Bicycles Don't Need Traffic Lights

Traffic lights are for cars, not bikes.

In the Dutch city of Groningen, there are dozens of traffic lights which go green for bicycles ... in every direction at the same time.

[azd]

It's crazy how little infrastructure bikes actually need in order to be accommodated in a city. It really drives home how little American cities care about biking as a transit option.

[davitdavid]

The point at the end really drives home how much infrastructure cars need

[Viikktor]

This reminds me of those "perfect" traffic demonstrations where the cars weave in between eachother that automatic cars enthusiasts like so much.
Turns out we can do it ourselves already when we're moving at speeds and sizes that the mind can handle.

[airplanes_aren.t_real]

Car crash: bloody, destructive, millions die because of it every year

Bike crash: "ow sorry mate" "nah my bad"

[LarryNoir]

I also imagine that when people are not “protected” by the isolation of a car, they behave much more friendly in the face of minor mistakes. People in cars are so quick to yell, hurl insults, and behave like assholes when they are so isolated from the other person.

[Irdaon]

I've been cycling in Groningen and other Dutch cities during my studies. Don't remember a single seriously dangerous situation. Now I'm living in Munich and am almost dying at least two or three times every morning on my 15 min way to the office...

[peceed]

South America: Who told that cars need traffic lights?

[GNZOU]

My city in the UK was designed for cycling, so the cyclepaths are either above or below the main roads and only cross car traffic at smaller housing roads that are pretty much all 30mph limit and low traffic use, it's honestly really great.

[ECTCalvin]

Coming from Groningen, this is what I love about it. It’s so much safer and efficient. Whenever I go to other cities, i always have to look out for cars.
And also as a car driver I don’t have to worry about hitting a bicyclist

[StefanVeenstra]

As a dutchman who grew up not far from Groningen it still seems chaotic to go diagonally across. There's too many individuals making changes it gets hard to keep up who's going to get in your way. Then again, bicycles allow for minute adjustments at a moments notice.
Important is to remain visible. Turn on the lights when dusk start to set in. And not just a single barely visible LED, actual proper lights that make you visible. You are allowed to be seen and return home without any bruises.

[Sekei..]

I personally hated those junctions when I was living in Groningen, taking a left turn when there were 20 bikes from every direction it was kinda scary. Nothing ever happened though, so I guess that proves your point. In general the bike infrastructure in Groningen was great!

[PROcrastiDRIVESVofficial]

Every now and then a road gets shut and as a cyclist I always find myself realising just how much fun it would be to have the whole roads free of cars. It's a sudden child like nostalgic sense of fun that suddenly overtakes you. Like when you used to play in the street before your parents yelled at you. Then the road is opened again and it's back to tip toeing along footpaths alongside the neverending noise of boring cars hogging up all the space. Suddenly the fun is erased and replaced by stress and survival instinct - a totally different experience. Cities would be so much more fun if we took the damn cars out of them, even for a few days a week. There are so many roads which would be unbelievable fun on a bike if it were actually possible. I'm sure anyone reading this could use their imagination.

[balduvian-dead]

these bike intersections are unironically that self driving car visualization that was being pushed a while ago as a "solution to traffic" where a hundred cars per second all flowed through the intersection weaving in and out of each other and making it impossible to be a pedestrian, except this is real, and at a human scale, and actually a solution to traffic

[Zanderman]

I remember laughing with tears seeing my Chilean boyfriend try and cross the second crossing shown in the video (I'm a born and raised Groninger). We were on our bikes and as soon as the light for the bikes had turned green, everyone not only crossed squarely, but also diagonally. My bf, whom had already started biking, completely freaked out and screamed bloody murder, while simultaneously deciding coming to a complete stop and getting off his bike in the middle of the intersection was a good idea 😂. Have to admit it was also partially my fault for not explaining this is a thing, but it's so normal for me that I didn't think about it. Needless to say, I had a good laugh that day

Ps: he loves biking and is now completely used to the traffic here, but it took a little bit of learning

[samrusoff]

I realized this a while back after being in a cycling dominated town, and it's never left my brain. The lowered speed, greater visibility, maneuverability, smaller footprint of a bike, it's amazing how smoothly and efficiently intersecting bike traffic can coexist.

[effyleven]

The people of the Netherlands have done an ENORMOUS amount of very practical research in how to integrate the bicycle into their lives, for their own greater benefit and wellbeing. Of course, the fine cycling infrastructure, constantly updated, is a big part of that.
What's more EVERYTHING they have learned is OPEN SOURCE, and available to any GOVERNMENT AUTHORITY in the world... if they merely take the trouble to ask for it.
Dutch people are justly proud of their road system, and they are also generous of spirit. That's why they are very happy to see their best infrastructure ideas copied and applied across the globe.
*Yes. Dutch experience is a world resource. Don't let it be wasted.*

[Appelmoosie]

I live a street away from one of these shots. It's an amazing concept, took me some time to get used to it. But the only reason why it works, is because we are patient with eachtoher and people in this city are generally the nicest people in the Netherlands. The main reason why I moved cities! :)

[MetallicAddict]

"Traffic lights are for cars and without cars, you don't need traffic lights" - Such an obvious point, but I never thought about it like that!

I sometimes dream of a world where we've made a modal shift in transportation and people only drive when it's really not possible to get somewhere by walking, bike or public transport. The highways are only 1 lane in every direction and because of the low volume of cars, traffic lights are a rarity. Parking lots have been scrapped in many places and turned into green spaces. The air quality is vastly improved and noise pollution is a thing of the past, except for the odd train that passes by every half hour or so. What a wonderful world that would be.

[Leonum]

Great idea for cyclists I really love it. The obvious question for me would be how are pedestrians protected? Do they have separate green times?

[Matyniov]

I love how people make vids where they show how self driving cars would drive past eachother on an intersection when this stuff already happens but with bikes and without the need for non existent technology