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The infrastructure in Holland works because lots of people cycle and aren't car-centric/obsessed - cycling is an attractive option to lots of people because of the infrastructure, the infrastructure is supported and invested in because so many people cycle and round and round it goes.
As perhaps hinted above, it isn't quite so simple. As pretty much any Dutch person will point out to you, the vast majority of cycling in the Netherlands is on ordinary streets without any form of cycle-specific intervention. Key are (a) the high number of people who ride bikes, who make up a large proportion of the drivers you will encounter, (b) the legislation (a lot of laws which favour walking and cycling), and (c) the historically high proportion of short trips, for which cycling is unbeatable.
Which brings you back to the issue of good infrastructure which plays a part in encouraging people to walk or cycle instead of driving but it's only a small part innit.
Very much so. We need good infrastructure to make our cities more liveable, and in particular no more road-building except for access in new developments, but the reasons why people don't cycle are many and they all need addressing.
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Oliver Schick
I have some Walthamstow dwelling friends who have been very local about mini-Holland to the negative. The way the argument is being framed on both sides of the pro Vs against side is very depressing.
The infrastructure in Holland works because lots of people cycle and aren't car-centric/obsessed - cycling is an attractive option to lots of people because of the infrastructure, the infrastructure is supported and invested in because so many people cycle and round and round it goes.
Cycling in this country is still seen as something odd, out of the ordinary, the exception rather than the rule. It's really not usual to hear people say"ooh! aren't you brave cycling in London" from perfectly rational people. Mini-Holland isn't just about cyclists. It's about encouraging people to cycle more for those short trips around where they live but also making the streets more pleasant for the people who live there, for the kids who want to play outside etc.
The majority of motorists though think it's a right to be able to drive from their front door to wherever they want to go, even if it's just 5 mins down the road. Depressing but true. People need to be convinced to leave their cars at home for mini-Holland to work - how you do that is the big question.
Which brings you back to the issue of good infrastructure which plays a part in encouraging people to walk or cycle instead of driving but it's only a small part innit.
Me and 'im indoors drove from Peckham to Walthamstow to see the in-laws last sunday and the traffic was definitely worse than before on the main roads so I can see why people have got the hump. We're not very good at seeing the bigger picture/longer term/beyond our own noses in this country.
Anyhoo, will sign and send to the outlaws as even as car driving types I know they are fans of mini-Holland - my future father in law has been campaigning to get the speed limit down and speed humps installed on their road for years <3