Utrecht – Fit, Fun and Civilized

I guarantee you if you live in a city that doesn’t have good bike planning or infrastructure this film will equally inspire and depress you! Streetfilms

This video is just mind blowing!!

• Population: 350,000
• 125,000 cyclists passing through downtown daily
• cycling means less noise, cleaner air and impacts on the friendliness of the city
• the objective is to prevent cars from driving through the city. Take the cars out and bring the people and the bikes in
• a street with 33,000 cyclists per day
• 98% of households own at least 1 bike and 50% own 3 or more
• cars represent 12-15% of traffic to the city centre. The majority of the people visiting downtown go there by bicycle as well as public transport (bus and train)
• Dafne Schippersbrug – what a bridge… in order not to demolish a school, a bridge for bicycles was built on the roof of the school… a project that integrates so well into the community and the urban fabric. 3 in 1: 1) school, 2) playground for kids and 3) a bridge for cyclists and pedestrians…
• cycling in the Netherlands is integrated into the buildings, train stations, cycle paths on the roof of schools – a pipe dream in many other places in the world
• 33K parking lot for bicycles
• they are re-building streets, turning them into 30Km/ hour streets, making room for pedestrians and cyclists
• bicycle bridges are car-free
• the city invests in noise-free or low-noise projects for example the cobble-stones (used on paving) must produce low noise. The same applies to tarmac: the tarmac has to produce low noise when cyclists cycle along
• Red tarmac is used extensively in the Netherlands as a signal to car drivers that they are in equal footing to pedestrians and cyclists
• people feel safe cycling anywhere and everywhere
• from canal to motorway and back to canal (The Singel Project). This was a 900-year old canal (with water) but in 1966 they started building a 4-lane motorway. The old canal remained a motorway for 40 years. The motorway is now being replaced by the original water canal
• for every car you take out from the street, you bring 12 pedestrians or 12 cyclists
• all this means so much for the residents who are able to live, work and play in the city without having their mobility, livelihood and happiness limited by cars.

Source: Utrecht: Planning for People & Bikes, Not for Cars