
- flippyhead 9y ago> anyone can do the same, anywhere. I love Holland and I love biking but you guys have it easy compared to, say, Seattle where I live part-time. The hills make it a very different problem. I bike a lot but will still drive/uber when I can't deal with being crazy sweaty for a meeting or something. I was very disappointed when they decided NOT to install electric bikes in the bike share system here. Electric bikes are the only way you'll get the ridership numbers needed in a place with the topography of Seattle. I also suspect it rains more in Seattle than Holland.
- bryanlarsen 9y agoAFAICT Seattle has fewer hills than Aarhus, Denmark. 47% of commutes in Aarhus are done by bicycle.
- Freak_NL 9y agoIt also does not appear to rain more in Seattle than in, say, Amsterdam: https://weather-and-climate.com/average-monthly-Rainfall-Temperature-Sunshine,seattle,United-States-of-America https://weather-and-climate.com/average-monthly-Rainfall-Tem... https://weather-and-climate.com/average-monthly-Rainfall-Temperature-Sunshine,Amsterdam,Netherlands https://weather-and-climate.com/average-monthly-Rainfall-Tem... This is a cultural and legacy infrastructure problem mostly.
- TulliusCicero 9y agoI'm pretty sure Seattle has much more severe hills, though. Just look at Google Maps for each city with the terrain on: Aarhus: https://www.google.de/maps/place/Aarhus,+Denmark/@56.1613594,10.1730985,13z/data=!4m5!3m4!1s0x464c4cb15397788b:0x8c4dd7d9912ea2af!8m2!3d56.162939!4d10.203921!5m1!1e4?hl=en https://www.google.de/maps/place/Aarhus,+Denmark/@56.1613594... Seattle: https://www.google.de/maps/place/Seattle,+WA,+USA/@47.6070814,-122.359585,13z/data=!4m5!3m4!1s0x5490102c93e83355:0x102565466944d59a!8m2!3d47.6062095!4d-122.3320708!5m1!1e4?hl=en https://www.google.de/maps/place/Seattle,+WA,+USA/@47.607081... That said, * Electric bikes are making this less important over time * A lot of trips can still be done without hitting severe hills * It's possible to deal with hills by installing bike escalators (there's one in Trondheim that seems to work well) if you're really serious