Category Archives: Infrastructure

The connection between walkability and high cycle use

Posted on May 20, 2014 by aseasyasriding

Figures for cycling in Bruges are a little hard to come by, but from this Fietsberaad document [pdf], cycling in the city seems to form between 15-20% of all trips. It’s certainly the most ‘Dutch’ place I’ve visited outside of the Netherlands, … Continue reading →

Posted in Car dependence, Infrastructure, Strasbourg, Subjective safety, Sustainable Safety, The Netherlands, Walking | 17 Comments

Crumbs

Posted on May 12, 2014 by aseasyasriding

At the Leeds Cycle City Expo, the keynote speech was given by Robert Goodwill, the Under Secretary of State for Transport, with special responsibility for cycling. It was full of pleasant soundbites and encouraging noises, but when he had to depart … Continue reading →

Posted in Cycling policy, Horsham, Infrastructure, Transport policy, Uncategorized, West Sussex County Council | 22 Comments

The possible versus the acceptable

Posted on May 6, 2014 by aseasyasriding

North Parade in Horsham is a fairly busy distributor road (running north – unsuprisingly) out of the town centre. It has a 30 mph limit, and very narrow cycle lanes, which give up at a couple of awful pinch points. The … Continue reading →

Posted in Infrastructure, Pinch points, Sustrans, The Netherlands | 28 Comments

The benefits of keeping buses and bikes apart

Posted on April 30, 2014 by aseasyasriding

Putting a cycle track alongside a bus lane is standard practice in the Netherlands. The principles of sustainable safety – specifically, homogeneity – mean you should not mix vehicles that differ greatly in mass. So unless it is completely unavoidable, … Continue reading →

Posted in Bus lanes, buses, Infrastructure, Sustainable Safety, The Netherlands | 28 Comments

Independent mobility

Posted on April 22, 2014 by aseasyasriding

One of the most striking things about cycling in the Netherlands is the difference in the demographics you encounter. On my usual cycling trips in Britain, the people cycling around me are typically aged between 20 and 50, and mostly male. Children … Continue reading →

Posted in Infrastructure, Mobility, Subjective safety, The Netherlands | 42 Comments

Five minutes in Utrecht

Posted on April 17, 2014 by aseasyasriding

On a sunny Wednesday afternoon, I was taking pictures outside a supermarket on Biltstraat in Utrecht – watching people coming and going by bike. I’d estimate there are around forty to fifty bicycles parked outside the shop here; a steady … Continue reading →

Posted in Infrastructure, Subjective safety, The Netherlands, Uncategorized | 17 Comments

Not everything the Dutch do is transferable

Posted on April 15, 2014 by aseasyasriding

Way back in 2011, I cycled out of the city of Utrecht with my partner, who was riding a bike for the first time in well over a decade. The trip was almost entirely painless, with no interactions with motor … Continue reading →

Posted in Fietsstraat, Infrastructure, Subjective safety, Sustainable Safety, The Netherlands | 24 Comments

Nothing useful to say

Posted on April 10, 2014 by aseasyasriding

Some comment on a detail from the recent inquest into the death of Venera Minakhmetova at Bow roundabout last November. Coroner Mary Hassell said she had “nothing useful” to say to Transport for London as the roundabout had since “been … Continue reading →

Posted in Bow Roundabout, Infrastructure, London, Sustainable Safety, The Netherlands | 17 Comments

As if we didn’t already know, a cycling revolution won’t happen by itself

Posted on March 27, 2014 by aseasyasriding

There is a curious opinion that often manifests itself in government and in councils – that a serious commitment to cycling as a mode of transport in its own right can’t be made, precisely because very few journeys are currently … Continue reading →

Posted in Cycling policy, Department for Transport, Infrastructure, London, Subjective safety, The Netherlands, Transport policy | 39 Comments

A small example of rural car dependence

Posted on March 24, 2014 by aseasyasriding

This video was doing the rounds on Twitter last week. It’s really quite well done, and a bit depressing that it dates from 2011. It convincingly shows how a B-road has effectively become a no-go area for anyone not in … Continue reading →

Posted in Car dependence, Infrastructure, Subjective safety | 37 Comments