Where Biker's Rule the Roost

There is no question that bikes are king of downtown Amsterdam. Never in my life have I seen such a high density of bikes. It truly is a sight to see, especially if you’re like me and grew up in the suburbs where cars are king of the road. There is no end to the bicycles that line the streets. With the road system as confusing as it is… I can see why biking is the preferred method of transportation. There is a lane specifically for bikes on nearly every road I’ve traversed since my arrival. Even the bike lanes are cleared off better than the pedestrian lanes. Some lanes are wide enough to have four bikes.

Since there are so many bikers, walking can be a treacherous task. Not only do you have to look both ways for cars, but bikes also. They do not stop for anybody or anything; most pedestrians seem to follow this ‘rule,’ even at crosswalks. There are three different sets of stoplights within the downtown area; lights for Cars, Bikes, and Pedestrians. Bikes and pedestrians are segregated at all intersections of main roads. At the Train Station in Downtown Amsterdam; there is a three story parking garage for bikes; only bikes, and from there they spill onto the sidewalks and streets. Bikes are everywhere; there is no end to the vast amount of bikes. Plazas are wide open with few obstacles to account for all the pedestrian and bicycle traffic. Even in the parks, the main path is for bicycle use only. The pedestrian walkways are on either side and seem to be a glorified cow path. Whether or not there is a hard surface underneath the packed snow is unknown. It doesn’t seem to matter what time of day it is, people are riding bikes and traveling all the time and the traffic never seems to die down.

Dangerous Intersections in Downtown Amsterdam

· Before arriving in India I am exploring Amsterdam and the Landscape architecture in the city. I have been in Amsterdam for two days walking around the city. I am amazed at the historic grandeur of the city, and also at the transit systems. In the past two days I have seen nearly 15 collisions between pedestrians and vehicles, vehicles and bicycles, or bicycles and pedestrians. The streets and sidewalks are rarely consistent in size and may or may not be delineated from each other. There is no ‘one-type’ of material used to signify which is a pedestrian walkway and which is for cars. One minute the road will be filled with pedestrians, the next it could be taken over by bicyclists, with the occasional car. Not only do pedestrians have to worry about cars, but they have to watch out for bicyclists as well. Both bikes and cars do not stop for pedestrians, even at crosswalks. Many times I found myself standing around, gathering my bearings only to realize I was about to get run over by a bike. In many areas, there are abrupt changes in where car traffic can or cannot go.

· The main streets are very wide with many lanes of traffic. Since this city is of radial design, most streets intersect at dangerous and awkward angles. There are usually 1-3 medians in a main road. The medians are very narrow and difficult to accommodate all the traffic; they are certainly not wide enough for a bike to safely stop. The one good thing designed with the wide roads and many medians is that there is a traffic light for each median. Therefore, if it is safe to cross part of the road, there will be a traffic light to illustrate this and the rest will still be red. The picture is one such example of the busy streets. This particular picture shows a road with one median but two crossing lights. The traffic lights are not as we are used to them, tall and set on the opposite side of the intersection so anticipating traffic is also of great difficulty.