Atlanta’s great success as a city came from desegregation, from giving everyone full access to what the city has to offer.
But maybe it’s time for Atlanta to find a little segregation.
I’m not talking about race or class. I’m talking about transportation.
E-bikes made the Beltline happen. They’re making possible a complete reorganization of our cities. But the world is moving beyond e-bikes, and Atlanta isn’t ready for it.
The reason for my coming trip to the Netherlands is that they do seem ready for it. Dutch cities are much older, and they’re more densely populated, with less room to get around in than American cities. Atlanta is a farm in comparison to Utrecht. But the Dutch have found a way to let everyone get around using a simple concept.
That concept is segregation.
I have written a lot about Dutch bike paths here, but there is more to it than that. You’re not allowed to walk on the bike lanes, but bikes aren’t allowed on the sidewalks either. That’s because people walk at about 1-3 mph (2-5 kph), while they ride their upright bikes at 10 mph (15 kph). They also drive. A lot. The average Dutch citizen drives over 4,000 miles per year. Their commutes are longer than those of other Europeans.
The reason cities like Utrecht have such vast biking garages in their train stations is that people there don’t drive to the train station. Once they’re in the car, they take it to their destination. The train is for city-to-city transport, not commuting. Train stations are an easy bike ride from most homes. Those who are further away tend to disparage the trains, calling them dirty and expensive.
Where the Cars Fit
Cars and trucks go fast. They’re designed to travel at speeds of 60 mph (100 kph) and more, in comfort, with substantial loads of baggage or goods. The Dutch let them do this.
It’s when they hit the cities and approach the bike paths that cars become “guests.” Shared roads, where bikes and cars are both allowed, are often surfaced in red clay. It’s a visible symbol that, here, in what Americans might call “sharrows,” cars are guests, and must slow to a biker’s speed.
This means there are three separate types of road surface in the Netherlands. There are sidewalks, there are bike paths, and there are automobile roadways. In cities, the roadways lead to parking garages. The sides of most roads are thus available for bikes and for people.
It’s all strictly segregated. While the rules seem logical, they’re also enforced. Get out of your lane and you’re going to hear about it. Everyone travels at a natural speed, and this includes the Spandex riders, who are free to fly outside town. There are bike paths between nearly every Dutch city. Most are empty most of the time.
I think of them as being like Texas’ Farm to Market roads. In the countryside it’s common to travel at 70 mph (120 kph) and more on the FM roads.
Just watch out for the speed trap towns.
The Next Question
This leads me to our next question, the evolution of e-transport beyond the bike.
It’s something I wrote about last May. “Market competition means you can expect rickshaw e-bikes, cargo e-bikes, and proto-scooters, at $2,000 and less, within a year,” I wrote.
I’m already seeing e-mopeds rolling along the Beltline at 35 mph, the pedals vestigial, and it’s scary. They can weigh hundreds of pounds, and unlike an e-bike they can kill you.
In the Netherlands, anyone riding such a vehicle needs to get a motorist license. They need to pay big fees, take hard tests, and their actions are under the control of the state. Many American governments are looking to take the same approach, although the speed limits they seek to enforce vary. (I can’t hold my e-bike to 10 mph on Atlanta roads. The downhills are just too inviting.)
These are going to be tough issues. I’m going to study them in the Netherlands this spring, and I’m going to keep studying them on America’s electric avenues.
