Junction design the Dutch - cycle friendly - way

The Dutch build cycle paths right on their junctions. So they must have wider streets, right? Wrong! This video shows how it is done, no extra space needed.
More info: http://bicycledutch.wordpress.com/2011/04/07/state-of-the-art-bikeway-design-...
And see part 2 of this video too: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5HDN9fUlqU8

Category:

Education

Tags:

• Junction
• design
• bicycle
• cyclist
• bike
• friendly
• safe
• Netherlands
• path
• track
• lane
• Dutch
• Holland
• cycle
• cycling
• biking

[leftoverbacon]

I can significant problems for snow removal in northern climates.

[markenlei]

@leftoverbacon the Dutch have to remove snow as well. And there are perfect solutions for clearing the cycle paths of debris, leaves and also snow.

[markenlei]

@nhunt no the cyclists going straight on never has to yield for turning cars. That is the ground rule, straight going traffic including cyclists and pedestrians on the same road always have priority over turning traffic. That doesn't change. The whole design is made with the intention that the drivers do not have to look over their shoulders but can have eye contact with the cyclists and pedestrians because the drivers have already turned when they meet.

[jeroenbuis68]

But, when a physically segregated cycle track is applied on the arms of the junction, we do, in the Netherlands, build something that resembles the proposal that is shown here.

However the geometry we apply in the Netherlands is different. The way it is shown here cyclists have to seriously slow down even when continouing straight. In the Netherlands we bend out the cycle track before the junction or we continue straight, but in that case there is no island.

So they mixed up two principles here.

[markenlei]

@heffeque this has nothing to do with attitude but with basic European traffic law: all turning traffic must yield to traffic going straight on. So here cars turning right MUST yield to cyclists going straight on.

[shermanro]

I'm an American living in Belgium and I can tell you the Dutch know what they're doing.

However, I must point out that in Belgium/Holland and in many other European countries it's illegal for cars to turn right on a red light. In America, drivers just aren't used to looking for cyclists, it's a huge cultural gap that needs to be fixed before cyclists become accepted and are safer on the roads in America.

[KaiItza]

@sonikastudios Why should bikes yield to cars anyway? Instead of making them equal. BTW it's only the douchebag cyclists that think that way.

[kkyt543]

That intersection in the video is /almost/ done. All it needs now is an island in the middle and some arrows directing traffic round the roundabout.

@Fietsbandje, art 185 WVW wordt helaas vaak volledig uit zijn verband gerukt om een fietser financieel te beschermen. Wat mij betreft wordt dat artikel eens grondig aangepast. Zodat fietsers van 16 jaar en ouder gewoon aansprakelijk kunnen worden gesteld, zonder dat de automobilist zich kapot hoeft te procederen.

[heffeque]

@sonikastudios Cars should yield to bikes anyway. Your whole "I'm burning gas so I'm better" attitude is disgusting.

[fietsbandje]

@sonikastudios It's not about that, it is because cyclists are protected in the Netherlands, since their odds are a lot worse in an accident. Furthermore, cycling is a lot more popular in the Netherlands, thus their presence is emphasized in the rules to increase safety. Another reason is that cyclists do not clog up the inner parts of cities as much as cars do. Environmental reasons are an added benefit, but cycling was popular in the Netherlands before that was even an issue.

[abamfici]

@sonikastudios roads aren't paid for by gas tax. Google "roads paid by gas tax" and you'll see they're paid for by property tax, payroll/income tax, etc. It's like saying the sales tax you pay on ammunition pays for the whole military.

[sonikastudios]

It's interesting how some people think the "convenience" of the cyclists is an issue here. No, it's not. Roads are paid for by taxes paid on gasoline. Bike lanes should be for mutual safety as well as NOT impeding regular car traffic - not to inconvenience drivers in the name of some green stunt. If cars can be sped up, bikes kept safer, I'm all for that solution. Traffic shouldn't slow down for bikes in the name of some green gimmick - it all has to be practical, not ideological.

I like this.