One hundred million euros over four years to bring the Netherlands an extra two hundred thousand cyclists and a further three billion kilometres ridden — so promises Under-Secretary of State Stientje van Veldhoven.
Just when we think the Netherlands already has everything a cyclist could want, the Dutch government finds a way to surprise us again. To continue promoting cycling and to ease traffic congestion, both within cities and between municipalities, the Dutch government has decided to invest even more in cycling infrastructure: one hundred million euros to be distributed over four years to boost cycling mobility.
"We want to stimulate cycling by setting the target of a further two hundred thousand people leaving their cars to cycle a total of three billion additional kilometres," said State Secretary for Infrastructure Stientje van Veldhoven, who wanted to express a clear objective with this decision. Already today, a Dutch citizen cycles an average of around one thousand kilometres a year.
These one hundred million euros are an investment equivalent to five per cent of the total decided by the Dutch government for mobility in general, an amount that will be used primarily to improve bicycle parking and to build "cycling motorways".
Read also: Tunnel ciclopedonale ad Amsterdam, la stazione centrale si rinnova
Infrastructure ministry State Secretary Van Veldhoven has also proposed an incentive for people who cycle to work: nineteen cents per kilometre ridden, a subsidy already available to those who commute by car.
Read also: L'Olanda ha un ponte ciclabile che passa sul tetto verde di una scuola
Yet not everyone is satisfied with the government's promise. As reported on the European Cycling Federation website, here is what Saskia Kluit, director of the Dutch Cyclists' Union, has to say: "We have calculated that cycling mobility needs an additional seven hundred million euros every year. Bike parking spaces at train stations require between five hundred and sixty and seven hundred million by 2030, equivalent to sixty-five to seventy-five million a year. Cycling motorways need a further one hundred and six million in co-funding."
These figures will probably not be enough to optimally meet the growing cycling needs of Dutch citizens — cycling being a mode of transport that has now overtaken the car in terms of prevalence — yet they are certainly significant sums, especially when compared with what we normally invest in Italy, even if investment in our country has been gradually increasing over recent years.
