Cycling For Everyone from Dutch Cycling Embassy on Vimeo.
Last 22 September is celebrated World Day Without Cars in which we saw the various initiatives carried out in various cities. El objeto principal de las mismas es incentivar a los ciudadanos a dejar este medio de transporte por un día y probar nuevas formas de desplazamiento. Uno de estos medios de transporte alternativos es la bicicleta.
If there is a quintessential country where the bicycle as transportation reaches such a high degree of popularity, is Holland. The cycling in this country is a cultural issue mainly by orographic conditions of a territory completely flat making it perfect transport medium. Besides being economical, not pollute, not congested city and carries no parking problems as with private motor vehicles. With the automobile expense cities and improve the urban landscape recualifican its public space for pedestrians.
Already in the 50 proliferated the massive use of the bicycle, to go any destination, until the proliferation of motor vehicles in the years 60 bicycle traffic decreases evidently. The bicycle-transit space is reduced by increasing the statistics of accidents and even deaths of cyclists. With the oil crisis of the years 70 began a defense of this transport through popular initiatives to make everyday use of the bicycle was a viable and safe option. Over the years it has become a basic transportation for the Dutch daily.
The Dutch government have adapted their infrastructure and cities to the priority use of the bicycle with the creation of modern special parking nodal exchangers linked to other transport vehicles, efficient bike rental networks and fundamentally thousands of kilometers of cycle routes. A part of this infrastructure, significantly invested in road safety education to achieve that it remains a safe means of transport even for children.
With this cycling culture and the experience gained in decades to promote this mode of transport is born The Dutch Cycling Embassy, an organization to help other countries and associations in eliminating dependence on motor vehicles.
In the following video put online by the organization, traces the evolution of this mode of transport in the Netherlands. Despite being English is quite instructive.
