From main road to attractive people’s space
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. … Continue reading
Is Copenhagen a City of Cyclists?
The City of Copenhagen wants to be the best cycling city in the world and calls itself “City of Cyclists”. How justified is that from a Dutch perspective?
Another reconstructed city centre street in Utrecht
Retailers in the Utrecht shopping street Oudkerkhof are very pleased with how their street was reconstructed. Some seem to think it was done at their request. But this transformation was … Continue reading
From traffic sewer to city park
People sitting in the grass of the Utrecht “Paardenveld” at a location that used to be an enormous intersection at the end of a motorway less than a decade ago. … Continue reading
Houten: Cycling City of the Netherlands 2018
The municipality of Houten has been awarded the honourable title of Cycling City 2018! This was announced by Stientje van Veldhoven, State Secretary for Infrastructure and Water Management on a … Continue reading
Will Utrecht ban cycling in some city centre streets?
Utrecht postpones the plan to make cycling illegal on some streets running directly past the pedestrianised area. The object of this ban is to create more safe space for walking. … Continue reading
The Barcelona Superblock of Poblenou
Where once traffic roared you can now hear the pleasant sound of children laughing and playing. The Superblock of Poblenou is a pilot project to show what the city of … Continue reading
Fixing a gap in the cycle network
Improving cycling is not always about building big bridges or developing high tech innovations. Sometimes a missing link in the cycling network can be fixed by the simple removal of … Continue reading
From ring road to city boulevard
Utrecht has changed part of its former city ring road. The 4-lane road has now become a 2×1 lane street which Utrecht calls a “city boulevard”. Drivers are discouraged to … Continue reading
Twijnstraat transformation
Yet another street in the Utrecht city centre has been reconstructed. The narrow Twijnstraat, already a shopping street in the 13th century, was designed for motor traffic. It has been … Continue reading
Utrecht reclaims ever more space for people
People were drinking champagne on the street and enjoying beautiful singing; not something you see every day. They were celebrating the opening of yet another reconstructed street in Utrecht; their … Continue reading
Designing for people by erasing a car friendly past
Utrecht has reconstructed a complicated five-arm junction. While it had been designed to suit the needs of the car for decades, it has now been reconstructed to be a place … Continue reading
