We met up with Meredith again today, first heading out on a bike tour. In the historic center of the city, she explained that there is less infrastructure but high density and shared space that acts as intensive traffic calming.
One of the main aspects of her tour was showing us examples of intersections that were changed to reflect how people use the space and provide logical guidance. At this intersection, traffic lights were turned off for two weeks as a pilot project, which has now turned into a permanent change. In the absence of lights, there are markers on the pavement that indicate who has priority, and who must yield. This change allows for more efficient travel through the intersection, especially for people on bikes.
The pilot for the above project was conducted in partnership with a number of other pilots throughout the city, the idea being that the media would get all of their outrage and criticism out at once. Another pilot involved restricting car use to create a “fietstraat” or bicycle street – biking volume increase 37% overnight. Desireline studies and other research are necessary for developing these plans, and cycling had reached such high levels that these were feasible solutions.
Meredith also explained the concept of “flow theory” in relation to biking in Amsterdam. Dutch riders want biking to be challenging enough to create a sense of flow, and may use stimuli like their phones to achieve that.
Ultimately, we must develop a long-term vision – redesigning streets and cities created for people rather than cars, and giving people choices around mobility.
In the evening, we headed out on a tour of the Red Light District. While our tour guide (as part of his performance) played into some stereotypes I could have done without, he was extremely knowledgeable about the area and very much respects sex workers. I was surprised to learn that, of 9,000 sex workers in Amsterdam, only 1,000 work in windows in the Red Light District. Because 8,000 women are working in hotels or with escort services, it is very difficult to monitor for trafficking or other misconduct. The tour also made me realize an internal conflict that I hold – I respect women’s agency to work in the sex industry, but I think that men soliciting sex is reflective objectification and control. I don’t know how to reconcile this for myself, but it is a good opportunity to consider these topics