Dutch City Partnership#
image courtesy of Dutch Cycling Embassy
Cycling may seem second nature to the Dutch, but it hasn’t always been that way. The City of Fort Collins strives to provide world-class municipal services, and Dutch cities provide inspiring models for how to create a world-class environment for cycling. Bike Fort Collins has established a vision of turning Fort Collins into the Amsterdam of the US. To help us achieve these goals, the City of Enschede in the Netherlands, with support from the Dutch Cycling Embassy has generously agreed to participate in a knowledge-sharing partnership with the City of Fort Collins. Enschede is a good model for Fort Collins as it has a similar population and a university and is striving to be the best city for cycling in the nation.
ThinkBike Workshop#
In April 2023 the City of Fort Collins hosted a ThinkBike Workshop with representatives of the Dutch Cycling Embassy. The aim of the workshop was to help Fort Collins learn how to build a cycling network that, as in the Netherlands, is safe and suitable for people of all ages, abilities, and for different types of bicycles. Participants learned about the “software, hardware, and orgware” required to create a world-class city for cycling. Dutch experts explained the Dutch approach to network, corridor, intersection, and signal design. Participants applied these lessons to case study projects recommended in the Active Modes Plan with guidance from the Dutch experts. The intent of the workshop was to help kickstart implementation of the Active Modes Plan. The workshop concluded with a public screening of the film "Together We Cycle" which investigates the critical elements that led to the revival of Dutch cycling culture. Afterwards, Bike Fort Collins moderated a panel discussion between the Dutch Cycling Embassy, Mayor Arndt, and the City's Active Modes Manager.
2022 Monthly Discussions#
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In January representatives from Fort Collins and Enschede discussed youth cycling education. The session started with brief presentations on current youth education programs in each city and continued with a discussion of curriculum, engineering practices to support youth cycling, e-bikes and youth, and schools streets (street closures around schools to support safe walking and biking to school). The presentations from the session are available below:
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In February Dutch designers presented on how to design intersections and signal timing to promote cycling. Innovative approaches presented include roundabouts with bike lanes, signal timing based on vehicle (including bicycle) detection, countdown timers to let cyclists know how long they will need to wait for a green light, and signal phases that allow bicyclists to travel any direction through the intersection simultaneously.
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In March representatives from Fort Collins and Enschede discussed social equity. The session started with brief presentations highlighting each city's efforts to improve access to cycling for underrepresented communities and improve the equity of the transportation system. The presentations from the session are available below:
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In April Dutch representatives shared their approach towards automobile and bicycle parking and how it can be used to create a vibrant downtown and encourage bicycling for transportation. The presentation from the session is available below:
Kickoff Webinar#
As a first step, the City of Enschede hosted a webinar for Fort Collins with support from the Dutch Cycling Embassy and Dutch transportation consulting firms Goudappel Coffeng and Move Mobility. The webinar "How the Dutch Do It: Case Studies in Planning World Class Bicycle Infrastructure" covered Dutch approaches to bicycle master planning, design, and promotion. Participants broke into groups to review three design case studies and discuss promotion strategies. The session concluded with an opportunity for participants to recommend future topics for discussion. Links to the plenary session and break out group recordings are available below: