Comments by "TheEvertw" (@TheEvertw) on "Not Just Bikes"
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Thanks for the compliments!
You may or may not be aware that in the Netherlands, there is a nice division of responsibility between the manufacturer of the traffic light, the independent consultant that programs them, and the public official that defines how the light should operator. We have standards that make the lights (somewhat) interchangeable, so municipalities are not locked into a single supplier.
Because of all this, the public officials are both very knowledgeable on what can be done with traffic lights, and have a lot of liberty to specify how each intersection should operate. In most municipalities, these officials have clear objectives they like to achieve.
Most municipalities try to discourage motorized transport for its cost to the neighborhood (parking, fumes, safety).
Some of the municipalities even invest in systems that optimize traffic flow real-time over multiple intersections, using one light's sensors to make predictions on what will happen at the next.
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One of the key differences between the USA and the Netherlands is that the Dutch government takes it responsibility seriously.
Government has one purpose, and one purpose only: to protect the weak from the strong.
This is the motto that underpins road design in the Netherlands: protect the weak (pedestrians, cyclists, disabled people) from the strong (the cars).
The USA has forgotten about this, which is why it is such a terrible mess in that country right now, on so many fronts. The USA is currently ruled by the strong, for the strong. Biden is tuning it down a little, but no where near as much as is necessary.
For those arguing that the government should also organize the things that benefit the many, which they can not organize individually: that is a corollary of the "protect the weak from the strong" principle: the strong can organize things for themselves, and always have. That is how we got Kings and emperors and other despots. The whole concept of the Rule of Law, which underpins any good government, is based on this principle. The strong don't need laws to protect their rights, they can do as they please. It are the weak who need the protection of the Law.
If people think "that is socialism", no, it is not. This is how governments have operated from the beginning of society. Whenever a despot got too much out of control, he would be brought to bear by The People or other rulers who were more effective. The simple rules "Do no murder, Do not steal, etc, etc" are as old as society, and they are designed to protect the weak from the strong. However, the USA is letting cars literally get away with murder, as well as stealing the well-being from people by their noise, fumes and overwhelming presence.
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