"How the Dutch got their cycle paths" (BicycleDutch): A Video Review


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 other modes. In the 50s and 60s, city blocks were cleared to make room for massive highways through city centers. Cobblestone squares like the one you see pictured below, currently set up for a Saturday market, housed parking lots. 


The Markt Square in Delft, winding down from a Saturday market.

In the 1970s, popular opinion in both the US and Netherlands started to change. Climbing numbers of vehicle-related fatalities led safety to enter the public dialogue; groups protested traffic-related deaths, particularly those of children. In the Netherlands, demonstrations to "Stop de Kindermoord", or killing of children, were effective towards influencing political support for improving the walkability and cyclability of communities. At the same time, the 1973 oil crisis provided additional impetus for persons to choose cycling as a primary travel mode. According to the BicycleDutch video, the Dutch prime minister addressed the public, stating that "this crisis was life changing, that they would have to change their ways and be less dependent on energy. But that that was possible without a decrease in the quality of life." What a powerful statement. The Dutch prime minister took a bad situation and leveraged it towards cycling-oriented policies that ultimately improved quality of life and addressed the protester's concerns. New policies included "car-free Sundays", car-free city centers, and pilot testing of complete streets and dedicated, separated bicycle routes. In communities experimenting with  dedicated cycling routes, cycling increased by as much as 30 to 75%. The video states that "Build it and they will come proved true for the Netherlands." Indeed, I think it could prove true for the US, as well.

The graph below, from SWOV.nl, shows the number of road fatalities since 1950 in the Netherlands [1]. Road fatalities peaked in the early 1970s and have generally decreased since. Now, the Netherlands has among the world's largest volume of cyclists and is considered one of the safest places to bicycle. In the US, relatively few trips are completed by bicycle and, per trip, the fatality rate is much higher. The Netherlands' cycling trajectory is a compelling model for the US!

Number of road fatalities in the Netherlands since 1950 [1]


[1] SWOV. (2023, April 1). Road fatalities in the Netherlands. https://swov.nl/nl/factsheet/verkeersdoden-nederland


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