why is cycling better in belgium?

[moia]

Just returned from belgium and had a few thoughts...

• the cycle paths seemed to make much more sense, rather than randomly stuck along roads then running out.
• they don't have to share cycle lanes with buses;
• drivers seemed a lot more aware - my friend said they can lose their licence for hitting a cyclist and that priority is always for the weaker road user
• no-one had special gear apart from the 'super cyclists' everyone else was just wearing their normal get up e.g. old ladies in dresses - i felt a bit of a geek when i arrived in my full reflective gear and helmet!
• loads and loads of places to lock up bikes
• nearly everyone had dynamo lights

so - my question is - why can't it be like that here? what is wrong with our society/ government/ local councils that stuff seems to be random and ill thought out? (or is it just in west yorkshire where i live?)

what can we do to make a difference?

• lobbying?
• guerilla cyclepaths sprayed onto roads?
• reclaim the streets parties?

other ideas???? or thoughts?

 

[BigonaBianchi]

Because the beers better in belgium

 

[swee'pea99]

Is it a coincidence that all the places so often mentioned as being good for cycling - the low countries, Holland, Denmark - are flat? Which means everyone cycles. Which means making life ok for cyclists is everyone's concern.

 

[PaulB]

Maybe, but there are enough flat places in England particularly, and these tend to lack good cycling facilities. Also, I'd like to mention Bavaria which is not flat at all and has a cycling infrastructure we'd need a revolution to have over here. No, I think it's to do with our acquisative society which equates bigger and richer with better and therefore driving a car must be preferable to riding a bike.

 

[rich p]

I think one of the reasons is that we're a small crowded country and the provision of cycle lanes is inherently more difficult than in some other places. It does also help that the flatter countries have developed a better attitude to cyclists through mass participation.

 

[Globalti]

Exactly - the reasons are historical and geographical. In Britain local authorities were told to create cycle paths so they just sent blokes out with cans of paint and told them to do their best. The problem is that there isn't room for cycle lanes on our narrow roads so a load of useless cycle lanes were created just to enable the LAs to tick the box. Britain has the highest population density in Europe and the greatest road density and some of the oldest roads meaning that many roads were simply not conceived for cars, let alone cars and bikes.

 

[iacula]

Because the beers better in belgium

Yikes! Lager might be better, but real ale?

 

[threebikesmcginty]

Because the beers better in belgium

Don't forget the chips!

 

[John the Monkey]

Lager?

What my Great Uncle would have called "Bad beer" as in "Do you want a good beer, or a bad beer?"

Jupiler &c. (Although I rather like Jupiler).

It's mostly attitude that's the difference in Belgium.

Buses will stand off from bus stops if there are bikes in the adjacent cycle lane (not roar around them and pull in front) for example.

The bike paths are also well linked - the Knoppunkt(?) system we encountered on the fietsroutes we were travelling was superb, and makes a lot of sense for navigating through the country (a lot more than our system of routes between places being named/numbered). You don't follow a route as such, you navigate between numbered points, which are well marked at junctions. You could quite easily get from place to place by following a list of numerals - it works really well. A lot of the routes seem to be used by all categories of cyclists. The big canal routes had groups of leisure cyclists on city bikes in "normal clothes", racers individually and in small pelotons, and people obviously on their way to and from work (particularly as you got near to the big towns) and tourists like us.

Riding on the road you get far more consideration than is normal here, and people seem much more aware of how much room you need. (Bear in mind we were averaging 10mph there - a speed that would have British motorists hooting and giving you punishment passes).

The "hard" infrastructure isn't bad (and isn't terrific either in some places) but the HUGE difference is in the attitude of other road users - the other stuff is nice, but it's the attitude that makes the difference.

 

[Globalti]

Other European nations don't have the paranoid "them and us" relationship between cyclists and divers that is perpetuated by some of the militant types on fora like this.

 

[yenrod]

Just returned from belgium and had a few thoughts...

• the cycle paths seemed to make much more sense, rather than randomly stuck along roads then running out.
• they don't have to share cycle lanes with buses;
• drivers seemed a lot more aware - my friend said they can lose their licence for hitting a cyclist and that priority is always for the weaker road user
• no-one had special gear apart from the 'super cyclists' everyone else was just wearing their normal get up e.g. old ladies in dresses - i felt a bit of a geek when i arrived in my full reflective gear and helmet!
• loads and loads of places to lock up bikes
• nearly everyone had dynamo lights

so - my question is - why can't it be like that here? what is wrong with our society/ government/ local councils that stuff seems to be random and ill thought out? (or is it just in west yorkshire where i live?)

what can we do to make a difference?

• lobbying?
• guerilla cyclepaths sprayed onto roads?
• reclaim the streets parties?

other ideas???? or thoughts?

Theirs an indirectness in this country - about doing anything it stems from the monachy...they're top-dog and anything that needs doing needs the ok'in from 'er upstairs - even the PM needs the ok to do anything; even going the toilet !

And so this filters down to smaller matter like keeping people alive and the effect conditions on roads can have on CYCLISTS !

 

[Arch]

Theirs an indirectness in this country - about doing anything it stems from the monachy...they're top-dog and anything that needs doing needs the ok'in from 'er upstairs - even the PM needs the ok to do anything; even going the toilet !

And so this filters down to smaller matter like keeping people alive and the effect conditions on roads can have on CYCLISTS !

Wow, I never thought it possible, but you've excelled yourself in intelligibility there...

The Royal Family are responsible for people treating cyclists badly? How does that work then, when the Netherlands and Denmark, both lovely to cycle in, both have royal families too?

Whereas France, who famously got rid of their royals a while back, is also a lovely place to ride - and there, cycle sport is a big thing, so I don't know that it's all down to a purely utility idea. But America, who don't have a monarch, well, cars rule there...

I think basically, the British infrastructure is generally poor, the drivers are generally bad tempered, and many are too lazy to think about doing anything but follow the motorised herd or too afraid of being different.

 

[Arch]

So does Belgium.

I thought so, but wasn't sure enough to say...

 

[slowmotion]

I think one of the reasons is that we're a small crowded country and the provision of cycle lanes is inherently more difficult than in some other places. It does also help that the flatter countries have developed a better attitude to cyclists through mass participation.

Good points. Without wishing to be too much of a nit-picker....Holland actually has a slighly higher population density than England.

 

[rich p]

Good points. Without wishing to be too much of a nit-picker....Holland actually has a slighly higher population density than England.

Well, I'll be .....

http://www.photius.com/wfb1999/rankings/population_density_0.html

You're right and Germany's is almost the same as ours

Bang goes another unresearched theory of mine