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Roads in the Netherlands

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Detailed road map of the Netherlands (2012)

The Netherlands has a public road network totaling 139,000 km,[1] one of the densest in the world.[2][3][nb 1] Its use has increased since the 1950s and now exceeds 200 billion km traveled per year,[5] three quarters of which is by car,[6] making it among the most intensely used road networks.[4] In 2019, the World Economic Forum ranked the quality of Dutch road infrastructure as the best in Europe and second to Singapore out of 141 countries.[7]

Dutch roads include at least 3,530 km of motorways and expressways,[1] and with a motorway density of 64 kilometres per 1,000 km2, the country also has one of the densest motorway networks in the world.[4] The Netherlands' main highway network (hoofdwegennet) consists of 5,200 km of national roads, together with the most prominent provincial roads. Although only about 2,500 km of roads are fully constructed to motorway standards,[8] most of the remainder are also expressways for fast motor vehicles only.

Since 1997, a national traffic safety program called "Duurzaam Veilig (Verkeer)", or "Sustainable (Road) Safety" has had a major influence on the road network. Traffic calming was applied on a massive scale; by 2009, more than 33,000 km of rural roads had their speed limit reduced from 80 km/h (50 mph) to 60 km/h (37 mph), and over 41,000 km of urban roads were limited from 50 km/h (31 mph) to 30 km/h (19 mph), amounting to over half the national road network being calmed.[9] A popular calming and collision reduction measure has been to replace intersections with roundabouts in order to reduce serious T-bone collisions. By 2015, there were almost 5,000 roundabouts throughout the Netherlands.[10][nb 2]

Except for motorways and expressways, most Dutch roads support cyclists; 35,000 km, a quarter of all roads, feature dedicated cycle tracks that are physically segregated from motor traffic.[12][13] Another 4,700 km of roads have clearly marked bike lanes,[13] and on other roads traffic calming has allowed cyclists and motorists to safely mix. Busy junctions sometimes give priority to cyclists, and in streets such as fietsstraten (cycle streets) and woonerven (home zones), bicycles always have priority over cars.

History

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The 1927 Rijkswegenplan was the first new Dutch national highway structure plan in a century.

The first motorway in the Netherlands dates back to 1936, when the current A12 was opened to traffic between Voorburg and Zoetermeer, near The Hague. Motorway construction accelerated in the 1960s and 1970s but slowed in the 1980s. Current motorway expansion mostly occurs outside the Randstad.

General maximum speed limits were introduced in 1957 (50 km/h within built-up areas) and in 1973 (100 km/h on extra-urban highways); the motorway limit was raised to 120 km/h in 1988.[14]

Roads by management authority

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National and provincial roads

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About 5,200 km of national roads (rijkswegen) are controlled by the Rijkswaterstaat, and the country's twelve provinces control about 7,800 km of provincial roads.[15][16] Most motorways are national roads, and the remaining national roads are mostly expressways. Only a few motorways are provincial, and these are generally shorter and serve regional traffic.[17]

Municipal roads

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Municipal roads make up the bulk of the Dutch road network, totalling 120,000 km.[16]

Water council roads

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Aside from the division into provinces, the Netherlands is also divided into 21 water management districts. Together with other authorities, they own and control another 7,500 km of roads.[16]

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From 1998 to 2007, more than 33,000 km of roads have been converted to regional access roads with a speed limit of 60 km/h,[9][dead link‍] as indicated by signage.[18] Regional access roads are visually distinct from other roads by having no center line marking. Slower vehicles and non-motorised traffic are allowed; busier roads have adjacent cycle tracks, while quieter ones have advisory bike lanes. Regional access roads can fall under any of the road management authorities.

On extra-urban roundabouts, the CROW recommends that motor vehicles have priority over cycle tracks, as opposed to urban roundabouts where cycle tracks have priority.[19][dead link‍]

Within built-up areas

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From 1998 through 2007, more than 41,000 km of city streets have been converted to local access roads with a speed limit of 30 km/h, for the purpose of traffic calming.[9][dead link‍]

Woonerf
cyclestreet (fietsstraat) sign (unofficial)
A fietsstraat (bike street) where bicycles are the main form of transport and cars are considered "guests".

Depending on how individual municipalities interpreted the 1997 Sustainable Safety policy guidelines, woonerven have come under pressure from a drive to implement continuous zones of 30 km/h (19 mph) on local access streets. In some towns, this has led to residents protesting against the doubling of local speed limits from 15 km/h to 30 km/h. Woonerven are still widespread and new ones are still built, sometimes because of space restrictions. In 2011, 20% of all Dutch homes were still located in woonerf areas,[20][dead link‍] and around 2 million people (over 10% of the country) were living in woonerven.[21]

Notable roads and statistics

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As a side effect of the dense road network, roadside and verge grass strips account for three percent of the Netherlands' total land area.[citation needed]

Quality

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In 2019, a World Economic Forum report ranked the quality (extensiveness and condition) of the Dutch road infrastructure as the best in Europe, with a 6.4 score on a 7‑point scale. It was ranked the second-best of 141 countries in the world behind Singapore and ahead of Switzerland.[7] Although traffic congestion is a relative constant in the Netherlands, a Europe-focused summary of TomTom's 2021 traffic congestion statistics found that there were no Dutch cities in the global Top‑100. There were also no Dutch cities in the high congestion category, although Haarlem was ranked #103 at 28% congestion in 2021, 2% below the "heavy" category.[22][23]

Major motorways

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Motorway A15 / A16 near Rotterdam

The busiest Dutch motorway is the A13 between the Hague and Rotterdam, with a traffic volume of 140,000 motor vehicles per day.[24] Utrecht, in the centre of the country, has the busiest motorways on average (almost 100,000 vehicles a day), with major motorways A1, A2, A12, A27 and A28 running through it.[24]

The number of passing motorised vehicles is counted every minute of the day at 20,000 measuring stations on the Dutch motorway network.[24]

See also

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Further reading

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Sustainable (Road) Safety

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Publications by SWOV – Dutch Institute for Road Safety Research

Notes

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  1. ^ Japan has the same per country road density,[4] but the Netherlands' area includes 18.4% inland water, compared to just 0.8% for Japan.
  2. ^ In 2012 a Dutch TV-show calculated that the centre dots alone of the country's roundabouts had a cumulative area greater than Vatican City.[11]
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  • autosnelwegen.nl – Dutch website about the country's national roads and its motorways.

References

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  1. ^ a b "CIA World Factbook | Field listing: Roadways". cia.gov. U.S. Central Intelligence Agency. 2014. Archived from the original on June 13, 2007. Retrieved 2015-08-17.
  2. ^ "Road density (km of road per 100 sq. km of land area) | Data | Table". data.worldbank.org. The World Bank Group. 2014. Retrieved 2014-07-07.
  3. ^ Road density - countries ranking, Knoema, Retrieved 2017-02-10
  4. ^ a b c "Road traffic, vehicles and networks | Environment at a Glance 2013: OECD Indicators" (PDF) (Press release). Paris, France: OECD Publishing. 2013. Retrieved 2014-07-10.
  5. ^ "SWOV Fact sheet | Mobility on Dutch roads" (PDF) (Press release). Leidschendam, the Netherlands: SWOV, Dutch Institute for Road Safety Research. July 2013. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2010-04-15. Retrieved 2014-07-07.
  6. ^ Waard, Jan van der; Jorritsma, Peter; Immers, Ben (October 2012). "New Drivers in Mobility: What Moves the Dutch in 2012 and Beyond?" (PDF). ITF Discussion Papers. Delft, the Netherlands: OECD International Transport Forum. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2019-12-17. Retrieved 2014-07-07.
  7. ^ a b Landgeist (2021-09-07). "The Best and Worst Roads in Europe". Landgeist. Retrieved 2022-09-22.
  8. ^ "Autosnelweg - WegenWiki" [Motorway - WegenWiki]. wegenwiki.nl (in Dutch). 2012. Retrieved 2014-07-17.
  9. ^ a b c De balans opgemaakt: Duurzaam Veilig 1998-2007 [Sustainable Safety in the Netherlands - 1998-2007] (PDF) (in Dutch). SWOV, Dutch Institute for Road Safety Research. 2009. p. 6 (English abstract). ISBN 978-90-73946-06-4. Retrieved 13 July 2014.
  10. ^ "Rotondes | IBM Cognos" [Roundabouts]. swov.nl (in Dutch). SWOV, Dutch Institute for Road Safety Research. 2012. Retrieved 2014-07-20.
  11. ^ Wat kost een rotonde? [What are the costs of a roundabout?] (weekly) (TV-show) (in Dutch). KRO (Catholic Broadcasting Organisation). 2012-01-26. Event occurs at 19:58. Retrieved 2017-01-28.
  12. ^ "The Netherlands boast almost 35,000 km of cycling paths". CROW - Dutch knowledge platform on cycling policy. 2012-10-25. Retrieved 18 July 2014.
  13. ^ a b "Nederland telt bijna 35.000 km fietspad" [The Netherlands has almost 35,000 km of bicycle path] (in Dutch). Verkeerskunde.nl Dutch online platform for traffic engineering. 29 August 2012. Retrieved 12 August 2014.
  14. ^ "1973-1991 - Oliecrises en de veranderende samenleving" [1973-1991 Oil crises and a changing society]. Autosnelwegen.nl (in Dutch). 2017. Archived from the original on 2017-01-29. Retrieved 2017-01-29.
  15. ^ "CBS StatLine | Lengte van wegen, wegkenmerken, regio" [CBS Statline - Length of roads, road types]. statline.cbs.nl (in Dutch). Statistics Netherlands. 2013. Retrieved 2014-07-12.
  16. ^ a b c "Weglengte Nationaal WegenBestand (NWB) | IBM Cognos" [Road length | National Road Database]. swov.nl (in Dutch). SWOV, Dutch Institute for Road Safety Research. 2012. Retrieved 2014-07-17.
  17. ^ Provinciale weg - Wikipedia (NL)
  18. ^ Zaken, Ministerie van Algemene (17 January 2012). "Wat betekenen de strepen op de weg? - Vraag en antwoord - Rijksoverheid.nl".
  19. ^ "Rotondes - Wat is veiliger, fietsers 'in' of 'uit de voorrang' op vrijliggende fietspaden ?" [What is safer - priority for cycle-tracks along roundabouts, or not ?]. SWOV.nl (in Dutch). SWOV, Dutch Institute for Road Safety Research. 2017. Retrieved 2017-01-28.
  20. ^ "Sterke woonerfwijken: Voorkomen is beter dan herstructureren" [Strong woonerf areas: prevention beats restructuring] (in Dutch). Nicis-Platform31. 28 September 2011. Archived from the original on 1 April 2012. Retrieved 19 July 2014.
  21. ^ Wassenberg, Frank; Lupi, Tineke (September 2011). Sterke woonerfwijken: Voorkomen is beter dan herstructureren [Strong woonerf areas: prevention beats restructuring] (in Dutch). The Hague, Netherlands: Nicis Institute. Retrieved 19 July 2014.
  22. ^ "Traffic congestion ranking | TomTom Traffic Index". www.tomtom.com. Retrieved 2022-09-22.
  23. ^ Landgeist (2022-01-20). "Europe's Most Congested Cities". Landgeist. Retrieved 2022-09-22.
  24. ^ a b c A13 busiest national motorway in the Netherlands (PDF) (Report). Statistics Netherlands. 2014. p. 2. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2017-01-23. Retrieved 2017-01-23. The A13 in the province of Zuid-Holland is the busiest motorway in the Netherlands.
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