Car-Free Future: 3 Cities With More Bikes Than Cars

Have you ever ever dreamed of residing in a metropolis the place biking is the norm? A metropolis the place bikes outnumber vehicles and biking feels protected, simple, and pleasant?

Properly, that dream is turning into a actuality in lots of cities around the globe. Three European cities have proven that with the proper insurance policies, infrastructure, and angle, biking generally is a viable, handy, and fascinating choice for city transportation.

These Cities Have Extra Bikes Than Automobiles

Cities with extra bikes than vehicles – it looks like a long-forgotten idea. However initially of the twentieth century, it was utterly regular. In truth, bicycles had been the primary type of transport in most cities.

Not too way back, the streets echoed with the whir of bicycle wheels reasonably than the growl of engines. However then, one thing modified. Let’s rewind the clock and uncover how vehicles took heart stage in city landscapes. 

In direction of the top of the twentieth century, vehicles turned extra reasonably priced and handy to personal. They had been seen as a logo of modernity and progress, and with the rise of automobile possession, cities worldwide started to give up more room to accommodate them. Roads had been widened, large parking heaps had been constructed, and different types of transport, akin to the common-or-garden bicycle, had been uncared for.

However this shift got here at a price. The dominance of vehicles has had damaging impacts on our well being, setting, and society. Air pollution, visitors congestion, and street accidents are just a few penalties of our car-centric cities.

However, there’s hope on the horizon. Due to considerate city planning, in addition to a rising motion of passionate cyclists, we’re seeing a reversal of the car-city mannequin, and the common-or-garden bicycle is returning to its rightful place on the high.

1. Amsterdam, The Netherlands

Also known as the biking capital of the world, Amsterdam has a protracted historical past of prioritising bikes over vehicles. The town’s biking historical past begins additional again than you may count on.

Within the Nineteen Sixties, Amsterdam had an unlimited automobile downside. Site visitors was reaching an all-time excessive and was placing stress on the protection of not simply cyclists, however all residents of town.

In 1971, 400 kids had been killed in street visitors accidents within the metropolis in only one 12 months. One group, Cease de Kindermoord (or, ‘cease the kid homicide’ in English), had had sufficient. After vital, constant protesting, they gained the federal government’s consideration.

With the goals of lowering the velocity of vehicles and reimagining the area to be extra bike and pedestrian-friendly, they quickly went on to contribute to city planning fashions that had been inclusive, safer, and, finally, extra habitable.

Within the mid-70s, nevertheless, got here most likely an important change. Since its basis in 1975, the Dutch Cyclists’ Union, or Fietserbond because it’s recognized within the Netherlands, has frequently demanded improved situations for cyclists. From pushing for more room for bikes in public locations to organizing group rides, they’ve frequently advocated for biking as a enjoyable, handy and protected technique of transport.

The infrastructure for biking within the Netherlands is famous, and anybody who’s been to Amsterdam is aware of the significance of the bike within the metropolis. In Amsterdam now, there aren’t simply extra bikes than vehicles; there are extra bikes than folks!

With nearly 1.4 bikes for each particular person, it’s really a bicycle owner’s haven. At this time, Amsterdam boasts greater than 500 km of devoted bike lanes. With this in thoughts, it most likely comes as no shock to search out out that just about 40% of journeys within the metropolis are made by bicycle.

2. Copenhagen, Denmark

Copenhagen, the capital of Denmark, is one other shining instance of how a metropolis can remodel itself into a motorcycle haven.

The town’s transformation right into a bike-friendly one may be traced again to 1973. With the notorious oil disaster, gas costs soared, highlighting the nation’s dependence on imported oil.

Because of this, the Danish authorities started investing in different modes of transportation. Enter the common-or-garden bicycle! With a newfound emphasis on the ability of the bike, elevated funding was allotted for bike infrastructure.

Within the late 70s, Copenhagen started creating its now in depth bike community. The town authorities put in bike racks, devoted bike paths, and cyclist-friendly visitors lights, all to encourage biking and discourage driving.

Soar to the current, and the biking tradition within the capital is as sturdy as ever. The town has many bike-to-work schemes and subsidies for electrical bikes. Nevertheless it’s accomplished one factor higher than nearly some other metropolis, and that’s spend money on infrastructure.

They are saying that in the event you construct it, they may come, and if that’s true for anyplace, it’s Copenhagen. With greater than 540 km of cycle paths and cycle superhighways, there’s loads of protected area for cyclists. It’s ranked a number of occasions as the highest biking metropolis on the planet, and in 2016 town reached the momentous milestone of getting extra bikes than vehicles on its streets. Biking is as commonplace right here as it’s anyplace else on the planet.

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3. Freiburg, Germany

Freiburg, a small however mighty metropolis in Germany, is yet one more showcase of what’s doable when cities prioritise different types of transport over vehicles.

Throughout World Battle Two, the historic centre of Freiburg was largely destroyed. However as a substitute of rebuilding a metropolis for the extra fashionable period, it was designed in the same vein to the way it was earlier than the struggle. In different phrases, it wasn’t rebuilt for vehicles like different European cities. 

In 1972, Freiburg voted to take care of its present tram community, later increasing upon it within the 80s and 90s. This has helped in prioritising public transport over using vehicles within the centre.

The 70s in Freiburg additionally noticed the introduction of the primary completely pedestrianised space within the metropolis centre, and while the world continues to be a preferred market to this present day, its legacy could be even higher.

Think about a big neighbourhood with sustainable, city residing at its core, and also you’ve bought Vauban. Initially developed as a navy base within the 30s, Vauban was reworked right into a neighbourhood the place vehicles are restricted, renewable vitality infrastructure was put in place, and pedestrian-friendly design is clear all through.

Automobiles are largely restricted to the surface of the district, that means little by visitors, and so they should obey velocity limits of as little as 5 miles per hour once they’re passing by! That’s barely sooner than a pedestrian. However their important secret to retaining vehicles out? – don’t construct parking areas!

Now, in Freiburg, there are greater than twice as many bikes as there are vehicles, and it’s significantly extra frequent to cycle than it’s to drive. 

A Automobile-Free Future?

What all three of those cities have in frequent is a imaginative and prescient of making streets which might be protected, accessible, and pleasant for all. They acknowledge that biking isn’t just a mode of transportation however a lifestyle that promotes well being, happiness, and neighborhood spirit. On account of their investments, biking has grow to be an integral a part of metropolis life, attracting folks of all ages and backgrounds to take to their bikes.

From the in depth bike community in Seville to the car-free ‘Sunday Parkways’ in Portland, folks worldwide are embracing their imaginative and prescient of a future with out vehicles. There’s no blueprint for an ideal metropolis, but when there’s one factor we’ve realized from our listing, it’s that if cities put within the effort to scale back the variety of vehicles and enhance the variety of cyclists, everybody will discover the advantages.

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