First Impressions


Bicycle parking near the Delft train station, underneath The Social Hub.

The 2023 Netherlands study abroad pod arrived in Delft the morning of June 21, and by that evening had biked on rented bikes all the way to the coast. When I could think something other than, THIS IS SO COOL, I thought, this is the community I want to live in. First, I noticed the lack of cars. Then, how the number of bicyclists significantly exceeded the number of cars. I noticed how, even though vehicle access was provided everywhere, less vehicles meant more space could be dedicated to bicyclists or other uses, and that these communities felt more walkable and more comfortable simply for the lack of vehicles to worry about. More gradually, I noticed the lack of exhaust fumes and car noise. I noticed the greenery integrated into the transportation network, and a greater sense of peace, and ease. These were my initial impressions of the Netherlands.

If there's one picture I keep coming back to to sum up my initial impressions of bicycling infrastructure in the Netherlands, it's the picture of bicycle parking shown above. This bicycle parking garage, located near the train station in Delft, could store thousands of bikes and was often very full. One day, when I couldn't find a spot open, I parked my bike outside the provided racks...and ended up with a warning ticket, as so:

I did not repeat above parking offense. However, it should be noted that many persons also received parking tickets that day. As it turns out, illegal en masse bicycle parking is something of a common problem in the Netherlands. One of my favorite pictures, shown below, was taken on a bicycling route through Amsterdam. The bikes parked in the picture below are all illegally parked in front of a "No bike parking" sign.


One of my favorite pictures that another student on the trip took, picturing a regulatory sign, is shown below. While we didn't see any such behaviors in person, we did see a gal leading a horse while on her bicycle. As it turns out, many interesting tasks...like carrying furniture...suitcases...eating a sandwich...are conducted while bicycling.



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