Facilities Assignment #2










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Facilities Assignment #1

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This is a roundabout in Delft, the Netherlands. The roundabout is designed to accommodate a variety of transportation modes, including bicyclists, pedestrians, vehicles, trams, buses, and emergency vehicles. Bicyclists approach the roundabout by cycle track or fietsstraat, a special type of street where space is shared and bicyclists have priority. A cycle track comprises the outer ring of the roundabout, separated from an inner one-way vehicle ring by segments of green space. Vehicles must yield to cyclists when entering and exiting the roundabout. A pedestrian walkway is located on all sides of the roundabout to the outside of the cycle track, with wide pedestrian markings provided on all crossings. Tram lines, a bus lane, and emergency vehicles using the bus lane all pass directly through the center of the roundabout, bisecting the vehicle and cycle track rings at 3 points. Vehicle signals and bicycle signals are located at each point to stop traffic for modes which take priority: t...
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City Cycling

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Bicyclists wait to cross a canal bridge, which has rotated to allow a boat through. In the Netherlands, bicyclist safety and comfort is developed through a series of low-stress bicycle routes which separate bicyclists from vehicular traffic on arterials or mix bicyclists with traffic on low speed, low volume roads where vehicles are treated as the "guest". These design choices are implemented to make bicycling appealing and comfortable for all potential bicyclists, including the old and the young. And indeed, some cities that have implemented such designs have achieved cycling mode shares of over 25%. I like the picture above because it demonstrates the sheer quantity of how many people use the bike facilities in the Netherlands. Here, bicyclists wait on a dedicated cycle track to cross a canal bridge which has rotated to let a boat pass through. The grey pavers to the right indicate the presence of a pedestrian walkway. Vehicles may also use the bridge. However, only one veh...
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"How the Dutch got their cycle paths" (BicycleDutch): A Video Review

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BicycleDutch video, "How the Dutch got their cycle paths". The BicycleDutch YouTube channel has a variety of good videos on bicycling infrastructure in the Netherlands. For this post, I'll be discussing the video, "How the Dutch got their cycle paths", https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XuBdf9jYj7o.  I especially like this video because it helps answer the primary question I had upon arriving in the Netherlands: "How did the Dutch arrive at such a comprehensive network of bicycling infrastructure?" And, similarly, "How can the US achieve a similar network?" I was surprised to learn that mass cycling infrastructure in the Netherlands only emerged within the last 50 years, from a status similar to that of the US. How could two car-centric societies evolve so differently out of the 1970s? In both the US and the Netherlands, the introduction of the personal vehicle quickly changed cities to support vehicle use as a primary travel mode, marginalizing...
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