Groningen in Holland: 60% of people travel by bike

Who else believes this good news story is probably beyond M. Devine's
basic comprehension or research skills..?


**********************

Cycling: It pays to go Dutch
http://motoring.independent.co.uk/fe...cle1088929.ece

In the town of Groningen in Holland, 60 per cent of people travel by
bike. What does it take to create such a cyclist's paradise? And how
could it transform life here? Isabel Conway reports
Published: 15 June 2006

A lady of 70-plus zooms past me, pedalling into the wind with admirable
agility, as the spire of Groningen's answer to Pisa's leaning tower, the
lopsided Walfriduskerk, appears on the horizon in this, the Netherlands'
sixth largest city.

She is closely followed by a Dutch mother, one child on the handlebars,
another strapped on behind, expertly balancing a huge bag of shopping as
she makes a sharp right turn. Not for nothing is Groningen known as
"Bicycle City", in a country renowned for its use of pedal power.
Nowhere is the national obsession with cycling more evident.

For 25 years, Groningen has pursued a consistent transport policy aimed
at promoting the use of the bicycle and actively discouraging car use
for short distances. It has earned the city accolades, such as the
leading US cycling magazine Bicycle naming it "No 1 Bicycle City" of
the world. And in 2002, Groningen was hailed the most cyclist-friendly
city in the Netherlands by the Dutch cyclist organisation
Fietsersbond.

Today, the main form of transport in Groningen is the bicycle, and 60
per cent of inhabitants travel by bike - compared with four per cent in
the UK, and a national Dutch average of 25 per cent. But Groningen used
to be anything but bike-friendly. The city's love affair with cycling
began in earnest 16 years ago, when politicians backed radical
proposals for digging up city-centre motorways to rid the city of
traffic chaos and create a virtually car-free centre of green spaces,
pedestrianised streets, more bike paths and separate bus lanes.

At first, the move was far from popular with the retail sector, which
feared a mass exodus of shoppers to faraway shopping centres and a fall
off in trade. But, in fact, the reverse has happened and businesses are
clamouring for even more "cyclisation" of streets. According to city
planners, the reduced congestion in the city has steadily benefited
jobs and businesses. Faster journey times for employees have meant
better productivity, and a nicer environment has brought in plenty of
happy shoppers.

At the core of Groningen's policy is the idea of making cycling much
more convenient than motoring. Cyclists in Groningen have a network of
bicycle routes stretching over nearly 200km, the distance from the
country's northernmost city to Amsterdam. "All across the city, roads
are being narrowed, closed to traffic, while short cuts for cyclists
are created; we know convenience is vital so we have made it quicker to
access the centre by bicycle than by car," explains Cor van der Klaauw,
who co-ordinates municipal policy on cycling. "The number of cyclists
is climbing steadily and we are aiming for a 70 per cent usage rate
within the next decade. You have to enter into hot competition with
cars, and that's what we successfully did here in Groningen," he says.

So, could it happen here? Are there cities in Britain that could create
a similar cyclists' paradise? Lukas Harms, of the Dutch Social and
Cultural Planning office, which advises the Dutch government on
mobility issues, points out that "the fact that the Netherlands is
small, compact, and usually people live no more than six or seven
kilometres from school and work, increases the attractiveness of
commuting by bike, compared with other countries where distances are
far greater".

But cyclists in the UK do now have cause for hope. Already, cities such
as York, Hull and Cambridge, with up to 20 per cent of journeys made by
bike, have demonstrated what determination and long-term planning can
do. And more cities are to follow suit. Cycling England, a
government-funded body charged with promoting cycling across the
country, is investing £17m into a carefully selected group of English
"demonstration towns". Aylesbury, Brighton, Darlington, Derby, Exeter
and Lancaster will each receive £1.5m over three years to create a more
cycle-friendly environment, offer safety training and generally
encourage residents to take up cycling. Inspired by towns such as
Groningen, Cycling England hopes that success in the showcase towns
will encourage the Government and local authorities UK-wide to
instigate their own pro-cycling policies.

But can a nation of car-lovers dump four wheels in favour of two?
Phillip Darnton, chairman of Cycling England, thinks so. He cites as an
example Copenhagen, a city where, 20 years ago, four per cent of
journeys were made by bike but, after sustained investment, it rose to
35 per cent. The key, he says, is long-term commitment to cycling.
"It's about consistency and determination, driven by high-level
political will," he says.

That will is apparent in Darlington. Owen Wilson, director of the
north-eastern town's Local Motion campaign, is determined that the
experiment will work. The town has matched Cycling England's
investment, as all six participants have been required to do, and is
optimistic that Darlington can change.

However, they may have an uphill struggle - just one per cent of
journeys in a town of 90,000 is made by bicycle and the borough is
distinctly cyclist-unfriendly. Why are the residents of Darlington so
reluctant to jump on a bike? "Perception is a big problem here," says
Wilson. "Unsurprisingly, many people think cycling is dangerous but it
has been proved that the more cyclists there are on the road, the safer
it is per cyclist. Drivers get used to them."

Darlington is also improving its infrastructure, which, with a 1980s
ring road cutting off routes into town, is hardly conducive to cycling.
"We've already started spending the money," says Wilson. "We're
improving links into town and making crossing points safer." New cycle
lanes and fancy traffic lights are one thing, but Wilson admits that a
change in attitude is required to get people using them. "We're doing a
lot of work in schools, where we have already seen a big increase in
cycling."

To drive home the message that two wheels work, Darlington has embarked
on a doorstepping, campaign. Over the next three years, all of the town
centre's 40,000 residents can expect a knock on the door from Wilson's
team, providing information and resources to encourage them to ride.
But both he and Phillip Darnton, while dedicated to getting people on
bikes, are realistic and targets are modest. Darlington wants to triple
bike journeys by 2010.

Darnton has set his sights higher: "If cycling can be increased from
the current rate to 10 per cent, while making cycling safer, the impact
for people and their communities will be dramatic."

Additional reporting by Simon Usborne

A two-wheel nation

* Cycling in the Netherlands (population 16.3 million) is a way of
life. With 18 million bicycles - more than one for every man, woman and
child - the Netherlands has more bikes per person than anywhere in the
world.

* More than one million bicycles are stolen annually, so it is said
that in cities such as Amsterdam people often pay more for the lock
than for the bike.

* The mainly flat Dutch landscape was made for cycling, and short
distances between home and work and school make it the ideal mode of
transport. There are 20,000 kilometres of safe and segregated cycle
paths, recognisable by a round blue sign with a white bicycle in the
middle, and white and red special cycle signposts.

* Cycle bridges, tunnels, cycle ferries and red-coloured asphalt paths
alongside busy city streets and national roads complete an integrated
infrastructure in which the bicycle is a means of transport rather than
a recreational sport.

* Cycling on the Netherlands special network of bike paths is
considered so safe that there has never been pressure for cyclists to
wear helmets.

* Groningen (population 180,000) is the Netherlands' leading bicycle
city: 60 per cent of people travel by bike, compared with 25 per cent
nationally and four per cent in the UK.

* A 10-year bicycle programme in Groningen costing £20m has seen the
numbers travelling by bike soar.

* State and private companies run incentive projects - including
lotteries with prizes for the most bike miles in a year.
Green-conscious politicians have called for more "carrots" to encourage
bicycle use in cities such as Rotterdam, where car growth is at an
all-time high and traffic congestion is horrendous.

A lady of 70-plus zooms past me, pedalling into the wind with admirable
agility, as the spire of Groningen's answer to Pisa's leaning tower, the
lopsided Walfriduskerk, appears on the horizon in this, the Netherlands'
sixth largest city.

She is closely followed by a Dutch mother, one child on the handlebars,
another strapped on behind, expertly balancing a huge bag of shopping as
she makes a sharp right turn. Not for nothing is Groningen known as
"Bicycle City", in a country renowned for its use of pedal power.
Nowhere is the national obsession with cycling more evident.

For 25 years, Groningen has pursued a consistent transport policy aimed
at promoting the use of the bicycle and actively discouraging car use
for short distances. It has earned the city accolades, such as the
leading US cycling magazine Bicycle naming it "No 1 Bicycle City" of
the world. And in 2002, Groningen was hailed the most cyclist-friendly
city in the Netherlands by the Dutch cyclist organisation
Fietsersbond.

Today, the main form of transport in Groningen is the bicycle, and 60
per cent of inhabitants travel by bike - compared with four per cent in
the UK, and a national Dutch average of 25 per cent. But Groningen used
to be anything but bike-friendly. The city's love affair with cycling
began in earnest 16 years ago, when politicians backed radical
proposals for digging up city-centre motorways to rid the city of
traffic chaos and create a virtually car-free centre of green spaces,
pedestrianised streets, more bike paths and separate bus lanes.

At first, the move was far from popular with the retail sector, which
feared a mass exodus of shoppers to faraway shopping centres and a fall
off in trade. But, in fact, the reverse has happened and businesses are
clamouring for even more "cyclisation" of streets. According to city
planners, the reduced congestion in the city has steadily benefited
jobs and businesses. Faster journey times for employees have meant
better productivity, and a nicer environment has brought in plenty of
happy shoppers.

At the core of Groningen's policy is the idea of making cycling much
more convenient than motoring. Cyclists in Groningen have a network of
bicycle routes stretching over nearly 200km, the distance from the
country's northernmost city to Amsterdam. "All across the city, roads
are being narrowed, closed to traffic, while short cuts for cyclists
are created; we know convenience is vital so we have made it quicker to
access the centre by bicycle than by car," explains Cor van der Klaauw,
who co-ordinates municipal policy on cycling. "The number of cyclists
is climbing steadily and we are aiming for a 70 per cent usage rate
within the next decade. You have to enter into hot competition with
cars, and that's what we successfully did here in Groningen," he says.

So, could it happen here? Are there cities in Britain that could create
a similar cyclists' paradise? Lukas Harms, of the Dutch Social and
Cultural Planning office, which advises the Dutch government on
mobility issues, points out that "the fact that the Netherlands is
small, compact, and usually people live no more than six or seven
kilometres from school and work, increases the attractiveness of
commuting by bike, compared with other countries where distances are
far greater".

But cyclists in the UK do now have cause for hope. Already, cities such
as York, Hull and Cambridge, with up to 20 per cent of journeys made by
bike, have demonstrated what determination and long-term planning can
do. And more cities are to follow suit. Cycling England, a
government-funded body charged with promoting cycling across the
country, is investing £17m into a carefully selected group of English
"demonstration towns". Aylesbury, Brighton, Darlington, Derby, Exeter
and Lancaster will each receive £1.5m over three years to create a more
cycle-friendly environment, offer safety training and generally
encourage residents to take up cycling. Inspired by towns such as
Groningen, Cycling England hopes that success in the showcase towns
will encourage the Government and local authorities UK-wide to
instigate their own pro-cycling policies.

But can a nation of car-lovers dump four wheels in favour of two?
Phillip Darnton, chairman of Cycling England, thinks so. He cites as an
example Copenhagen, a city where, 20 years ago, four per cent of
journeys were made by bike but, after sustained investment, it rose to
35 per cent. The key, he says, is long-term commitment to cycling.
"It's about consistency and determination, driven by high-level
political will," he says.

That will is apparent in Darlington. Owen Wilson, director of the
north-eastern town's Local Motion campaign, is determined that the
experiment will work. The town has matched Cycling England's
investment, as all six participants have been required to do, and is
optimistic that Darlington can change.

However, they may have an uphill struggle - just one per cent of
journeys in a town of 90,000 is made by bicycle and the borough is
distinctly cyclist-unfriendly. Why are the residents of Darlington so
reluctant to jump on a bike? "Perception is a big problem here," says
Wilson. "Unsurprisingly, many people think cycling is dangerous but it
has been proved that the more cyclists there are on the road, the safer
it is per cyclist. Drivers get used to them."

Darlington is also improving its infrastructure, which, with a 1980s
ring road cutting off routes into town, is hardly conducive to cycling.
"We've already started spending the money," says Wilson. "We're
improving links into town and making crossing points safer." New cycle
lanes and fancy traffic lights are one thing, but Wilson admits that a
change in attitude is required to get people using them. "We're doing a
lot of work in schools, where we have already seen a big increase in
cycling."

To drive home the message that two wheels work, Darlington has embarked
on a doorstepping, campaign. Over the next three years, all of the town
centre's 40,000 residents can expect a knock on the door from Wilson's
team, providing information and resources to encourage them to ride.
But both he and Phillip Darnton, while dedicated to getting people on
bikes, are realistic and targets are modest. Darlington wants to triple
bike journeys by 2010.

Darnton has set his sights higher: "If cycling can be increased from
the current rate to 10 per cent, while making cycling safer, the impact
for people and their communities will be dramatic."

Additional reporting by Simon Usborne

A two-wheel nation

* Cycling in the Netherlands (population 16.3 million) is a way of
life. With 18 million bicycles - more than one for every man, woman and
child - the Netherlands has more bikes per person than anywhere in the
world.

* More than one million bicycles are stolen annually, so it is said
that in cities such as Amsterdam people often pay more for the lock
than for the bike.

* The mainly flat Dutch landscape was made for cycling, and short
distances between home and work and school make it the ideal mode of
transport. There are 20,000 kilometres of safe and segregated cycle
paths, recognisable by a round blue sign with a white bicycle in the
middle, and white and red special cycle signposts.

* Cycle bridges, tunnels, cycle ferries and red-coloured asphalt paths
alongside busy city streets and national roads complete an integrated
infrastructure in which the bicycle is a means of transport rather than
a recreational sport.

* Cycling on the Netherlands special network of bike paths is
considered so safe that there has never been pressure for cyclists to
wear helmets.

* Groningen (population 180,000) is the Netherlands' leading bicycle
city: 60 per cent of people travel by bike, compared with 25 per cent
nationally and four per cent in the UK.

* A 10-year bicycle programme in Groningen costing £20m has seen the
numbers travelling by bike soar.

* State and private companies run incentive projects - including
lotteries with prizes for the most bike miles in a year.
Green-conscious politicians have called for more "carrots" to encourage
bicycle use in cities such as Rotterdam, where car growth is at an
all-time high and traffic congestion is horrendous.


--
cfsmtb

cfsmtb wrote:

Who else believes this good news story is probably beyond M. Devine's
basic comprehension or research skills..?

**********************

Cycling: It pays to go Dutch
http://motoring.independent.co.uk/fe...cle1088929.ece

snip

Awesome article (though once again I got deja vu...) Have you forwarded
it to Ms Devine?

My shopping bike is halfway there now. It needs the rack but the bike
is serviced. I left home yesterday 5 minutes before my ferry was due to
leave from my stop - 12 min walk away. I jumped on the shopping bike in
my street gear, parked and locked it and my helmet at the ferry stop,
and waited a minute for the ferry. How good are bikes as transport! Is
there any wonder I want more, more, more?!

Tam

Tamyka Bell Wrote:


Awesome article (though once again I got deja vu...) Have you
forwarded
it to Ms Devine?


I'll try, but that terribly professional hotmail address she utilises
for public correspondence must be bouncing by now ..


--
cfsmtb

cfsmtb wrote:

Tamyka Bell Wrote:


Awesome article (though once again I got deja vu...) Have you
forwarded
it to Ms Devine?


I'll try, but that terribly professional hotmail address she utilises
for public correspondence must be bouncing by now ..

--
cfsmtb

Good point.

Well, given the author cared enough to write the article in the first
place, perhaps we could write to Isabel Conway, requesting that she (or
you or I) rewrite it with the Aussie stats instead of the UK stats in
it, and submit it for publication in Australian papers?

T

cfsmtb Wrote:
I'll try, but that terribly professional hotmail address she utilises
for public correspondence must be bouncing by now ..

Bwhahahaha, got a response, but clearly it's one of the office staff
screening her "hotmail" emails

*****************
miranda Devine Mailed-By: hotmail.com
To: cf.....
Date: 16-Jun-2006 10:56
Subject: Some light reading for Ms Devine: Cycling: It pays to go
Dutch

A population of fewer than one million people, which is dead flat and
where
people live within a ten to fifteen minute ride from their office. Does
this
describe Sydney? No. I suggest you might want to open your eyes and
apply
common sense rather than dreaming of false utopias.

Miranda Devine
The Sydney Morning Herald &
The Sun-Herald
201 Sussex Street
Sydney 2000
02 9282-1102

*****************
Response send back:


That's not you Miranda, it's one of your low paid SMH lackeys.

Who else responds so fast from a very non-professional hotmail
address. Get with the program, get a remailer or even a gmail address!

Doesn't Fairfax pay you enough to fill in your working hours, other
than to respond to proles?

Even Anne Coulter wouldn't stoop so low!

Hahahahahahaa!

****************


--
cfsmtb

But wait kids, there's more!

***********************

From: miranda Devine Mailed-By:
hotmail.com
To:
Date: 16-Jun-2006 11:07
Subject: Some light reading for Ms Devine: Cycling: It pays to go
Dutch
Reply | Reply to all | Forward | Print | Add sender to Contacts list |
Delete this message | Report phishing | Show original | Message text
garbled?
hotmail is brilliant because I can so easily block knuckleheads like
you


***********************

Response send back:


Oh - that withering wit of yours just floors me!

Come on, what's your real name? You can tell me.

Are you on work experience, has Miranda cleared off and left you all
alone?

Not nice is it?


--
cfsmtb

Tamyka Bell wrote:
cfsmtb wrote:

Who else believes this good news story is probably beyond M. Devine's
basic comprehension or research skills..?

**********************

Cycling: It pays to go Dutch
http://motoring.independent.co.uk/fe...cle1088929.ece


snip

Awesome article (though once again I got deja vu...) Have you forwarded
it to Ms Devine?

My shopping bike is halfway there now. It needs the rack but the bike
is serviced. I left home yesterday 5 minutes before my ferry was due to
leave from my stop - 12 min walk away. I jumped on the shopping bike in
my street gear, parked and locked it and my helmet at the ferry stop,
and waited a minute for the ferry. How good are bikes as transport! Is
there any wonder I want more, more, more?!

Tam
My bike was converted for shopping with the addition of a small bracket
to the rear pack rack mount. To this attaches a full blown bike trailer,
which can comfortably transport the weeks' groceries for two with no
problems, though pulling it uphill is a challenge.
I think it's the only bike trailer in the area (I haven't seen any
others), motorists are too busy goggling at it to be bothered with
abusing me for taking up a little more of their precious tarmac.
So almost two months ago, I dispensed with using 1.1 tonnes of metal (in
my case, up to 2 tonnes in others) to haul 20 kg of food each week. And
in the foreseeable future, I'm certainly not going back. See my home
page for a photo.
Cheers,
Ray

cfsmtb wrote:

But wait kids, there's more!

***********************

From: miranda Devine Mailed-By:
hotmail.com
To:

Tell her that unless her email reply manages to include an insult to
at least 3 minority groups, you won't believe it's really her!


--
..dt

dtmeister Wrote:


Tell her that unless her email reply manages to include an insult to
at least 3 minority groups, you won't believe it's really her!

Fair call, but she/they/it's gone all quiet.

Should I taunt the work experience kid further or leave well enough
alone? The poor thing's probably bored, lonely and trolling the
internet for content for next weeks semiliterate SMH column. yawn.


--
cfsmtb

I managed to get a response from Miss Devine;
----

Well true. It's only the old farts who wear lycra, but that is such an
appalling sight it is hard to overlook.



Miranda Devine
The Sydney Morning Herald &
The Sun-Herald
201 Sussex Street
Sydney 2000
02 9282-1102





From: me
To:
Subject: Lycra cyclists in amsterdam?
Date: Thu, 15 Jun 2006 21:18:32 +0800
- Hide quoted text -

You have obviously never been to Amsterdam.


cfsmtb wrote:
dtmeister Wrote:


Tell her that unless her email reply manages to include an insult to
at least 3 minority groups, you won't believe it's really her!

Fair call, but she/they/it's gone all quiet.

Should I taunt the work experience kid further or leave well enough
alone? The poor thing's probably bored, lonely and trolling the
internet for content for next weeks semiliterate SMH column. yawn.


--
cfsmtb