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Traffic signs and low-motorised road traffic in the Netherlands No. The situation in Holland is not quite as bad as the icons on our front page would lead you to believe. Pedestrians don't have to run for their lives. Actually, there are footpaths almost everywhere. This cannot be said for Switzerland or New Zealand, where pedestrians and cyclists often have to share the main road with cars and trucks. The Dutch cyclistdoesn't always have to push the pedals against the wind. Neither does is rain all the time in the Netherlands. And Switzerland has a lot of flat areas - in the cities and the valleys where the bulk of the population lives. The kids, the youngsters don't have to wait for the bus or the tram. Often they would be faster at school or work, if they would take a bicycle, even for distances up to five kilometers. Some cities, like Winterthur, have a special bicycle promotion programme. New Mobility umverkehR does not want to ban the car, not at all. But a set of different rules and incentives would reduce the pullution by simply too much traffic and too many traffic signs. We will all have more air to breathe, more freedom, more pleasure, more safety. This is the pircture of the Netherlands in the year 2000 - a landscape totally adapted to motorised traffic. Even the hasty cyclist has a petrol engine. Compare this with the peaceful New Zealand Kiwi, whose onlyt threat (if you believe it) are the sheep. Our quiz questions: 1. How many kiwis live in New Zealand? 2. What's the number on the road sign of the ANWB - Algemene Nederlandse Wielrijders Bond? (ANWB = General Dutch Society of Bicyclists) For details on the Swiss New Mobility campaign go to New Mobility - umverkehR Also compare: The Swiss New Mobility wave has reached Wellington, New Zealand News about the Swiss New Mobility Campaign Feedback to: <welcome@ecoglobe.org.nz>

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9 March ecoglobe news 2000

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