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I've lived in Amsterdam for 20 years now and I don't know a single street outside of the canals where the pedestrian path is on the same level as the bike lane.
by felle 5y ago
I've lived in Amsterdam for 20 years now and I don't know a single street outside of the canals where the pedestrian path is on the same level as the bike lane. Apart from the color distinction, the pedestrian path is also raised from the street level practically everywhere except for the canals where the border is marked by white lines and bollards every couple meters.
- __m 5y agoi lived in Amsterdam for 3 days and noticed places where they are on the same level. Are you sure you were paying attention?
- sufehmi 5y agoExactly. Being new to the place, we tend to notice things that other people already took for granted.
- lovemenot 5y agoIsn't it likely your parent has seen a lot more than you? Were you along a canal? Or perhaps those places you noticed were exceptional in the extreme. Presumably you wouldn't really know after such a short stay.
- bane 5y agoCanals in Amsterdam aren't extreme or rare.
- addicted 5y agoTourists routinely confuse those canal bike lanes for sidewalks and then complain about feeling unsafe around bikes in Amsterdam.
- elliekelly 5y agoMy first time in Amsterdam I was terribly confused by the bike lanes. We’d never seen an entirely separate and dedicated bike lane like that so we walked in it. It was a Sunday morning so fortunately there wasn’t much traffic but eventually an exasperated local on his bike stopped us and explained that we were basically waltzing around in the middle of the road and could we please stop. He was perfectly polite and his information was quite helpful but I got the sense he had given the same lecture many times before. Unless someone explains it to you, though, I’m not really sure how anyone could be expected to know?
- Aeolun 5y agoSomething about all those bikes whizzing right by you while there is a perfectly empty sidewalk right next to you?
- arp242 5y agoIf the concept is completely unknown to you, then I can imagine just not realizing it. My British girlfriend once unplugged my alarm clock because she thought there was no way to use the power plug above that otherwise, my alarm plug was "blocking" that one. I just reversed the socket and put it back in. She felt stupid, but since British plugs can be put in one way only I can understand simply not thinking of that.
- elliekelly 5y agoWell there weren’t many bikes whizzing by and the sidewalks were quite “full” from cafe seating and postcard displays and the like. It wasn’t really a conscious “decision” to walk in the bike path it just sort of seemed natural?
- bane 5y agoThanks for describing the exact areas where I've seen this problem. The canals being what they are, there probably isn't much that can be done.