Observations from Amsterdam - Cycling

You read a lot about how segregated cycle tracks are the key to Dutch cycling, well that is not the whole story.Take this patch of south Amsterdam. Yes the dual carriageways and many of the main roads have segregated two-way cycle paths on both sides...







And they are well maintained and regularly swept for rubbish.



However, many roads in the area do not have separate, protected cycle tracks, they have plain old cycle lanes, and they exist alongside car parking, right in the "door zone"





They work, because they are wide, and every dutch driver is taught to open the car door with the hand they use to change gear, so they have to turn and look as they reach for the door handle.



But there are many roads with neither cycle lanes or cycle tracks, most of which are 30km/h zones.







Strikingly, in this area, most of the residential streets are closed off at one end to motorcars, but are open for cycling.







So, the cycle facilities are a range of measures which all contribute to sustaining cycling levels, but segregation is only common on the major roads.


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