Bike Love NY
  • Blog
  • About
  • Contact
  • BFold
  • Zen Bikes

HOW THEY DO IT: Just the facts

8/31/2019

4 Comments

 
Upon arriving in Amsterdam, it is easy to overlook how many ways the city serves its residents. For the newcomer, the number of bikes (and the outrageous parking for them) is the most obvious difference. But underlying that, is a multi-faceted infrastructure - from street design, to vehicles and parking, to taxing and regulations - where every piece works together. These observations are strictly my own, that of my camera, and a few natives I got to know along the way and to whom I made myself a complete pest. And while many of you may have long known a lot of this, here is what I saw:

PARKING (the biggest enabler of cars in cities):

The hourly price for on-street parking in Amsterdam’s city center is 5 Euros. A day- ticket goes from 30 to 45 Euros. The further you are from the Old City Centre, the cheaper the parking is.* Cars are charged electronically, and can park in designated areas like this below (the X is a loading zone)
Picture
OWNING A CAR
Want to buy a car? Go ahead: the tax for that will be 50% of the total cost. Gas is $6.48 a gallon.**

SPEED LIMIT/LIABILITY
I was shocked at gas prices - and also surprised to find the speed limit in Amsterdam is higher than NYC’s: 30mph. But I rarely saw that - and when cars were moving fast, there was no close-passing. Drivers are careful because of the liability laws: if a driver hits a cyclist or pedestrian, the driver is automatically deemed liable. In NY, the reverse is true and our fatalities are proof.


Also reversed: where in NYC we cyclists are constantly in danger of losing our bike lanes to cars, in Amsterdam, cars are considered “Invited guests” on the street, with rights that can be revoked at any time. Right of way clearly prioritizes pedestrians and cyclists, and you feel it.
Picture
The oddest experience is to ride in a painted bike lane, without expecting to be “doored.” Fearful of losing my NYC habits, I never counted on this, tho clearly the natives do. 
But much of the time, bikes and cars ride separately
The only possible exception to right of way for peds and cyclists is trollies; always yield to trollies. But cyclists are not above the law. A cyclist who texts or rides looking at their phone, is automatically fined 95 Euros - this is common knowledge. And cops can catch them because they're also on bikes. 
Picture
BIKE FATALITIES
Sadly, there are still fatalities. While in Amsterdam, I was introduced to a couple who live there, knew my interests, and brought with them a heavy book about cycling in the Netherlands. If you look at this chart (the yellow is bikes)...
Picture
You’ll see that with 73% of the population taking 665,000 daily trips,*** there were three bike fatalities in 2013 (if I’m reading that correctly). Feel free to check my stats - I never claimed to excel at math -  but even if I'm way off, those numbers don't come close to New York which at last count had 450,000 daily trips**** - and 19 dead since January of this year (it's now Labor Day). That's more than 6 times the fatalities of Amsterdam with far fewer cyclists, making it overall 800% more dangerous to ride a bike in New York than Amsterdam. New York should be ashamed.

AND NOW THE OBVIOUS:
All of this adds up to far fewer cars on Amsterdam’s streets, leaving room for lots of alternatives, like car-free streets for walking, dining, shopping…
Picture
And don't forget partying (for which Amsterdam has long been famous)
Picture
As well as a healthy Red Light District.
Picture
Without all those cars, public transportation actually moves.
And people with disabilities ride with impunity on the sidewalks, in the bike lanes, but just as often in the streets.
Picture
Picture
All of which ends up creating a city with streets that more of its residents can share. But what is rarely mentioned is the difference in noise level. This for example, is a pile of ear plugs I carry in every pocket of clothing while walking on the streets of NY, and which stayed in my hotel room in Amsterdam. 
Picture
In NY, I sleep with a fan on at night all year round, to block out the noise. In Amsterdam, I awoke to the sound of seagulls, and went to sleep to the sound of trolley clangs and and bicycle bells. In two weeks, I heard 3 car horns total.

I wish I could say that for New York.

Next Entry;

HOW THEY DO IT: Bike Infrastructure
------------

*Parking: 

https://www.amsterdam.info/parking/

**Gas: 
https://www.google.com/search?q=how+much+does+gas+cost+in+the+netherlands&oq=how+much+&aqs=chrome.0.69i59l3j69i57j0l2.1591j0j7&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8


*** Number of cyclists in Amsterdam, courtesy of the Rijks Museum exhibit
**** Daily cycling trips in NYC
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/07/30/nyregion/new-yorkers-bike-lanes-commuting.html
4 Comments
Peggy
8/31/2019 12:20:57 pm

I love the sleuthing research! good for you.

Reply
Sheila Samton
8/31/2019 02:55:12 pm

I LOVE THIS! Filled with vital information and attentive to the concerns of bikers. Totally inspiring. Wondering how much a euro is worth in dollars right now.

Reply
CJ Wojo
9/1/2019 05:40:59 am

Love the idea of cars as invited guests. Look at those parking prices! I remember when NYC recently raised the 15 min price by a quarter and people freaked. Also, I thought your earplugs were cheese at first :)

Reply
karen
9/1/2019 01:12:10 pm

Also learned so much from this. Keep 'em coning

Reply



Leave a Reply.

    Picture
    Enter your Email:
    Preview | Powered by FeedBlitz

    Author

    Melodie Bryant is a resident of NYC and avid cycler of a folding Brompton bike named Lucille and a Scott road bike, Lola.

    Follow @bikeloveny

    RSS Feed

    Maintenance (for cyclists only)

    Archives

    April 2020
    September 2019
    August 2019
    August 2018
    January 2018
    November 2017
    September 2017
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014

    December 2015
    Hollylights Ride 2015 (Part 1)
    Hollylights Ride 2015 (Part 2)
    A Vision For Staten Island
    January 2018
    Unrequited Love
    Painkillers
    November 2017
    What I Didn't Know (Part 1)
    January 2016
    California Dreamin (mostly photos)
    Activist in a Strange Land
    Northvale
    Appointment in Samarra
    Disasters (and near disasters)
    March 2016
    Chopped Liver
    May 2016
    Uber
    June 2016
    City of Hope
    I Disobey
    The Ratched Effect
    Rehab
    July 2016
    Discoveries
    Naked Bike Ride
    August 2016
    Summer Streets 2016
    The Politics of Joy
    September 2016
    We Ride Together
    A Good Friend
    Blind Spots
    August 2015
    Ireland
       Day One (no biking)
       Day Two (some history)
       Day Three (meet the bikes)
       Day Four (The Burren)
       Day Five (The Hill)
       Day Five and Three Quarters
       Riding the High Road
       Day Seven (our luck runs out)
       Day Six (Inishmore)
       Day Eight (Kylemore Abbey)
       Day Eight (The Dancing Irish)
       Day Nine (last day)
    July 2015
    You 'n Yer Fancy Bike
    Guilty Glass (quick tip for all cyclists)
    June 2015
    Yorktown Heights
    Maintenance (for cyclists only)
    Coney Island Fireworks
    The Katy Trail
       Meeting Katy
       Show Me
       Art and History
    May 2015
    The Blessings Of The Bikes
    The Five Boro Bike Tour
    Montauk (The Ride)
    Montauk (The Afterglow)
    Change
    April 2015
    Back in the Saddle
    Bad Behavior
    City Island (Travelogue)
    No Ordinary Rides
    Frustration
    January 2015
    LA Wheelmen Pt 1
    LA Wheelmen Pt II
    First Bike
    Simplify
    Red Light
    The Bleak Mid Winter
    February 2015
    Staten Island
    Reaching The Limits
    Healing
    The Heartbreak of Winter
    A Slippery Slope
    May 2014
    A Folding Bike
    First Ride
    Second Ride
    My Big Fat Bike Adventure
    Central Park II
    In Which All Is Not As It Seems
    A Tale of Three Islands
    Introducing Lucille
    Brooklyn!
    Minneapolis Biking!
    One World Trade
    June 2014
    Spring in New York
    Breakdown!
    Loss
    Jamaica Bay!
    Hoboken
    Lucille Goes Shopping
    Moonlight Ride!
    Bike Love
    City Grit
    Stormy Weather
    Friday the 13th
    Joining 'Em
    Riverdale!
    Bells and Whistles
    The Rockaways
    Red Hook!
    July 2014
    Governors Island!
    July Fourth!
    The Loire Valley
       A Bumpy Landing
       Loire - First Day
       Loire - Second Day
       Loire - Third Day
       Loire - Fourth Day
    August 2014
    First Rides Home
    A New York Day
    The Madness - And Sadness - 
           Of Fashion Week
    September 2014
    Park Alarm
    Rosh Hashanah
    Flaternalia
    A Cool Ride Up The East Side
    October 2014
    Confessions of a Cheater
    50 Miles in Annandale
    Theft
    Marathon!
    Bike Weight
    A Change of Seasons
    November 2014
    George Washington Bridge
    George Washington Bridge/
       Alternate Route
    The Palisades
    Why I Wear A Helmet Camera
    Nyack
    Return from Nyack
    Lola
    December 2014
    A Bike for Life
    Weather Permitting
    A Wintery Ride
    Some Christmas Doggerel
            (Duckerel?)
    Christmas Lights in Dyker Heights!
    BikeloveLA/First Ride
    BikeloveLA/Cheviot Hills
    BikeloveLA/A Wash
    Videos
    Queens Velodrome
    Brooklyn Bridge to Manhattan
    Williamsburg Bridge to Brooklyn
    A Cool Ride Up The East Side
            (time lapse)
    Biking the loop in Central Park
            (time lapse)
    Navigating the Battery
           (time lapse)
    Bronx River Parkway
           (time lapse)
    Cool Ride to Roosevelt Island
    Via Queensboro (Ed Koch) Bridge
           (time lapse)
    Cheviot Hills
    Patricia Avenue
Proudly powered by Weebly
Proudly powered by Weebly