So Near and Yet so Far

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Slick

Guru
I cycled there in the summer and whilst other tourists were admiring the architecture, I was agog at the multistorey bike parks and the huge cycling bridge over 12 lanes of motorway.
 

Drago

Legendary Member
Although per capita they still have a higher level or car ownership than the UK, so while it's a start the garden has yet to become bedecked with Rose's.
 

tom73

Guru
Location
Yorkshire
That’s true but you can bet they have less miles on the clock not to mention way less road casualty rate. Which has to worth the odd rose bloom along the way. :smile:
 
View this and weep.
on the other end the invested a lo to re-route all the car traffic, it used to be grid-locked there most of the time. The video focusses understandly on cycling, i just wanted to point out that they did not make the cars disappear they invested in better infrastructure for the increasing carflow out of the city centre instead.

Although per capita they still have a higher level or car ownership than the UK, so while it's a start the garden has yet to become bedecked with Rose's.
Main difference is for example that most people have a car but also have a bicycle and going to the shop for a quick shop is most of the times much faster by bicycle than with a car. And offcourse the roads are much safer for cycles and slower traffic in general.
 

wafter

I like steel bikes and I cannot lie..
Location
Oxford
I was there in June last year - which was about when that documentary was filmed and I have a copy saved on my PC as a snapshot / reminder of how great it was when I was there :smile:

I hired a town bike (well, a watered down one with proper brakes and gears) and spent a very happy few days exploring the city and its outskirts thanks to my GPS head unit. The city itself is like some bizarre parallel-universe cycling utopia; everyone's on bikes and the whole place seems so much more friendly, fair and grounded for it.. with the many divisive allusions to class, status and wealth that are associated with cars over here mercifully absent from urban roads.

The infrastructure is fantastic, totally bike-friendly and extends miles outside the city (there's even a cycle path all the way to Amsterdam IIRC). The bike park is immense; playing host to my hire bike for a few nights and providing some much needed respite from the sweltering heat..

I absolutely love Utrecht and would move there in a heartbeat if I could. It's just so well thought-out; seemingly planned and built by pragmatic people who genuinely care about each other and the greater good rather than profit, control and subjugation. A model European city IMO and it makes my heart ache to know that we'll never see anywhere near such socially responsible, coherant and fair planning over here :sad:

Really hoping to be able to tour the Netherlands at some point on the CdF; wonderful cycling mecca that it is, with Utrecht quite possibly the jewel in its crown :smile:
 
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steveindenmark

Legendary Member
Before starting with the infrastructure, you need to start with the minds of the people.

I was on a UK site recently where someone mentioned using an electric bike for touring. The response was stunning. Without any provocation the poster was a lazy, fat, idle, old, infirm. Electric bikes are cheating and should be banned. The Strava wannabees had a real pop.

I would imagine in Denmark that at the moment, about 30% of our daily cyclists are E- bike users. They are all ages and from all walks of life. E Bikes are the biggest increasing market in Denmark, probably in mainland Europe. When it comes to bikes.

The people here just look on them as bikes, its a form of transport. We expect to get overtaken by them as we ride around. But judging by posts from UK forums. Being overtaken by an E Bike is a massive insult. Its ridiculous.

What some we realise here is that those 30% of e bike riders, give us a lot of clout when it comes to the government. The more cyclists you have, the more power you have. Once you have the power, you can push for infrastructure.
 

CanucksTraveller

Macho Business Donkey Wrestler
Location
Hertfordshire
In the mean time our town hall clowns are about to build even more car parking and yet more link roads. :sad:

I put that to my cousin who is a town planner clown in Kent, his answer was actually remarkably similar to what @steveindenmark said here:

Before starting with the infrastructure, you need to start with the minds of the people.

His exact words were that councils can only build what people want, and when there are more cyclists wanting better cycling infrastructure they'll be duty bound to build that. At the moment his council are building the streets that the taxpayers are demanding.

The more cyclists you have, the more power you have. Once you have the power, you can push for infrastructure.

Amen!
 

Slick

Guru
I put that to my cousin who is a town planner clown in Kent, his answer was actually remarkably similar to what @steveindenmark said here:



His exact words were that councils can only build what people want, and when there are more cyclists wanting better cycling infrastructure they'll be duty bound to build that. At the moment his council are building the streets that the taxpayers are demanding.



Amen!
It's not how they got to the example shown in the OP though. Sometimes you have to do things a bit different to make the biggest difference.
 
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