Yule Heibel's Library tagged holland →  View Popular, Search in Google

Fascinating documentary video (just 6 1/2 minutes long) on the rise of cycling infrastructure in Holland.
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Besides of the historical resume of the process, it is really important to see that there are critical situations in which we have to change our ways of doing. The key for the Dutch bicycles were the amount of car deaths, the first oil crisis and a past history of bicycle use.
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history cycling infrastructure urbanism cities holland

Fascinating read about how the concept of "forgiving highways" (forged in the 1960s), and why it needs rethinking in built-up areas, and how the Dutch are leading the way.
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Forgiving Highways is a concept that designs roads to “forgive” mistakes made on the road. It seeks to smoothly redirect the vehicles that leave roads, and allow wide enough clear zones to bring vehicles to controlled stops if and when they leave the roads. Breakaway supports, burying the end of guardrail, clearing the roadside of unneeded obstacles, and flattening and rounding slopes and ditch sections became standard design as part of the concept.

The idea that Forgiving Highways (wider and straighter) would reduce crashes on non-freeways took root during the 1966 National Highway Safety hearings.
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Obviously, "forgiving highways" works well in a non-urban context, but in an urban context, arterials built with those guidelines provide a false sense of security for drivers, and leave pedestrians and cyclists (anyone "weaker") in the lurch.

I'm particularly interested in this entry right now, because it seems to me that the City of Victoria's Engineering Department is stuck in a "forgiving highway" mindset as it tries to convince us that the city's Johnson Street Bridge needs to be replaced.

project_for_public_spaces roads transportation holland traffic traffic_safety