The Latest From BostonBiker.org
News, Events, Updates
How The Dutch Got Their Bike Lanes (And How We Will Get Ours)
Written by Boston Biker on Nov 03People think that the Dutch just sort of happened into having amazing bike infrastructure. They didn’t, it was a deliberate process leading to the highest cycling rates in the world.
New studies show that well designed cycling infrastructure does more than anything else to improve health and safety.
A major city street with parked cars and no bike lanes is just about the most dangerous place you could ride a bike. All the big threats are there: open car doors, bad parallel parkers, passing cabs and public transit. This is not a particularly novel scientific revelation, although research has found it to be true. Things get more interesting when we compare this bad-biking baseline to infrastructure actually intended to accommodate cyclists.
New research out of Canada has methodically done just this, parsing 14 route types – from that bike-ambivalent major street to sidewalks, local roads with designated bike lanes, paved multi-use paths and protected “cycle tracks” – for their likelihood of yielding serious bike injuries. As it turns out, infrastructure really matters. Your chance of injury drops by about 50 percent, relative to that major city street, when riding on a similar road with a bike lane and no parked cars. The same improvement occurs on bike paths and local streets with designated bike routes. And protected bike lanes – with actual barriers separating cyclists from traffic – really make a difference. The risk of injury drops for riders there by 90 percent.
Vehicular cycling was an idea that had its day, and is now functionally dead. The future of cycling involves high quality bicycle infrastructure, in many cases separate from automobile infrastructure. The dutch did it 40 years ago, and we can do it today.
In many ways Boston is at the same spot the Dutch were in the 70′s. We are facing similar economic, environmental, and health problems. We even share a similar climate and “old world” city layout to many cities in Northern Europe. This town could be rebuilt into a cycling paradise, combined with a state of the art public transportation system we could be ready to face the challenges the next century will bring.
And there will be challenges. Boston’s population is going to grow, and even at current numbers there is a lack of space for cars. We have to take back the space we are currently wasting on things like parking cars, and put it towards more economically useful endeavors like housing and business.
There will also be problems with the climate. Hurricane Sandy not only showed that having a bicycle is the best backup in a natural disaster, but it actually got politicians talking about climate change for the first time in this election. What happened to NYC could have easily happened to Boston.
Cycling makes us healthier, reduces pollution, and is good for business. Cycling infrastructure makes us more resilient to natural disasters, and makes the city more enjoyable to live in. Its time we start getting serious about remaking Boston’s infrastructure to create a city that works for its people, not for its cars.
Add to Reddit. Posted in advocacy, infrastructure, video | 6 Comments »
The Word On The Street
Here is what people are saying
- Tour De Southie May 18, 2013TweetThe South Boston bike scene is heating up, check out this awesome upcoming event: Join us for a casual bicycle ride around the neighborhood. Nicole Freedman, Director of Boston Bikes, will be our special guest for the ride. Nicole … Continue reading → […]Boston Biker
- City Releases Crash Statistics: Mayor Proposes Mandatory Helmet Law May 17, 2013TweetAs a follow-up to City Councilor Ayanna Pressley’s hearing in December 2012, the City of Boston’s Crash Data Report has finally come out. You can find the report at the following URL: http://www.cityofboston.gov/news/uploads/16776_49_15_27.pdf. highlights include this lovely opening from the … Continue reading → […]Boston Biker
- MassDOT Wants To Do To McGrath What They Are Going To Do To Forest Hills May 17, 2013TweetFrom here: MassDOT has recommended that the McCarthy Overpass portion of McGrath Highway be grounded and the roadway developed into a Boulevard that reconnects East Somerville, Union Square and Brickbottom. Project managers released the recommendation during a May 15 public … Continue reading → […]Boston Biker
- The Best Kind Of Traffic May 16, 2013Tweet I was a bit harsh on the Cyclist for loosing this years Rush Hour race, but he seems to have done pretty well considering. I have done a lot of urban races, and I can say that following all … Continue reading → […]Boston Biker
- The Timing Of Favorable Bike Riding Reporting May 16, 2013TweetNational Bike Month is rolling along unimpeded. Thanks to the League of American Bicyclists, the month of May has been set aside as a time for celebrating all things bicycle. As if that weren’t enough, here in Massachusetts, we designated … Continue reading → […]IsolateCyclist
- In the news: Biking Up, Motoring Down May 15, 2013TweetA report from US PIRG notes that driving in the US is in decline: The New York Times how this decline is affecting Charlotte, NC. Closer to home, WBUR looks into motoring on the wane in Boston. StreetsBlog asks why road … Continue reading → […]bikecommuter
- Police Give Out Hundreds Of Free Helmets And Lights May 15, 2013TweetAwesome! ——- Police officials from BU, Boston, and Brookline are teaming up this week to give away hundreds of free helmets to cyclists riding in the Commonwealth Avenue area, to prevent accidents and spread awareness about biking safety. Boston University … Continue reading → […]Boston Biker
- The City Celebrates Bike Week May 14, 2013TweetGot this in the email, lots and lots of bike week events going on: ———— Boston Bike Week is here!! Bike Week is here and it’s jam-packed with activities! For a complete list of all bike events happening around the … Continue reading → […]Boston Biker
- Bikes Not Bombs Update May 14, 2013TweetRegister for the 2013 Bike-A-Thon and set-up your fundraising page Photo By: Wayne Chinnock There is still plenty of time to register for the Bike-A-Thonon June 2nd! With about three weeks to go, the individual fundraising goal of $150 is easily attainable, … Continue reading → […]Boston Biker
- FIXING THE FUTURE McGRATH/O’BRIEN CORRIDOR: A Six-Lane Boulevard Is Still A Highway May 14, 2013TweetParadigm shift. A fundamental change in one’s core understanding of a situation. It’s hard to do. It takes abandoning everything you’ve been taught and believed and that made sense, then adopting something totally new and perhaps both untried and unsettling. … Continue reading → […]semiller
