YouTuber Not Just Bikes is really excited about the Dutch approach to urban design. In this video, he explains why the way that sidewalks in the Netherlands are optimal for pedestrian and bicyclist safety.
The key feature is called “continuous sidewalks.” In the United States, the most common design for an intersection between pedestrian and motorized traffic is a crosswalk in which the sidewalk lowers and then disappears into the road. People walking across a street are entering the territory of cars.
In the Netherlands, it’s far more common for the sidewalk to remain at the same level and for the road to rise to the sidewalk. Cars crossing are entering the territory of pedestrians. Because there’s a rise, the sidewalk acts as a speedbump so that drivers are encouraged to slow down.
-via Nag on the Lake