Differences Between Corvallis and the Netherlands

With both are university cites with lots of students, Corvallis and Delft feel very similar in comfort level just by simply existing in the cities. From there, the similarities end. The Netherlands is obviously known for being a biking city and these difference are very apparent the moment you get on the road. There is a priority made for cyclists. This means that for most interactions, cars will yield to a biker, which is an adjustment that one needs to make when they are from the States. 

The downtowns of the two cities also operate very differently. In Corvallis, there are one way and two way streets that prioritize cars. With this, there is also on-street parking and parking lots. All of this space is used very differently in the Netherlands. In Delft, there are more roads that are closed to cars, yet open to biking and walking. This also includes motorcyclists, mopeds, and other forms of bike similar vehicles. When cars are allowed, the roads are often limited to one way traffic flow, but two ways for bikes.  These are called Contraflow. With all of this talk about biking, one might think that driving by car is almost impossible, which isn't the case. 

There are many roads that "normal" two or four lane roads for cars. But there are still discouragements put in place to promote biking. An example of traffic calming is installing aesthetic flower planters to help physically separate and protect bike lanes for car drivers. When there are intersections, often times the bikers are provided a separate lane for the to pass through faster. This helps ease traffic as more people are able to quickly proceed than there are coming into the intersection. All of these traffic calming methods are unheard of in Corvallis. If a road has a bike lane, it is almost an after thought. There is simply a three foot / one meter wide lane provided that cars often park within anyways.