So which was better?

 Hey all!

So the past few days have been… exciting. We’ve had our first COVID cases. I sort of can’t believe this didn’t happen before, and I’m so thankful that we’re only now having to deal with this reality. Luckily, it sounds like our friends aren’t getting too sick. 

Back to infrastructure stuff, biking in The Netherlands is at first terrifying compared to Denmark. I’m constantly weaving in between pedestrians, bikes, and cars. It’s like anarchy compared to Denmark. Our group came up with this phrase to describe it, in Denmark you had a special place on the road; in The Netherlands bikes are special and can go anywhere. As an American it is really hard to predict where people are going to be, I just haven’t learned to think like that. Meanwhile, my friend Anisha who grew up in India said that traveling here makes much more sense to her because it reminds her of home. As I get more used to it, I’m starting to enjoy being able to go wherever I want on roads. 

Ironically enough, biking in The Netherlands feels more risky, but only because I’m afraid of getting hit by another bike. I haven’t felt in danger of cars here, while there were definitely moments where I felt like that in Denmark. Denmark focuses on having bikes on cycle tracks, which means that when you have to cross streets it can feel kind of hairy. 

The more I become accustomed to biking in The Netherlands, the more I’m starting to like it. I think I might even prefer it. However, the Danish version is more applicable to the States. The Dutch have reached this point in cycling where everyone knows how to drive around them, they have a policy in place that puts cars at fault which results in safer drivers, and they’ve reached capacity on their streets so are mixing modes more. The States just aren't set up for that yet. In Denmark, cycling is centered around cycle tracks, which would be super easy to add into our infrastructure network. Some pieces help both countries, such as filtered permeability, density, and some separation of modes. But if we’ve learned anything, it’s that the best infrastructure responds to local context. We have to design our bicycling network for our travel patterns and goals, though these are great places to start.