It's a madhouse here, my wife doesn't dare to cycle here anymore.

Tring-tring! Cycling side by side and having a conversation is simply not possible during a bike ride from The Hague Hollands Spoor station to the Bloemenbuurt district. You're constantly slowing down or speeding up because something has to pass: a city bike, racing bike, or cargo bike, a delivery service, a Volkswagen with its speakers blaring, a bus, a tram. You constantly have to swerve to avoid a double-parked car, a tricycle, or a pedestrian engrossed in their phone. And it's Saturday morning: nowhere near as busy as weekdays.

"What kind of transportation is this?" says Jos de Jong (65) as a scooter with double front wheels passes by. Moments before, he's shouting over his shoulder on a separated bike path on Valkenboslaan: "This is neatly constructed, but much too narrow!" A parent and child can just about cycle side by side here – but then no one should want to overtake. While, De Jong points out, there would have been room to handle it differently: the cars have two wide lanes and no fewer than three parking lanes.

De Jong is chairman of the Cyclists' Union (Fietsersbond) in the The Hague region. This means he contributes to and lobbies for cycling enjoyment and safety in the design of public spaces. He has a real cause for concern, as the number of cyclist fatalities is rising. Between 2018 and 2023, the number of people hospitalized with serious injuries from traffic accidents rose from 23,300 to 25,400 – and these were primarily cyclists. In 2022, there were 290 fatal cycling fatalities, the highest number in 27 years.

The municipality of The Hague is colored dark red on the traffic accident map. Last year, 5,662 traffic accidents were reported to the police, the highest number since 2000. And, says De Jong, by 2040, the number of cyclists in The Hague will have increased by 40 percent due to population growth. The number of accidents will also rise, as is expected for the rest of the country.

Maximum speed

This prompted Minister Robert Tieman (Infrastructure, BBB) to submit a "Multi-Year Bicycle Safety Plan" to the House of Representatives on Thursday. It includes several measures intended to help, such as encouraging the use of bicycle helmets. And, most strikingly, municipalities are allowed to experiment with a maximum speed limit on cycle paths. This should help combat tuned fat bikes, the cause of many serious accidents. Hospitals have previously raised the alarm about this. And the municipality of Enschede announced this week that it intends to ban fat bikes in the city center.

Those ideas are well-intentioned, of course, says De Jong. "But they won't help." There's already a speed limit for cyclists: 25 kilometers per hour. "It's just not enforced." And banning fat bikes? "That's legally complex. It's not so easy to distinguish between modes of transport." The solution, he believes, is much simpler: "Move speeding cyclists to the roadway and reduce the speed limit there to 30 kilometers per hour."

But restricting car use is a politically sensitive issue. During the bike tour, De Jong points out places where his lobbying efforts were unsuccessful. Hobbemastraat: a busy shopping street with two tram lanes, parking spaces, and wide roads. No bike path, and a 50-kilometer-per-hour speed limit. "The business owners were against it, saying their customers drive." Kemperstraat: no bike lane, 50 kilometers per hour.

Confusing

Through De Jong's eyes, you see how much there is still to be gained for cyclists. Bike lanes suddenly become narrower or end just as suddenly as they begin. Some places are cluttered and confusing: where are you supposed to go? Like Hobbemaplein, near the Hague Market, where a line of cars forms in front of the ATMs. "This situation is ridiculous," says De Jong. "It's also very dangerous for cars here. And for pedestrians: shouldn't you be able to walk here with your stroller?"

But his biggest thorn in the side is Goudenregenplein. Cyclists, cars, and pedestrians have to cross the narrow connecting road, where people drive at 50 kilometers per hour, without a bike lane or traffic lights. "Here, all you see are red dots on the map of The Hague indicating traffic accidents," says De Jong. "I sometimes stand here at 4 p.m., and it's a madhouse." That's when the high school students from the adjacent school cycle home. "They sometimes end up between the tram tracks, too." Cyclists have to squeeze between the cars, which is becoming increasingly difficult as cars "are getting wider and wider." "My wife doesn't dare cycle here anymore."

Things are certainly going well: there's more political attention for cyclists. In Utrecht and Amsterdam, known as cycling cities, cars are increasingly becoming "guests" or even unwelcome. Amsterdam introduced a 30-kilometer-per-hour speed limit at the end of 2023. But in The Hague and many other places, says De Jong, the focus is still too much on cars. City councils often find truly giving priority to cyclists too complicated "and don't look forward to the community engagement process."

Meanwhile, a new activist group has already emerged: the one for pedestrians. "People are walking more; walking is fashionable. There are also people who say: give pedestrians a much larger share of the available space. They advocate for a speed limit of 15 kilometers per hour. Well, I wish them the best of luck."