Assen. Roads to and in the centre of the city.

[Orlor]

There's a couple of webcams in that market square that I like to watch. When you were riding down the canal and said that the canal was extended and the car park removed, I knew what exactly where you were. :)

The image of the square on Google Earth still has the shortened canal and the car park.

You claim that the path through the square is for bikes only but sadly, I still lots of cars drive through there.

[DavidHembrow]

It's no problem. There are no physical barriers, but few cars go there because it's no longer a through route for cars. Cars can only go half way along and then turn out again. As such, it adds no convenience at all for drivers and it makes no sense to drive there unless you have a very good reason to do so.

Cars are not banned there. Should you need to pick something up by car, access is permitted. Most motor vehicles that you see in that location are there for access to businesses.

[Orlor]

Hmmm...not sure if we are talking about the same square or not. I'm talking about the one across from the canal that got extended. There is one lane through the middle and it's marked for bicycles but I see cars go through there all the time and most of them are driving straight through.

But, it doesn't seem to bother the cyclists any so I guess it's all moot. Don't know if I'd like it so much if I was eating outside though.

[DavidHembrow]

Orlor, I'm sure we're talking about exactly the same place. The marking for bicycles does not mean that cars are banned. It simply means that bikes have priority. This provides access to several commercial properties. I think your perception might be different if you actually came here and saw it for yourself instead of looking at it from a web cam. Very few cars go through that space. It's not exactly a motorway.

[MewFushisDad]

David

All I can say is WOW!

What a wonderful place.

Such a concept is beyond any place or general mentality in the United States. This is a very car centric country.

Sadly, cars rule even on this small Island where I live. We have a 16,000 year round population on a 100 square mile Island with 25,000 cars registered. Come Summer you can quadruple that. It's going to be a long while before bikes are considered more than just toys in this country.

What is the population of the city of Assen?

[DavidHembrow]

Yes, it really is a great place - you can perhaps see why we moved here. Mind you, much of it isn't actually unique. Dutch cities all strive to be like this. See the related videos or the examples on my blog. The population of Assen is 65000.