The Story Behind Red Asphalt: Why the Dutch Have Red Cycling Infrastructure

When visiting or seeing pictures of Dutch cycling lanes and cycling streets, the red colour of the asphalt catches the eye. Colour is a key feature used by street designers to influence user behaviour. Among other things, it helps the cycling infrastructure stand out as distinct from parts of the road which are primarily used by motor vehicles. Despite the prevalence of the colour red in Dutch cycling infrastructure, it is not a standard written in law. This hasn’t stopped the spread of Dutch-inspired red cycle lanes in the Netherlands and around the world.

Why is the Cycling Infrastructure in the Netherlands Red?  

First, it is important to consider the questions planners ask when designing cycle-friendly infrastructure. The answers to these questions are largely answered in one book: The CROW Design Manual for Bicycle Traffic. This guide was first published in 1993, revised in 2006 and then released in English in 2016. It includes guiding principles for policy and design sheets. These are often used as best practice, but the actual aim of the manual is to provide guidance as it is “meant for inspiration for a creative design process not as designs that are set in stone”. The guiding principles of designing cycle-friendly infrastructure, as set out by CROW, are cohesion, directness, attractiveness, safety, and comfort for the user.  

Why is Colour So Important? 

Colour is used as a design tool, enabling engineers to make something clear to road users. For example, it can: indicate a cycle lane on a road, emphasise a cycle lane’s right of way at a junction or indicate a cycling street. By making road users more aware of cycling infrastructure, the flow and presence of cyclists becomes more predictable. The resulting increase in visibility and awareness makes the infrastructure feel safer for cyclists.

Where Did Red Come From? 

In 1977, the Netherlands looked to begin a trial for dedicated cycling routes and Tilburg was selected as a demonstration city. The city wanted to use a single colour for two different reasons: to get publicity for the route, and to connect all the cycle paths in the city together as a network. In looking to have a unifying colour, Tilburg provided the first example of incorporating cohesion as a guiding principle within cycling infrastructure. 

In the 1970s, paths were mostly constructed with tiles, which in the Netherlands were commonly black, yellow or red. Tilburg incidentally selected red as their unifying colour and the first red cycle path (“het rode fietspad”) was born.  

The reason behind the choice of red is not fully known, although it is said that at the time red tiles may have been the most readily available and the cheapest colour. Considering the building materials used in the Netherlands, this doesn’t seem unsurprising. The Netherlands, located on a delta with rivers including the Ijssel, the Rhine and the Waal, has many clay deposits and if iron was present then this led to red bricks commonly being used in the construction of Dutch buildings. Whilst brickmaking was introduced in the Netherlands by the Romans, the English word ‘brick’ may have dutch origins, and ‘Dutch Brick’ a red tinted brick is synonymous with Dutch architecture. 

Whilst historical, tiles are still used today where speeds need to be low for safety, such as city centres. The vibrations cause discomfort and all road users naturally slow down. Tiles are also modular which allow maintenance to be done more easily if underground pipes and cables need to be accessed. After work is complete, they can often be replaced, meaning that maintenance costs and waste can be reduced.  

However, after 1990, asphalt became a readily available and more desirable option for most cycle paths; due to its higher load-bearing capacity, ride comfort (where accepted safety is achievable) and reduced risk of damage from vegetation. Asphalt can be coloured by adding pigments. Iron oxides are used to create the red colour in powdered pigments, and since 1999, Ventraco has produced coloured pellets from these pigments. By combining the pellets with red aggregates sourced from Europe, they manufacture their ColorFalt red asphalt, as well as other coloured options. 

Colouring asphalt increases its cost by approximately 40% compared to traditional black asphalt. However, if only the top layer—2 centimetres (¾ inch)—is coloured, the additional upfront investment is relatively limited, ranging from about 10% to 20%. 

Ventraco’s founder, Jeroen Venema, explains: “A precise balance between pigment, type of bitumen, filler, and aggregate is key for achieving the best and longest-lasting result”. 

Despite the extra cost, given the surface’s lifespan of 20- to 25-years, coloured asphalt is seen as a more cost-effective approach compared to paint. A thermoplastic painted coating is only ever seen as a short term solution, due to its low durability not being suitable to the Netherlands climate and due to the high load on the road surface created by vehicles. This means that the colour fades within a few years, which unfortunately is beginning to happen to the world’s longest rainbow cycle path at Utrecht University. Paint changes the surface of the road surface and when considering the road surface to be used in the infrastructure, the CROW manual advises that the following criteria need to be considered, mainly for safety: Evenness, skid resistance and texture, drainage and rolling resistance. 

Is Red the Best Colour for Cycling Infrastructure? 

According to CROW, cohesion is important to maintain the recognisability and predictability of cycling networks. Indeed, this study indicates that people are more positive about a cycle infrastructure if they are familiar with the colour. With ‘Het Rode Fietspad’ in Tilburg being a success, perhaps other cities wanted to replicate the successful trial.  

Another factor is that red tiles have historically been more easily available, and cheaper, which has seen them being used throughout the Netherlands. This is the same with red Dutch bricks, which have been used to construct houses throughout the country. With this linking theme of red houses and red cycling infrastructure in the Netherlands, it could be argued that attractiveness is also enhanced, through a total design approach in both cycle infrastructure and wider urban planning. This is quite an important factor in the Netherlands, as a country with limited space, urban planning is highly considered. The country even has a ‘Welstandscommissie’, who “are responsible for making sure all new constructions or modifications follow a rigorous guideline”. Attractiveness and beauty are obviously in the eye of the beholder, but if the beholder is holding rigorous guidelines, then there is no arguing. 

Despite a Welstandscommissie and guidelines, there is no law regulating the colour of cycling infrastructure in the Netherlands. Whilst CROW manual states that the effects are “supposed to have a beneficial effect on comfort and road safety. Nevertheless, none of this has been unequivocally corroborated by research” (p.180). This is why there is no law in the Netherlands making a particular colour for the cycling infrastructure standard and why you also have yellow being used to maintain historical similarities, such as in Rotterdam and nature areas. The yellow used is strikingly like another famous Dutch brick, IJsselstein’s, which are a slightly lighter yellow, compared to redder Dutch Bricks. On top of yellow, an even greater array of colours being used here. 

“Coloured asphalt should not be directly compared to traditional black asphalt. When applied, it serves several purposes: it can be practical (offering high comfort for road users and quick reopening to traffic), aesthetic, but most importantly, it enhances traffic safety. Coloured asphalt increases awareness, guides traffic and creates a clear and understandable traffic situation. It makes more sense to compare coloured asphalt with a coating or, for example, coloured paving stones. After all, you can’t put a price on traffic safety, can you?” – Ventraco 

In conclusion, red cycle paths in the Netherlands are a result of using the materials around them, a desire for a cohesive road network in an attractive urban environment, and most importantly a willingness to invest in improved safety. What initially seems like such a simple question, actually reveals a fascinating case study to explore the many different design considerations needed to make cycle-friendly infrastructure.