Articles
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…
Read More »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…
Read More »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…
Read More »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…
Read More »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…
Read More »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…
Read More »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.…
Read More »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…
Read More »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…
Read More »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...…
Read More »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…
Read More »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…
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