I went to see what cycling is like in Utrecht

For anyone interested in promoting safe cycling, the city of Utrecht in The Netherlands is often regarded as a prime example of what good infrastructure looks like.

Indeed, Cian Ginty from Irish Cycle runs study tours to Utrecht for politicians and people who work in transport policy and design, to learn about what world-class road design looks like – and to immerse themselves in Dutch cycling culture and see for themselves why in 2022 Utrecht was voted the most cycling friendly city in the world.

My solo trip to Europe

I recently found myself with a bit of free time, so I decided to do a bit of travelling. And I was going to tick off a few experiences that I’ve always meant to do – things like going on a ferry from Ireland as a foot passenger, and travelling on a Eurostar train.

And so it was that I ended up taking quite a lot of train journeys over the last week. First from Holyhead in Wales to Yorkshire, then down to London, then on the Eurostar to Belgium, and then onwards to Utrecht via Rotterdam. It’s not the kind of journey anyone would do if they were in a rush, but I wanted to make the travel part of the experience.

All orange in Utrecht

On my trains from Belgium to Utrecht on Saturday I was a little surprised to find so many people wearing orange clothes. I had guessed that maybe there was a big soccer game on, but no, it was because it was Koningsdag (or King’s Day) in The Netherlands – a day when the Dutch seem to do three things:

• Sell or give away their unwanted stuff in flea markets throughout the country
• Dress up in orange clothes
• Party

When I arrived in Utrecht, I didn’t see the flea market stuff, but I definitely saw tens of thousands of people, all dressed in orange, partying throughout the city. The whole city was shut down, the shops were closed, and in every public square there was a stage playing music and people having a great time.

None of this had anything to do with cycling, of course, but it was nonetheless an amazing experience for me to stumble into. And I must say that I had a great time. The music was great. The people were happy and having a great time. It was like being at a music festival – but in the middle of a city!

Cycling in Utrecht

The next day, nursing a bit of a hangover, I collected a hire bike from one of the numerous bike rental places in the city – and set off to explore.

In Dublin, I’m used to there being small pockets of reasonably good cycling infrastructure, and then it just… stops. The road gets narrow, or the junction gets complicated, and it’s like the road engineers gave up on making any provision for cyclists.

But not here. What struck me straight away is how interconnected and consistent the provision for cyclists (and other bike lane users) was throughout the city. Wherever I went, there was either a fully segregated dedicated cycle path – often set back from the road. Or there was a kerb-separated cycle path at the side of the road. Or there were roads where cyclists have first priority and any motorists were considered to be guests that should cede to bikes.

There were separate traffic light sequences for bicycles so there was no contention at junctions. And there was short-cuts, tunnels and bridges that were just for pedestrians and cyclists.

It was like the city engineers planned for walking and cycling first, then public transport (there were loads of trains, trams and buses), and lastly for cars.

So it’s little wonder that over half of people in Utrecht use a bicycle as their main form of transport, and almost everyone had a bicycle. And around 40% of people who travel by train arrive at the station by bicycle – which is why they have a 12,500 capacity underground bike park!

In the suburbs where there is more room, there are lovely segregated cycle paths that are often separated from the motor traffic by green spaces and trees. Instead of multiple car lanes that induce demand, motor traffic is often limited to just one lane in each direction.

In the city centre there are some roads that no cars at all. This one just has cycle lane and bus lanes!

And where there are narrow one-way streets, cyclists are allowed to contra-flow against traffic. And in city squares where the tourists wander around, cyclists pass through them with care and consideration.

More than just cyclists

One thing that I noticed is that cycle lanes are not just used by cyclists. I spotted a number of people in motorised wheelchairs also using the cycle lanes, which obviously gives their users greater mobility. And there were also one or two micro-cars. These a low-powered limited-speed cars that often fit just one person inside, and again are often used by people with limited mobility.

A cycling utopia?

As a place to cycle it’s not perfect. There are some confusing junctions, and some people on bikes (often those on over-powered fat-tyred ebikes) that are less considerate than others. But overall it’s the most bike-friendly place I’ve ever seen.

It’s a good example of how safe segregated cycle lanes helps make cycling feel safe for people of all ages and abilities, which is what good infrastructure should deliver.

As a someone who primarily uses a bicycle for transport (as opposed to sport), it’s the kind of facilities that I’d love to see replicated here in Dublin.

I did ask myself whether I would be willing to move to live in Utrecht – and I’m very much tempted. The only thing that puts me off is that I’m rubbish at foreign languages, and Dutch sounds quite hard to learn.