Bicycling means better business

Cities across the U.S. discover that good biking attracts great jobs and top talent to their communities “Biking is definitely part of our strategy to attract and retain businesses in order to compete in a mobile world,” says Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak as we glide across the Mississippi river on a bike-and-pedestrian bridge—one of two that connect downtown to the…

How do green lanes work? Facts & stats

Across the United States, next-generation bikeways called “green lanes” are being built on city streets. Green lanes are dedicated, inviting spaces for people on bikes. Physically protected from motor vehicles and separated from sidewalks, the lanes offer convenient, comfortable, and safe places for people of all ages and abilities to travel by bike. More people riding Research shows that green lanes…

The simple, inexpensive breakthrough that is transforming American cities

By Jay Walljasper

​The Green Lane Project brings bicycling into the 21st century—with positive results for the nation’s health, economy, environment and commutes You can glimpse the future right now in forward-looking American cities—a few blocks here, a mile there where people riding bicycles are protected from rushing cars and trucks. Chicago’s Kinzie Street, just north of downtown, offers a good picture of…

Everybody Rides

​55% of all bike trips taken in the Netherlands are by women.  In the U.S., it’s less than 25%.  There are 18 million bikes in the Netherlands, and 16 million people.  Being able to comfortably ride side-by-side is a core design principle in Dutch bicycle facilities, because cycling is an inherently social activity.  The average speed of a Dutch cyclist…

A week of biking joyously - An account of a Bikes Belong workshop in the Netherlands

By Jay Walljasper

​I joined a team of latter-day explorers in the Netherlands in September on a quest to discover what American communities can learn from the Dutch about transforming bicycling in the United States from a largely recreational pastime to an integral part of our transportation system.  Patrick Seidler, vice-chairman of the Bikes Belong Foundation (www.bikesbelong.org), and the sponsor of this fact-finding…

Portland’s not perfect, but offers bright ideas for making biking mainstream

By Jay Walljasper

​It’s become a cliché that Portland is America’s most livable city, a hotbed of innovations when it comes to green policies, public spaces, pedestrian amenities, transit, public spaces, and, of course, bicycles. In fact some people are growing weary (and the rest of us envious) of hearing about how great things are in Oregon’s largest city.But clichés often turn out…

The Right Tool for the Job

By Zach Vanderkooy

​Last week, I helped lead my third European Transportation Best Practices Trip in The Netherlands, supported by the Bikes Belong Foundation. These trips involve guiding U.S. city officials — urban planners, traffic engineers, politicians, and other leaders with the capability to influence the shape of our communities — on a whirlwind tour of the best bicycling cities in the world.…

Seville, Spain’s remarkable transformation

By Zach Vanderkooy

​Seville, Spain is not in the Netherlands. You won’t see old black & white photographs of grandmothers and grandfathers pushing bicycles past bakeries on charming canal-lined streets. No one you meet shares childhood memories of bicycling to school with friends. There is no deep-rooted habit of reaching for the bicycle for a short trip around town, simply because that’s how…

Bicycling by Design

By Zach Vanderkooy

​Last month, I joined a panel discussion about urban bicycling as part of Seeing Orange , a weeklong series of talks contemplating the global influence of Dutch design in San Francisco. Naturally, widespread use of the bicycle for transportation is the first thing that comes to mind when I think of the greatest Dutch achievements, but it’s worth remembering that…

The surprising rise of Minneapolis as a top bike town

By Jay Walljasper

​People across the country were surprised last year when Bicycling magazine named Minneapolis America’s “#1 Bike City,” beating out Portland, Oregon, which had claimed the honor for many years. Shock that a place in the heartland could outperform cities on the coasts was matched by widespread disbelief that cycling was even possible in a state famous for its ferocious winters...…

Bicycling in the Netherlands: Lessons for the USA

By Hans van Naerssen

Bicyclists make up more than 25 percent of all traffic in the Netherlands; Dutch cities have networks of well-marked bike routes that are enjoyed by grandmothers, schoolchildren, professionals and purple haired punks; and bikes are everywhere. Bikes are mainstream. So how did the Netherlands, the tiny nation of windmills and cheese, become the global leader in bicycle transportation? Are there…

What the Bay Area learned from the Dutch about better bicycling

By Jay Walljasper

​From a bicyclist’s perspective, the San Francisco Bay Area and the Randstad—a part of the Netherlands encompassing Amsterdam, Rotterdam, Utrecht and The Hague—seem to have little in common. There’s hardly a hill anywhere in this Dutch region, while a trip around the Bay Area feels like a roller coaster ride. But a closer look shows plenty of similarities. The places…