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Bicycle Culture in Amsterdam

  • 23-10-2013 9:08pm
    #1
    kerry4sam
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 15,127 ✭✭✭✭


    This was just shared on with me on FB and has me curious: If anyone looking in here has been to Amsterdam, could you tell me please if Cycling in Amsterdam is really like the snippet video in this linkie.

    At 5mins7sec their is an intersection with no traffic-lights and all entering proceed at will; when they can without the use of lights or a warden; just themselves and their own signals. Looks very surreal.

    At one point it states "The locals took some very specific steps to get to where they are today, something that many other cities around the world could learn from."

    Does anyone think that their is any village or town or anywhere in Ireland where this would actually work successfully? & if so, How Come it would work (without lights or wardens etc etc) and has not been tried before now?

    Thanks,
    kerry4sam


Comments

  • #2
    m5ex9oqjawdg2i
    Closed Accounts Posts: 11,221 ✭✭✭✭m5ex9oqjawdg2i


    Padestrian in Amsterdam... dangerous business lads.


  • #3
    Puggy
    Registered Users Posts: 284 ✭✭Puggy


    My son is in the video at 2.54, he is on the way to work at the National Opera House. He lives there with his Dutch girlfriend. She has cycled since she could walk. The Dutch are expert cyclists, nothing stops them, cars, trams, drunk tourists, ice or snow! Most bikes have a brake when you pedal backwards, its useful in the winter, as you can keep your hand in your pockets or wear thick gloves, which would interfere with normal brakes. Or as you saw in the video, carry cabin luggage, or musical instruments.

    What you don't really notice in the video is that mopeds are allowed in the cycle lanes! I've been a few times, it is so weird to see people on bikes in suits. No one has helmets, but they all have saddle covers to keep the saddle dry so their bums aren't damp when they get to work! Once you have someone to tell you what to do you really get the hang of it. My other half thought it was great. Also Dutch people are very direct, but not confrontational, they just tell you right away, "you cant do that!", if you do something wrong. Try walking into a cycle lane, everyone will ring their bells and tell you in 3 or 4 languages "You cant do that".

    There are some downsides though, stolen bikes are a big issue:(

    This summer, my son and his other half cycled on Dutch bikes back to Dublin, getting the ferry from Rotterdam to Harwick, cycling to York to visit my daughter, then across England to Manchester, then to Holyhead and the ferry to Dublin. I'm now the proud owner to 2 Dutch bikes. The back wheel of one of them is heavier than my Cube road bike!

    Anyway, would it work here? Well it used to back before everyone used cars as the primary method of transport. My mother lived in Rathfarnham, and cycled to work in Enniskerry 6 days a week. On Sundays they cycled into town to the movies in O'Connell street.

    That's the thing about Amsterdam and other cities including Munich, with so many people cycling, the roads are free for car users. You also got to factor in the public transport in Amsterdam, trams, subway, trains and buses.


  • #4
    monument
    Moderators, Motoring & Transport Moderators Posts: 14,088 Mod ✭✭✭✭monument


    kerry4sam wrote: »
    This was just shared on with me on FB and has me curious: If anyone looking in here has been to Amsterdam, could you tell me please if Cycling in Amsterdam is really like the snippet video in this linkie.

    At 5mins7sec their is an intersection with no traffic-lights and all entering proceed at will; when they can without the use of lights or a warden; just themselves and their own signals. Looks very surreal.

    At one point it states "The locals took some very specific steps to get to where they are today, something that many other cities around the world could learn from."

    Does anyone think that their is any village or town or anywhere in Ireland where this would actually work successfully? & if so, How Come it would work (without lights or wardens etc etc) and has not been tried before now?

    Thanks,
    kerry4sam

    I was there recently, most major or larger junctions are traffic light controlled. But there's some junctions like the one in the video. I got very confused the first time I used one example we passed 2-3 times but by the second time it was not so bad (all times out of rush hour!).

    Elsewhere in the Netherlands there's also larger junctions where there's an all green phase for cyclists.

    Here's some of my impressions from a recent trip: http://cyclingindublin.com/2013/10/07/images-what-can-dublin-learn-from-cycling-in-amsterdam/

    Btw, the video is from main guy at http://www.streetfilms.org/ -- who has some great recent videos of Amsterdam and the Netherlands overall.


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