Urban Transport in the OIC Megacities
167
Appendix A3
Cycling in the Netherlands: Lessons learned from integrated environmental, urban
and transport planning
The Netherlands
More than any other country in the Western World, the Netherlands is famous for its high levels of
cycling. Almost every Dutch city is served by extensive cycling facilities, and the widespread presence
of cyclists is an integral part of the urban landscape, central to the very image of Dutch cities (Pucher
and Buehler, 2007).
Cycling as part of national policies
The scarcity of usable land in the Netherlands that has raised high and early awareness on spatial
development issues and its connections with natural and environmental protection. Transport
policies have always been well integrated with spatial, environmental and economic policies in order
to achieve environmental, social and economic sustainability. Cycling and walking in particular, have
received significant support over the past three decades as the country put significant barriers to the
usage of private cars. Although motorization and car trips increased rapidly between 1960 and 1970,
the increase has been moderate increase ever since (Alpkokin, 2012).
The country is currently focused on allowing urban planners the freedom to formulate area specific
environmental ambitions that are based on existing functions and characteristics of urban areas. A
distinct type of ‘hybrid’ planning tool has been developed specifically for defining area based
environmental ambitions in spatial plans, coupled with the appropriate development measures. The
strong background of policy integration is expected to contribute tomaking themost of environmental
and spatial planning, resulting in more sustainable urban areas (Runhaaret al, 2009).
Cycling policies
The Dutch success story in making cycling so appealing is largely attributable to the coordinated
implementation of measures that reinforce the impact of each other in promoting cycling. Indeed, the
necessity of a coordinated, multifaceted approach is perhaps the key lesson to be learned from the
Netherlands (Pucher and Buehler, 2008). In order to provide as much information as possible, the key
policies and innovative measures for direct and indirect promotion of cycling in all Dutch cities are
presented in Tables 14 and 15 below.
Table 14: Key policies and innovative measures used to promote safe and convenient cycling
Extensive systems of separate cycling facilities
• Well-maintained, fully integrated paths, lanes and special bicycle streets in cities and surrounding
regions
• Fully coordinated system of colour coded directional signs for bicyclists
• Off street shortcuts, such as midblock connections and passages through dead ends for cars
Intersection modifications and priority traffic signals
• Advance green lights for cyclists at most intersections