Special Issue - Going Dutch: Bike Infrastructure to Phase Out Car Dependency

It's a special day here at Climate Positive with a very special guest! But, if you are here to doom scroll, the same rules apply and you are still in the wrong place. In this week's Special Issue, we explore the future of mobility as cities around the globe look to lower emissions, with what it takes to improve biking infrastructure to incentivize this mode of travel - and what we can learn from the kings of bike lands - the Dutch.

Over the past decade, bicycle infrastructure has grown significantly across the U.S. and around the world. The U.S. has over 18,000 miles of paths and trails for cycling as of 2022, and the number continues to expand every year.?

That said, if you’ve ever been to a Dutch city like Amsterdam, it’s immediately apparent that they are not only up-leveling alternative forms of mobility, but that the world has much to learn about making a meaningful shift from car dependency to alternative forms of mobility like bikes – necessary for reducing emissions and improving public safety.

To explore how cities can support a dynamic and multi-modal transportation network, we sat down with Chris Bruntlett , International Relations Manager at the Dutch Cycling Embassy for a Special Edition of Climate Positive, to discuss the innovative planning and strategies for cities that incentivize the use of bicycles over cars. In his view, an integrated mobility strategy—one that prioritizes safety, convenience, and seamless connections between cycling and other transportation options - is table stakes. It’s not just about painting in or adding bike lanes, but about crafting smart, people-centered road design that makes biking the easiest, safest, and most practical choice for meeting daily transportation needs.

Read on!

Making a Mesh.

In many cities built for cars, bike lanes are often an afterthought—integrated into road design? as a quick solution without considering how people actually move around. In most cases, these bike lanes are disjointed, incomplete, and don’t center the practical needs of day to day living. People may try biking, but without a fully connected network centered on efficiency and convenience, they’ll quickly default back to cars.

Chris Bruntlett, International Relations Manager at the Dutch Cycling Embassy, emphasizes the Big Picture approach the Dutch take to planning: “Dutch planners have learned to look beyond individual bike lanes in response to specific incidents and opportunities, and think more holistically at the network level.” The Dutch cycling networks are carefully planned with a fine-grained mesh, making it possible to “cycle ‘from anywhere to everywhere’ in their city.” These grids connect where people live, work, shop, and play—offering a truly practical alternative to driving.?

Design Intersections for People, Not Cars

In most car-dependent cities, intersections are built for speed—moving vehicles as quickly as possible.? This makes cycling or walking a dangerous endeavor and discourages people from biking, even if there is some cycling infrastructure in place.

“The Dutch-style ‘protected intersection’ is a staple throughout the Netherlands,” says Bruntlett, “and has been slowly permeating countless other global cities.” These intersections are designed to slow down cars and give cyclists priority, with features like a 12-meter turning radius that forces drivers to approach the cycle path at a 90-degree angle. This safety measure makes cyclists more visible to drivers. Cyclists also get a 5-meter by 5-meter curbside island, which adds another layer of safety by giving cyclists designated space on the road to help reduce collisions. This kind of thoughtful intersection design “ensures that people of all ages and abilities can happily navigate these exchanges, trusting their fellow road users to act in a way that is anticipated.”

Routes Should Make Cars Inconvenient

Despite congestion and difficulty in finding parking, in too many cities, transportation routes are made to inclusively serve cars. Cyclists are left to navigate dangerous routes through and around the city with little designated space or mechanisms in place to keep them safe. When road design prioritizes cars, infrastructure for other modes of transportation suffer and cycling seems inconvenient and even dangerous.

Bruntlett points out that in Dutch cities, traffic circulation plans are intentionally designed with cyclists in mind. “Measures that offer an attractive alternative to driving must be complemented with efforts to make driving indirect and inconvenient.” By pushing car traffic to outer distributor roads, cities prevent drivers from cutting through residential areas, giving cyclists safer, more direct routes. This balance of incentives and restrictions makes cycling not only a safer but often faster option for getting around.

Transit Planning Goes Beyond Speed Limits

Relying on enforcement alone rarely changes driver behavior in a lasting way and that’s no more apparent than when observing how they respond to speed limits. In many cities, roads are wide and straight, allowing cars to travel at dangerous speeds, even in residential areas.?

Dutch cities take a different approach, as Bruntlett explains: “The desired speed and behavior is achieved not by passively posting a sign…but by actively engineering means that force drivers to reduce their speed and increase vigilance.” Streets are designed to naturally slow cars down, using features like narrow roads, speed humps, and chicanes. If a street has too many speeding cars, it’s seen as a design failure and is reengineered to be safer. By focusing on infrastructure rather than enforcement, the Dutch create streets where cyclists feel safe, and cars are naturally slowed to safer speeds.

A Bike-to-Train Strategy

In most cities, cycling and public transport are treated as separate modes of transportation, with little overlap. This creates a gap for people who need a convenient way to travel longer distances, or get from the station to their final destination. As a result, people are more likely to drive when cycling isn’t seamlessly integrated with other mobility options.

The Dutch, however, understand that cycling and public transport can work together in harmony. “By feeding networks of cycling infrastructure to (train, tram, and bus) stations and stops, providing secure (and free) bike parking, and a last-mile rental at the end of their journey, the bike-train combination acts as one seamless mobility option,” Bruntlett notes. This bike-to-train strategy replaces countless car trips, offering a quick, convenient, affordable option for door-to-door travel. More importantly, it’s a smart approach that reduces traffic and increases the accessibility of sustainable transport options.

As cities around the world grapple with rising emissions, traffic congestion, and public safety concerns, shifting away from car dependency is essential. Through Dutch examples of people-centered road design, we can see social and environmental benefits far beyond just transportation. By designing infrastructure to accommodate various modes of transport, cities can create more equitable and accessible mobility options for all residents fostering social inclusion, supporting leisure activities and encouraging healthier lifestyles. The Dutch approach to transportation planning demonstrates how cities can be designed to serve the needs of people while addressing the threats climate change poses to urban health and resilience.??

That's it for this week's Special Issue. Back next week with more positive headlines! Remember, the more positivity and awareness we can build around climate progress, the more action we can inspire through hope. Like and follow if you'd like to see more.

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