billet en français Last Saturday Utrecht’s restored canal ring was officially opened. Unannounced and early in the morning the crew of the replica Roman ship “Per Mare ad Laurium” (some even dressed in period costumes) pulled a rope to tilt … Continue reading Utrecht corrects a historic urban design mistake
The Utrecht Maliebaan is a beautiful tree-lined avenue – over 60 metres wide – that was built almost 400 years ago as a sports track for a game that was also an ancestor of golf. A century ago, in the … Continue reading When you design streets for people, not for machines
Billet en français The Ferdinand Bolstraat is an interesting street in Amsterdam. Part of it is car-free now, another part is almost car-free. In the 1970s it was still considered a main arterial by some, but residents fought a fierce … Continue reading The battle for the Ferdinand Bolstraat
A record number of people on high-wheelers gathered last weekend in Zaltbommel in the Netherlands. People from 10 different countries had travelled to this town to attend the first Open Dutch Penny-Farthing Championships. With a tour on Saturday and races … Continue reading Open Dutch Penny-Farthing Championships
The Sint Annatunnel in Antwerp (Belgium) is an 86 year-old pedestrian and cycling tunnel under the Scheldt river, connecting the city centre to the west-bank, called left bank in Antwerp. The tunnel is simply referred to as the Voetgangerstunnel, (the … Continue reading The Scheldt tunnel in Antwerp
Billet en français Delft was the third city in The Netherlands to experiment with modern cycling infrastructure, aided by the national government. After the experiments in Tilburg and The Hague in the 1970s, where they built one very good (but … Continue reading The 1979 Delft Cycle Plan
A video in French, that is the not so usual treat I have for you in this week’s blog post. In March 2018, a professional film team was working in Amsterdam. They were creating a documentary for French TV and … Continue reading Cycling in Amsterdam through French eyes
Utrecht is reconstructing the streets directly around the historic city centre. These streets, alongside the former city wall and moat, were once supposed to become a four lane main road. For that the water would have disappeared. That never happened … Continue reading From main road to attractive people’s space
The Hague was the second Dutch city to (partly) open a so-called Demonstration Cycle Route in September 1977. What has become of that route and what have we learned? Continue reading The Demonstration Cycle Route in The Hague
Tilburg was the first Dutch city to open a so-called demonstration cycle route in April 1977. What has become of that route? Continue reading The Demonstration Cycle Route in Tilburg
Billet en français Protected separated cycling infrastructure has been the norm in the Netherlands for quite a long time. The Utrecht “Berekuil” was the first intersection in the country with a separate level for cycling and one for cars. It … Continue reading The oldest grade-separated roundabout in the Netherlands
“It is possible, that you will have made an occasional cycle tour. At least some of your journeys must involuntarily have taken you to the cycle path between Oirschot and Boxtel, where you must have thought: ‘this is joyous to … Continue reading Fast cycle route Oirschot – Boxtel
