One of the unique bicycle features in the Netherlands is that traffic circles (‘rotaries’ if you grew up on the east coast like I did) have a separate lane for bikes. Concrete islands help regulate the flow of autos to avoid conflicts with bikes.
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One of the unique bicycle features in the Netherlands is that traffic circles (‘rotaries’ if you grew up on the east coast like I did) have a separate lane for bikes. Concrete islands help regulate the flow of autos to avoid conflicts with bikes.
The best part? Cyclists have priority in the traffic circles. Our delegation from Portland enjoyed this so much that we get kept circling for the joy of it. It was only after 3 circuits that we realized that we were preventing any cars from entering or exiting the circle. Oops…
8 responses to “Traffic Circles in the Netherlands”
We should get PDOT to do an experiment at NE 39th and Glisan at the Joan D’Ark traffic circle…take out all the signs, paint in bike lanes for the Glisan direction, etc. and see what happens.
I was at the Transit Mall open house last night…hardly a mention of bikes in the handouts, videos, etc that were provided. TriMet, et.al. needs to make it clear that the through traffic lane along 5th & 6th Avenues will be welcome to all vehicles. They should start now by updating all their materials to reflect this fact. Also via design, pavement markings and/or signage, the new Mall needs to make all vehicles welcome. Maybe some of what PDOT and others learned in Amsterdam can be brought to the table as this goes into final design and construction.
When I lived in Somerville, Mass riding my bike was usually a hairy experience. Riding my bike through rotaries was downright terrifying. I can imagine the right of way glee you felt circling around and around and around…
pcc
My wife and I spent two weeks in the Netherlands bicycling this spring. The traffic circles and the right-of-way we enjoyed as cyclists was wonderful. However, they are part of a much larger Dutch way of life. Dutch drivers generally treat bicycles with much more respect than their counterparts in the U.S. Several other parts of their system also contribute to this cohabitation of the roadway. Notice the red colored pavement. This always indicates roadway reserved for bicycles. Also–notice the “shark tooth” painting at every intersection. This serves as a reminder to the bicycles and cars indicating which party has the right-of-way. It was truly an amazing experience. I can understand why this other group from portland made a circuit out of the traffic circle. If any of you have more interest in this subject and bicycle trails in portland, the first community meeting of the Friends of North Portland Willamette Greenway will be a meeting at the Water Lab, 6543 N. Burlington at 7pm tomorrow night–Monday, November 21st. I hope to see you there.
I wonder if it’s a lot of work to keep the red paint maintained where the cars are driving over it. I notice in Portland that the sharrows on NW 19th are already faded and the blue paint on the bike lanes in southwest has worn away a lot. Maybe the Netherlands has more money for maintenance?
We actually asked some of the planners in the Netherlands about that. It’s not painted, they actually color the asphalt, so that as it wears, it’s still colored.
As for the sharrows, I think they put that down with just paint (rather than the thermal stuff they use more generally) because they knew it was being repaved this fall. I suspect that after the repaving we’ll get more durable markings.
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