3 ms·

> But it doesn't require major investments. Having lived and cycled in Amsterdam to me it did seem like a major investment. Sure if one were to design a greenf

> But it doesn't require major investments. Having lived and cycled in Amsterdam to me it did seem like a major investment. Sure if one were to design a greenfield city then it’s not a big deal. But to pivot a car centric city to safely accommodate cyclists is a major change. The city residents have to go through the transition process which isn’t going to be fun. I’ve seen it done half ass way in India and US which end up being deadly for cyclists. I am all for cycling, I absolutely loved my two year stint at Amsterdam. It’s a life changing experience. But let’s not underestimate the costs involved in transition. Also, the city residents have to be onboard with the process, as they are the biggest stakeholders. Otherwise the implementation will get dumped half way through with disastrous results.

bww 6y ago
The second part there is the key. Bikes work just fine on roads built for cars and building bike lanes is dirt cheap compared to pretty much any other kind of infrastructure project. You do, however, need the political will to actually take that space from cars and reallocate it to bikes and pedestrians. In urban areas that are already dense this can be done without any significant infrastructue investments by simply changing how the traffic patterns work on existing roads. A good example of this is Barcelona's "superblocks": https://www.vox.com/energy-and-environment/2019/4/9/18300797/barcelona-spain-superblocks-urban-plan https://www.vox.com/energy-and-environment/2019/4/9/18300797...
rtlfe 6y ago
Amsterdam in the 1960s was just as full of cars as US cities are today. Here's some video: https://www.reddit.com/r/Amsterdam/comments/d3484b/amsterdam_1960_vs_today/ https://www.reddit.com/r/Amsterdam/comments/d3484b/amsterdam... If we start today and incorporate the lessons they've learned, it hopefully won't take us 60 years to get there.
zip1234 6y ago
Amsterdam had to figure it out the hard way. When they did it, nobody even knew what to do. Now that they have done the hard work, the patterns can be copied elsewhere. What I am talking about are the junction designs, bike path designs, etc. These need to be taught to every road engineer in the world.
xputer 6y ago
It doesn't have to be expensive. In Ghent they recently did it on a budget: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sEOA_Tcq2XA https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sEOA_Tcq2XA The principle is simple: In designated spots, prevent through traffic for cars while allowing bicycles to go through. This massively reduces car traffic on those streets. In Ghent they did that by simply placing obstructions on the road that only bicycles can maneuver around. Once more people are cycling, you'll have increased political will to spend money on more ambitious infrastructure such as in Amsterdam.

bww 6y ago

The second part there is the key. Bikes work just fine on roads built for cars and building bike lanes is dirt cheap compared to pretty much any other kind of infrastructure project. You do, however, need the political will to actually take that space from cars and reallocate it to bikes and pedestrians. In urban areas that are already dense this can be done without any significant infrastructue investments by simply changing how the traffic patterns work on existing roads. A good example of this is Barcelona's "superblocks": https://www.vox.com/energy-and-environment/2019/4/9/18300797/barcelona-spain-superblocks-urban-plan https://www.vox.com/energy-and-environment/2019/4/9/18300797...

rtlfe 6y ago

Amsterdam in the 1960s was just as full of cars as US cities are today. Here's some video: https://www.reddit.com/r/Amsterdam/comments/d3484b/amsterdam_1960_vs_today/ https://www.reddit.com/r/Amsterdam/comments/d3484b/amsterdam... If we start today and incorporate the lessons they've learned, it hopefully won't take us 60 years to get there.

zip1234 6y ago

Amsterdam had to figure it out the hard way. When they did it, nobody even knew what to do. Now that they have done the hard work, the patterns can be copied elsewhere. What I am talking about are the junction designs, bike path designs, etc. These need to be taught to every road engineer in the world.

xputer 6y ago

It doesn't have to be expensive. In Ghent they recently did it on a budget: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sEOA_Tcq2XA https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sEOA_Tcq2XA The principle is simple: In designated spots, prevent through traffic for cars while allowing bicycles to go through. This massively reduces car traffic on those streets. In Ghent they did that by simply placing obstructions on the road that only bicycles can maneuver around. Once more people are cycling, you'll have increased political will to spend money on more ambitious infrastructure such as in Amsterdam.