Category: Netherlands Trip

  • Lessons from the Netherlands: It’s the Parking Stupid

    When the planners in Amsterdam identified the critical factors in making cycling work on a large scale, parking was one of the key bullets. When you think about the amount of parking for 40% of all trips being made by bike, the numbers are staggering as the photos here illustrate. Bike parking must be provided…

  • Beyond the Woonerf, Evolution of Cycling in the Netherlands

    After being dazzled by the prevalence of bicycles here, once my head stopped spinning, I couldn’t help but wonder “how did this come to be?” We got some of the answers yesterday with presentations from Amsterdam’s bicycle coordinator and a representative of an NGO whose mission is to help other countries adapt the Netherland’s learnings…

  • Bike Part Not Often Seen in America

    We spent yesterday getting a series of presentations on the development of the bicycle networks in Amsterdam and the Netherlands (40% bike mode split in Amsterdam, 27% nationally!). While I compose a longer post on the topic, here’s a little teaser. What is the purpose of the clear plastic panel that extends from the fender…

  • An Amsterdam Streetcar Street

    The Portland delegation is trickling into Amsterdam, with most of the group at an arrival dinner tonight, and the rest arriving tomorrow. Here’s a typical streetcar street in a shopping district. There are other configurations on different street types that I’ll try to get examples of later in the week. Note that the purpose of…

  • Portland Transport is Going to Europe

    [photos removed per agreement] That’s right, we’re headed oversees. Your correspondent is headed to Prague at the end of the month to join the Portland Streetcar delegation going to inspect the next three cars now under construction in the Czech Republic. The next stop on the trip is Amsterdam, where I’ll join Commissioner Sam Adams,…