Showdown of the century! Which country has the best bicycle infrastructure?! The answer is finally here! And the winner is……… neither! Or, it depends.
The systems have many similarities and differences and which one is better comes down to personal preference around infrastructure type and riding style. My observations regarding differences are
Denmark
- More consistent infrastructure styles
- Stricter cycling rules and norms
- Danish left
- Blue route demarking
- More "organized"
- Less volume of cyclists
- More distinct routes
The Netherlands
- Diverse types of bike infrastructure
- Dutch red
- Bicycles and pedestrians on the same grade
- More shared spaces between pedestrians and bicycles
- High volume traffic
- Infrastructure designed for bike volume at intersections
- The network seems more complete
As Ronald pointed out, historical context is key when discussing the differences between infrastructure. Copenhagen had a huge fire, forcing them to rebuild, whereas Amsterdam has to work around increasingly aging infrastructure and streets, some of which are medieval. My own personal preference is for Amsterdam. The famous Dutch flow makes sense to me as a cyclist. People adapt quickly and the infrastructure is designed to keep bikes moving with rounded turns. The infrastructure in Amsterdam feels like it was designed for bikes and cyclists, whereas Copenhagen felt more like a retrofitted car infrastructure and still limited (I really disliked the Danish left turn).
One distinction I would make is it feels more convenient in Amsterdam to bike, but safer in Copenhagen. I believe this is largely due to not being used to the volume of cyclists in the Netherlands and the narrow cobblestone streets. These streets are not the most comfortable thing to ride on but do help preserve the historic character of the city. Another aspect of the Netherlands that I like is transit seems to be equally invested in across types. In Amsterdam, I found it easy to walk, bike, or take public transit places. In Copenhagen, walking could be longer than necessary and take you down roads that didn't feel as safe as pedestrian safety in the Netherlands. The transit system in Amsterdam feels more interconnected compared to Copenhagens. One example is the Oviefiets and the relationship between biking and public transit in the city.
Comparing the two systems emphasizes how prioritization of humans over cars and thinking outside of the auto industry capitalist box when it comes to transit can create sustainable, accessible, safe, convenient, and enjoyable transit systems. While I personally liked the Dutch model better, I think the Danish model would be a better starting point in most American cities. However, every US city is different and I believe that different aspects of each model would fit in better in some American cities compared to others. One specific example came to me while debriefing the PUMA activity with Meredith. Her figure depicting distance to transit stations by walking vs by bike, which rapidly expanded infrastructure access, made me analyze how accessible the transit stations by my childhood home are. I am fortunate enough to live across the street from a TriMet bus line but the park and ride MAX station I use is almost only reachable by car and has limited bike parking. Improving the bike infrastructure in that area and connecting the existing (limited) network in the Portland Metro to the transit stations would increase people's access to the whole metro, without the need for cars.
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