Re: I do too, it makes all of us look bad by association Archived Message
Posted by Willem on June 25, 2019, 12:28 pm, in reply to "Re: I do too, it makes all of us look bad by association"
The number of pedestrians hit and killed by vehicles each year is incredible, and tragic. As a society we hardly murmur even about these things. More importance as evidenced by this thread it seems is whether anyone should be taking responsibility and if so, whom. Maybe we need a change of perspective? Right, a change of perspective. That's exactly what happened in the Netherlands. Back in the early 70s, both UK and NL had very similar road infrastructure: similar layouts, similar increases in no. of cars on the road, (large) numbers of deaths and injuries, exhaust and noise pollution in town centers, kids too scared to cycle to school, ditto for the elderly and many women (note how it tends to be youngish men cycling here in the UK). Then, after protests, they made a big change in policy, a new perspective -- by creating cycle paths and reducing car traffic. The very positive changes are evident if one cares to look (eg the link I sent). What's incredible is that this country seems incapable of looking beyond its borders. Even countries with zero tradition is cycling (eg Romania) are learning faster and doing more.
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