Getting to See Where We’re Going: Ezra Lipton’s 5 Year Travel Benefit to Spain and The Netherlands

Contact: Ezra Lipton, Planner III, Alta Canada

It has been 10 years since I was last in Europe, and so using Alta’s five-year anniversary travel benefit, I set off on a three-week vacation to Spain and the Netherlands this fall where I explored six cities, spending much of my time on foot, pedaling a bicycle, or on transit. This was a valuable opportunity to experience so much of the planning and design best practices that we have been adopting in North America. I’m happy to share some of the things that I took away from my trip that I was inspired by, in the hope that they inspire you!

Building Out Complete, Connected Networks

Left: Keeping trees along this bike lane in Seville was important for providing much needed shade on a 38 degree (100 degrees Fahrenheit) day. Right: A large, complex intersection is simplified by designing it with protected intersection design principles.

Left: A major road with 6 lanes of traffic provides a direct connection to many destinations and having a wide, physically separated bike lane along it makes a comfortable experience. Right: A bike path through a suburban neighbourhood provides a direct connection instead of navigating winding roads, and users have the right-of-way over local traffic crossing it.

Dutch cities have had a few decades head start on building out their cycling networks, but each city had their own unique considerations. I was able to visit Amsterdam and the suburban communities surrounding it, Nijmegen and neighbouring rural areas, and bustling Rotterdam (with a quick trip to Delft and Den Haag as well). In Spain, the recent investments Barcelona, Seville, and Madrid have made in developing cycling infrastructure. Something that took me by surprise though was the number of big roads and the amount of car traffic I saw, reminding me that it isn’t impossible to think that what these cities have achieved can’t be done in our communities.

Managing How and Where Cars Go

Left: This intersection in Barcelona was made much more enjoyable by removing paved areas and designing so cars are guests in this space. Middle: An advisory bike lane along this rural road allows the narrow road to be a very comfortable place to cycle and manages car speeds. Right: An underpass provides a direct connection for people walking and cycling, while people driving have to go a little further to get to a major road to get across the railway.

These cities have all found success in building out their cycling networks and creating high quality public spaces where people want to spend time. They’ve accomplished this by managing where cars can go, and how they can be operated. Local streets are truly for local trips and their width and speed limits reflect that, with designs allowing cars to maneuver in the space, but also used and enjoyed by other people.

Attention to the Details

Left: Wide bike lanes were standard allowing for people to ride beside each other and have a conversation, while others could still pass if needed. Middle: Continuous crossings at driveways and local streets give priority to people walking and cycling and make it much smoother as you’re not frequently changing grades. This is the standard, and I only noticed one instance where there wasn’t a continuous crossing at a local street. Right: The red pavement and curves in the design of the bike paths made it very intuitive to know where you should (and shouldn’t) be. This connection to local street network provides a great direct connection to this intersection where people can route to where they are going.

One of the most joyful parts of cycling in the Netherlands was how smooth and easy it was thanks to some details they’ve developed that I’m happy to say are beginning to become the standard in North America.

Investing in the Future You Want to See

Clockwise from top left: 1. Cycling in the Maastunnel in Rotterdam provides an important connection for people to walk and cycle across the harbour. 2. Free bicycle parking garages were available in every city we went to located at train stations and in town centres to provide secure space for people to park their bicycles. This underground garage in Nijmegen’s city centre made cycling to the restaurant for dinner the best option. 3. The Nesciobrug built in 2013 connects an island with significant new housing developments to Amsterdam’s east end. 4. Every train station I saw had a bikeway right to the front of it, with signage directing people to large-scale bike parking garages that had information about availability of spots. Encouraging people to cycle to transit saves space around the station for urban land uses instead of car parking.

Throughout our time in the Netherlands, we stayed with some family and friends, so we got to really see how the bicycle has been integrated into their “typical Dutch” lives. These improvements include creating behaviour change by adding facilities to make cycling more convenient than driving.

Final Thoughts

This trip really helped me to see what we are trying to accomplish in North America, and how everything from a complete network of high-quality bikeways, to small design treatments all contribute to making this work. This is something that is planned, designed and invested in to create, and not something that can only happen in special places. Creating safer, more sustainable and more accessible community spaces isn’t niche or at the expense of people driving either, it’s part of building a transportation system that provides real options for how people can get around safely.

Learn more about Alta’s work culture, including our 5-year travel benefit here.