Knowledge How Delaware is learning from Dutch cycling infrastructure 21 September 2026 Cycling News General On the 31st of August 2026, a delegation from the Delaware Department of Transportation (DelDOT) arrived in the Netherlands to explore Dutch cycling practices and bring back practical ideas for road planning and design in Delaware. The 7 people group, a mix of engineers and local mobility advocates from the xx organization, explored a different approach to road design, speed management, accessibility, and the interaction between different road users. Learning by Experience A key element of Dutch Cycling Embassy study visits is combining experiential learning, getting on a bicycle and experiencing the infrastructure firsthand, with lessons from Dutch experts. This gives participants the opportunity to see how Dutch roads work in practice and ask questions directly to the people who design and plan them. The week focused on practical topics including rural roads, multimodal roundabouts, grey roads, and underpasses. One of the strongest impressions for the DelDOT delegation was how safe, intuitive, and comfortable cycling feels in the Netherlands, even in busy areas. They experienced how this comfort is the result of a transport system designed around people: their safety, appropriate speeds, and the interaction between different road users. Rather than adding cycling facilities to a road network primarily designed for cars, Dutch planners start by considering how a street should function for everyone: pedestrians, cyclists, drivers, and public transport users. The result is infrastructure that feels intuitive and gives people room to recover from small mistakes. A fietsstraat, for example, can communicate through its design that bicycles have priority and cars should drive slowly, without relying solely on signs. Managing Speed Through Design One of the delegation’s key lessons was that speed management in the Netherlands often starts with the physical design of the road itself, rather than relying on speed limits and enforcement. Two concepts stood out: natural steering, where road geometry subtly influences how drivers position and steer their vehicles, and narrow road design, which increases the sense of proximity between road users and encourages more attentive driving. These ideas challenge the assumption that wider, more forgiving roads are always safer. In practice, greater width can also encourage higher speeds and less attentive driving. For Delaware, this raised a practical question: where could existing roads be redesigned to encourage lower speeds and safer behaviour? Intersections Designed for Everyone Dutch traffic signals provided another example of system-wide thinking. The delegation observed intuitive signal placement for cyclists, green waves that can be coordinated across modes, dynamic detection of different road users, and permissive phases helping intersections operate efficiently. This prompted reflection on U.S. engineering practices, where data and models have historically focused on motorised traffic. A key takeaway was the potential value of a more holistic approach that considers network design, safety, comfort, modal priority, and efficiency together. Letting Road Function Drive Design The delegation also explored how Dutch design decisions follow from a road’s classification and intended function. Different types of urban and regional roads have defined roles and modal priorities, which then influence everything from lane width to intersection design. For DelDOT, this offered an alternative to approaching roads as a series of individual projects. Instead of asking, “What improvement does this intersection need?”, the process could start with a broader question: What function should this road serve, and what design follows from that? The Practical Details The group also looked at practical design questions, particularly around underpasses: managing stormwater, using natural light to make spaces feel safe and inviting, and preventing unintended or unsafe uses. In Rotterdam, Maurits Lopes Cardozo, an experienced engineer, took the delegation beyond theory, showing them examples of both successful and less successful underpasses across the city. Connecting Policy and Engineering Perhaps the most important theme of the week was the connection between policy and engineering. The Dutch approach can be understood as a sequence: policy ambition leads to a design target, which leads to an engineering solution. For Delaware, this meant reflecting on which questions to consider before selecting a design solution: What transportation outcomes does the state want? What are the priorities for safety, mobility, accessibility, and sustainability? And which users should be prioritised in different contexts? Bringing It Home The visit resulted in a long list of potential follow-up actions, from exploring Dutch approaches to underpass design and semi-hard shoulders, to identifying Delaware roads where narrowing or parallel-road concepts could be piloted. For the Dutch Cycling Embassy, it was an enriching experience to host DelDOT and support this exchange of knowledge and ideas between Delaware and the Netherlands.