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> ...and the cities were ill prepared to deal with that. For all the faults around Europe with traffic, I think they did far better adapting to cars than the U

> ...and the cities were ill prepared to deal with that. For all the faults around Europe with traffic, I think they did far better adapting to cars than the UK. Mainly by preserving some of the alternatives better. The Netherlands has infinitely more sensibly integrated public transport, and provision for cycles than we will probably ever have. At least that's my perspective as an occasional visitor. Postwar rebuilding here gave us internal combustion as the answer to all, leading to much, now regretted, removal of rail lines and trams. Not forgetting the many people-hostile choices like cutting communities in two (e.g. Mancunian Way) and giving residents a motorway right above the house (Birmingham, M6). Trying to undo those choices always comes with a bill in the £bns for the shortest length or rail or tram.

IkmoIkmo 9y ago
> provision for cycles than we will probably ever have. I'd recommend a brief history of cycling infrastructure in the Netherlands. It was actually quite poor here, too. i.e., it wasn't culture naturally shaping a cyclist-first traffic regime throughout Dutch history, it were conscious policy decisions to uproot a car-friendly traffic regime and make a decades-long effort for change. The Dutch system sucked in the 50s and 60s and it changed its policies in the 70s, which took off only in the 80s. https://www.centreforpublicimpact.org/case-study/focusing-bicycles-transport-urban-netherlands/ https://www.centreforpublicimpact.org/case-study/focusing-bi...