Via small places:
Car-free streets and downtowns are nothing new to Europe, but too often these exclude cycling from major shopping streets and destinations. The Hague goes where Amsterdam and Copenhagen dare not, accommodating cycling essentially everywhere in a car-free zone that includes the city’s four main public squares, its high-end and mass-market shopping streets, a good chunk of the financial district, the Dutch parliament, and federal ministries.
Implemented in the 1980s, The Hague’s “Healthy Core” is also free of curbed roadways, painted lines, and most traffic signs. Instead, space is subtly delineated using furniture, texture, and sloping changes in elevation. There is no need to explain which side is for walking and cycling, just the subtle coaxing of clever street design helping people take turns. As Spui and Grote Marktstraat cross outside City Hall, so too do the city’s busiest flows of people walking and cycling, nevermind trams on the surface and underground
We’re back from a sabbatical in the Netherlands and excited to share experiences through a series of videos. Thank you to the City of The Hague for making Brian’s exchange possible.
