Yup, you’re not wrong. The key difference is how transit is organized here. NL follows a really good traffic separation policy on their traffic design. Their roads here are buttery smooth and they do heavy investment in them. You can very clearly tell the difference when crossing the border into Belgium, for example. And what goes along with that is a nation-wide cycle path infrastructure, separate from the roads, that is also well maintained. I, literally, have crossed the country diagonally using only the cycle infra. The public transit is also amazing, with passenger trains criss-crossing the whole country such that I can go from any of the larger cities to another trivially, and many, many smaller villages. Regional buses, city buses, trams, metros/subways-- they have it all to the point where I mostly don’t need to check the schedule. I can just show up and step on. And they don’t overlap or share the same space. The buses, trams, trains, and cycle paths don’t compete for road space with cars. It is so much safer and better that way for everyone, even the car drivers.
And it wasn’t always this good. The difference between 1960s/70s Amsterdam and today is night and day with many roads now “fietsstraat” (bikes have priority and cars are a guest) with more planned. Other cities like Utrecht had filled in a canal to make a road, and completely reversed that decision and put the canal back. In most cities, the speed limits for cars is set very low (30kph). Some villages are designed without any through-traffic roads as well.
With carefully thought out plans and designs, NL is able to safely accommodate all travelers, including those taking public transit. If you would like more information, please checkout Not Just Bikes, Build the Lanes, and of course, for better urban design, Strong Towns.
American exceptionalism really falls flat in the face of such overwhelming evidence of a better way to do things.
EDIT: One small brag. I’ve not owned a car in 15 years and haven’t needed one. It’s amazing to not have that stress and cost.
The population density of the Netherlands - it’s the most densely populated state in Europe that isn’t a microstate. In fact, it’s more densely populated than some island nations like Puerto Rico and what is commonly considered a microstate, Luxembourg.
Per capita car ownership has been growing in NL since at least 1990 and road deaths have been declining in that time per your link https://english.kimnet.nl/documents/2022/02/22/the-widespread-car-ownership-in-the-netherlands
Yup, you’re not wrong. The key difference is how transit is organized here. NL follows a really good traffic separation policy on their traffic design. Their roads here are buttery smooth and they do heavy investment in them. You can very clearly tell the difference when crossing the border into Belgium, for example. And what goes along with that is a nation-wide cycle path infrastructure, separate from the roads, that is also well maintained. I, literally, have crossed the country diagonally using only the cycle infra. The public transit is also amazing, with passenger trains criss-crossing the whole country such that I can go from any of the larger cities to another trivially, and many, many smaller villages. Regional buses, city buses, trams, metros/subways-- they have it all to the point where I mostly don’t need to check the schedule. I can just show up and step on. And they don’t overlap or share the same space. The buses, trams, trains, and cycle paths don’t compete for road space with cars. It is so much safer and better that way for everyone, even the car drivers.
And it wasn’t always this good. The difference between 1960s/70s Amsterdam and today is night and day with many roads now “fietsstraat” (bikes have priority and cars are a guest) with more planned. Other cities like Utrecht had filled in a canal to make a road, and completely reversed that decision and put the canal back. In most cities, the speed limits for cars is set very low (30kph). Some villages are designed without any through-traffic roads as well.
With carefully thought out plans and designs, NL is able to safely accommodate all travelers, including those taking public transit. If you would like more information, please checkout Not Just Bikes, Build the Lanes, and of course, for better urban design, Strong Towns.
American exceptionalism really falls flat in the face of such overwhelming evidence of a better way to do things.
EDIT: One small brag. I’ve not owned a car in 15 years and haven’t needed one. It’s amazing to not have that stress and cost.
The population density of the Netherlands - it’s the most densely populated state in Europe that isn’t a microstate. In fact, it’s more densely populated than some island nations like Puerto Rico and what is commonly considered a microstate, Luxembourg.