Biking in Amsterdam vs. Copenhagen

After a stressful travel day and the biggest summer storm in Amsterdam history, I wasn't liking Amsterdam too much and I didn't "get" the cycling and infrastructure here compared to how naturally it came to some other people. But, the other day it finally clicked and I had a great day exploring with purpose and understanding things here, so now I feel like I can reflect and compare Amsterdam to Copenhagen.

But first, Clog Bakfiets!

Before I go into the comparison of the systems, I just wanted to show off that I got to ride a clog bakfiets!!

Me riding with Emma (top) and Sydney (bottom) on the clog bakfiets

Observations about the Dutch System

Alexanderplein, an intersection with no traffic lights or stop signs

My first observations about the Dutch system were about the flow of everything. One of our assignments was to obstruct traffic and in doing this I realized that people on bikes and on foot will just flow around you even if you step out in front of them. This is made possible by the low speed of travel and is pretty cool because nobody will get hurt if someone makes a mistake, so it makes the system welcoming to beginners. It also makes it so that they don't necessarily need stop signs or traffic lights at every intersection here because people can yield when needed and flow around each other.

A red painted cycle track

I also thought it was hard to read and get used to the system at first because you're not sure of where you're allowed or supposed to be, but once you figure out that you can be anywhere with red paint, it helps you feel a lot more comfortable. There are also many other people on bikes you can follow to  make sure you're doing the right thing, and as I mentioned above, if you make a mistake people will just flow around you.      

Cobblestones on a bike street

Another thing I noticed is the presence of cobblestones on cycle tracks in much of the city. Some places are smoother than others but I was surprised at how bumpy some of the cycle tracks were. My only guess on why this might be is because many of the bumpy areas were in the city center where there are many pedestrians, so it is to keep cyclists slow enough so that they can stop to let pedestrians cross the street.

A speed bump

Lastly, the thing I notice the most here is the usage of infrastructure to drive behavior. Instead of signage or lights, infrastructure is used to be sure that people follow the rules. For example, on our biking tour, we were told that whichever road has a speed bump coming into an unmarked (no stop signs, yield triangles, or lights) intersection is the road where people are supposed to yield to others, but if you didn't know that rule, you would still be fine because the bump would slow you down enough to yield, which would not have happened if there was just a sign telling you to yield. 

Comparisons between the systems in Amsterdam and Copenhagen

Woman stopped in the middle of a cycle street talking to us; people just went around her

The main difference between the systems is how strict the "rules" are. Copenhagen has rules about how to make a left turn, hand signals you have to use to stop, etc., but Amsterdam has more of a flow where people use body language to communicate what they're doing and their judgement to determine if it's okay to turn left when they want. You can still follow rules in Amsterdam if you want, and use hand signals to signal stopping, but people won't get mad if you don't.

An intersection with no lights or stop signs

There are also a lot more lights and stops in Copenhagen than in Amsterdam, even in the cycle superhighways. Here, you are kept from going on autopilot as you ride because you have to think through intersections, so you will never find yourself forgetting how you got somewhere or if the light was green, like people do when they drive.

Intersection with no foot rests

One big difference between Amsterdam and Copenhagen is that Amsterdam has none of the little things that make biking a bit easier in Copenhagen, like foot rests, trash cans, and the yellow light before it turns green. While the system is generally better here in Amsterdam, I definitely notice the absence of those add-ons and I think Amsterdam would benefit from including them in their infrastructure, at least at the intersections where people will be waiting and could use them.

Cultural Differences

Someone sitting on the back of someone else's bike

Both places have a bike culture, but the bike culture in Amsterdam is a bit more developed and people here seem to trust cars more. The other main difference is that in Copenhagen the infrastructure use is very rule-oriented, and in Amsterdam it's chaos that flows. I think this probably has to do with how people are raised differently in the two cities, because the Amsterdam system might not make sense to people from Copenhagen and vice versa. This is important to remember in planning, that just because something is intuitive for you, doesn't mean it will work for everyone, and that's why community input is so important.

Convenience and Safety

I feel safer in Copenhagen because there is more separation and less shared roads which feel unsafe to me. Part of me knows that I shouldn't feel unsafe on them because the people driving there probably ride bikes too and will treat me like a human, but I am used to cars being aggressive at home, so it's still a bit scary. 

A car-free street

In terms of convenience, I think Amsterdam is better because the bike network connects you directly to destinations rather than just following the roads. It's also easier to stop and get off of the cycle tracks because there isn't a huge grade difference and you know people won't be angry.

My Preference

A graphic printed on a shared road that says "cars are guests"

Overall, I think I like Amsterdam better but I can understand why the Copenhagen system might make more sense to some people. Amsterdam is more chaotic and a bit overwhelming when you begin, but once you get the hang of it, you can appreciate how beautiful the flow is and have fun participating in it. Amsterdam does protection better with a lot more space between the cycle tracks and they do shared space better by making sure cars know that they are guests on the road, but Copenhagen is better with rule following and order. I think which system you like depends on your preference, but as someone who really appreciates rules and specific directions, I'm surprised that I love Amsterdam so much. 

Things to Transfer Back Home

A street designed so that it's one way for cars and two ways for bikes

The most important thing that I think would be really valuable back in the US is the design of infrastructure to drive behavior. I think a lot of Americans don't really obey signs, and it's hard to do so when the roads aren't designed in alignment with the signs; for example a really wide road that encourages speeding with a low speed limit that contradicts the design. The traffic calming and infrastructure design here that forces people to follow the rules is really interesting and allows for there to be intersections with no lights or stop signs. It is also legible for everyone; no matter what language they speak or how well they can read, the infrastructure will force them to slow down or yield without having to read and obey a sign.

An example of a ramp in Amsterdam

I also like the elevated lanes with a clear cut curb as protection and I think that would be very beneficial in America because it gives the cyclist a sense of protection  and it prevents the driver from easily driving onto the lane, which would allow people to ride more because they feel more safe. As long as there are ramps where people need them, whether asphalt or the more developed ramps here, the elevation is a good way to protect cyclists.

Someone riding in a shared "cars are guests" area between cars and bikes

All in all, I think the clear cut design of Copenhagen would be best to take back to America because it is easily readable for newcomers and we haven't developed a cycling culture as much as any of these cities have. In America, we wouldn't be able to simply put "cars are guests" on the road to have drivers be more respectful because we already have a culture of aggressive driving and car dominance. However, if we added Copenhagen-like infrastructure, I think it would make a lot more people feel safer cycling in the US. 

Random Thoughts

At this point in the study abroad it's hitting me hard how grateful I am to be here and to be surrounded by people that know what I'm talking about when I talk about bike infrastructure or planning because I don't have anyone like that back home. I'm very happy that I'm getting to participate in this wonderful experience with all of the other students and I'm having a lot of fun in Amsterdam. It's super cool to see that the "magic" of Dutch cycling is very real after only watching videos of it and reading about it for so long.

Scavenger Hunt Reflections

For most of our time in Amsterdam, we participated in an infrastructure scavenger hunt made by the Urban Cycling Institute to better understand how the cycling infrastructure here works. It included different "missions" to different places to learn about the history of the place and how the present cycling infrastructure is efficient.

Highlights of the Scavenger Hunt

Community Input

The most valuable parts of the scavenger hunt were when we were able to talk to residents of Amsterdam about how they're feeling about certain projects.

Central Station underground bike parking

First, we talked to people about the new underground bike parking garage at Central Station. All of them said that they like it and use it as often as possible, or whenever they're using public transit. Everyone is able to park their bike in the same place and easily know where it is, and it is inside so their bikes won't get wet while parked.

The new street design on Nieuwezijds Voorburgwal and the cafe on the right

Next, we talked to a business owner on Nieuwezijds Voorburgwal about the street redesign process there. That street used to be a road for cars with car parking on the sides, but its median was turned into a park with vegetation and tram tracks where cars can't get through, but people can walk across. We talked to the owner of a small cafe that was on this median and she said she was very happy with the changes that had been made. She said that the old road was very chaotic with cars, but now she's much happier because it's more quiet and she has more seating available for customers.

The Weesperstraat pilot project

Lastly, we talked to people about the controversial street pilot project on Weesperstraat, where the usually busy road is closed to cars from 6 am to 11 pm every day. Most of the people we talked to really loved it. One woman who lives nearby didn't have a car and she thought it was better for her pedestrian experience, and even her boyfriend, who has a car and has to take a longer, less direct route home, loves it and wants it to be permanent. Another person loved it because of the lower noise levels, and she thinks the city should be more car-free so that people can get around safely and easily. There were also construction workers that liked it because it gave them a job, but they also thought it was visually pleasing. The person who didn't like it as much was a delivery man, and he said it's hard for those who deliver things. He thinks that the concept is a good idea but he thinks they should've picked a street that was less important.

Other Interesting Highlights

The Alexanderplein intersection

One cool thing I got to observe was Alexanderplein, an intersection without any stop signs or street lights. There are yield triangles on the ground and crosswalks, but other than that, traffic flows and people crossing, cars, trams, and bikes figure out when to move forward. When I first saw this, it blew my mind and it was really interesting to watch the flow happen for a couple of minutes. I didn't see a single accident, and the closest it got was cars not yielding when they were supposed to, but not close enough to hit anyone.

The inside of Huis de Pinto

Another cool thing was that we were able to get a tour of Huis de Pinto. We walked in to try to find the hidden bike in the artwork, but a nice man gave us a tour because he thought it was cool that we were Americans. This was the house in the neighborhood where "urban renewal" (not like American urban renewal; in the Netherlands that is what they describe as the period where they retrofitted and preserved historic buildings) began. We got to walk through the house, see the courtyard, and look at old structures hanging on the walls. It was also very cool that the street it was on was the end of an old planned highway that was never built there, and that it is now a car-free street with only trams and bikes on it.

Reflection

A busy, car-free street

Debriefing at UvA after the scavenger hunt, the main thing that my group took away was that if you cater towards what people want in their community, you'll have a more efficient, lively, and activated use of space. Through our interviews with many of the residents, we realized that the places we went that the majority of people said they liked were the places where you could see lots of people, community plants around, etc. creating a lively and used space.

Our connection map

To wrap everything up, we made a map connecting the Environmental/Spatial and Political/Social aspects for the causes of a high level of cycling in the Netherlands and the consequences (positive and negative) of it. Our main conclusion from this was that community and bike infrastructure are very intertwined through community input into the planning process to provide access for all people including kids, lower-income people, and those with disabilities. This provides positive consequences to that community in the form of air quality effects, less car crashes, and better cardiovascular health. 

Rural Amsterdam Reflection

The Switch from Urban to Rural Infrastructure

Our first sights of the more rural infrastructure by a windmill

Going from the urban environment to a completely rural area in and outside of Amsterdam takes about 20 minutes, and there is generally no suburbia you go through to get there. As you move through, the infrastructure changes as well because there is less traffic on the roads. 

Rural infrastructure with two cars passing at once

Most of the rural infrastructure includes one shared lane for car traffic going both ways in the middle and two painted bike lanes on either side. There are also speed bumps and curbs to narrow the streets every so often. After riding on this for a while, it was clear that it worked because there was rarely two cars passing each other going different directions, and the traffic calming kept the cars going at such a low speed that if another car was passing in the opposite direction, there was enough time to figure out who would slow down to let the other car pass.

Why This Might Not Work in the US

Despite this infrastructure working well for the rural area here, I don't think this would necessarily be a wise idea for the US.

The Netherlands has a developed bike culture and most people in cars also ride bikes, so they treat cyclists like human beings and don't come close to killing them over road rage every day. This allows for the shared car lane and the unprotected cycle lanes to work in this instance. In the US, however, we do not have this developed culture, and while this might work in truly rural areas, I don't think it would be best for the more suburban areas where it issometimes proposed. The one way that this might work is with serious traffic calming measures, like narrowing the lanes and curbs, but it could be dangerous to do with the car dominant culture in America and most cyclists would appreciate more protection. 

Rural Activities and Bike Access

Swimming

The lake we swam at

Outside of Amsterdam, there is a lake where we went to swim, which was cool to see within the rural part of the country that wasn't near the coast and it included a restaurant and grassy areas to give the people living there something fun to do on a summer day.

Bike access (top) and bike parking (bottom) at the lake

The best thing about it was that the bike access was clearly prioritized, and we didn't even realize there was car access at all because the car parking was so out of the way. The cycle tracks were directly connected to the lake and there were large bike parking facilities right as you entered, which were both completely separated from the car parking facilities and the roads. It was pretty cool to see biking being prioritized at a swimming spot, because I've never seen that before at any beaches or lakes I've been to in the US, and it seems intuitive to want to bike back and dry off in the fresh air after going swimming.

Cheese and Clog Shop

The cheese part of the shop (top) and the clog part of the shop (bottom)

We went to a farm where cheese and clogs are made, and although it was a weird experience, it was cool to see how they prepare cheese and make clogs in the rural Netherlands. There was also a lot of farmland nearby, with bike infrastructure flowing through it, which was nice to bike through. The journey to the clog shop was very bike friendly and we were able to bike side-by-side for most of the way. The driveway to the clog shop was also very narrow and clearly meant for bikes to be arriving.

Overall, the rural experience was very cool and it is super interesting that we were able to make it to all of these locations in under an hour on our bikes.

Amsterdam Bike Infrastructure After a Storm

A large puddle (top) and a tree down (bottom) after the storm

Amsterdam just had its biggest summer storm in history, which was almost like a hurricane with high winds and rain, so it was interesting to see how this impacted the bike and public transit infrastructure.

People riding after the storm

Directly after the worst parts of the storm when we were supposed to stay inside, there were trees down everywhere, some in the bike lanes and some in the sidewalks, and a lot of debris and large puddles. There weren't many people out biking, but as the day went on there were more and more, even when it started raining again. Most people here seem to continue to bike even in the rain with little to know rain gear, which is pretty interesting. They don't mind being uncomfortable for a bit because they know they will dry if they get wet.

A tram being towed

Because there were so many trees down and some issues with power, the trams and trains were not running, so there were trams stopped all around the city, sometimes with cars backed up behind them (an instance when it would just be best to cycle). These trams were being towed away from the busy streets, and after they were towed, a cleaning vehicle would come up to clean the tracks behind them.

A path through cycle track debris (top) & debris in the park (bottom)

The cycle tracks were cleared pretty quickly, and by the evening there was not much debris at all. In the parks there were still some fallen trees, but people were able to create paths where it was possible to swerve around them so that nobody fell off of their bike going over large sticks. It is very refreshing to see bike infrastructure being cleaned so quickly coming from a place that always has debris in the bike lanes. Two days later, most of the infrastructure is back to normal and everything is running again, so Amsterdam was able to bounce back from this pretty well with a fast cleanup and priority for bike and public transportation infrastructure.