First 20km limit imposed on cycle path but will not be enforced

The first speed limit signs for a dedicated cycle path have been put up in a commuter town near Utrecht as part of a road safety experiment.

The 20 km/h limit has been introduced on the Fosse Iberica in Houten, a narrow street that is on the route to the town’s railway station and a school and becomes busy in rush-hour.

More than 1,000 bicycles and scooters use the route, which crosses a canal and is restricted to two-wheeled traffic. But the growing numbers of fatbikes and cargo bikes in recent years have made congestion and speeds in peak periods worse.

Speed limit signs and cameras were installed on Monday, but cyclists who break the law will not be fined because the scheme is still experimental. The cameras cannot be used for enforcement because cycles do not have license plates.

Cyclists’ union the Fietsersbond questioned the value of speed limits for bike users. “The problem is that it’s too busy and many cycle paths are too narrow for modern use,” spokesman Kees Bakker wrote on the organisation’s website.

“A maximum speed does nothing. If there’s a 20 km/h limit, you still need to be able to overtake a cyclist who is doing 15,” he said.

But infrastructure minister Vincent Karremans defended the scheme. “There’s a lot we can do to investigate the most important goal, which is to gain an insight into how to change people’s behaviour and the effect on road safety,” he said.