Compounding that dilemma is the fact that, in many communities, the fear of crime is causing people to choose transportation features that encourage isolation instead of exercise and interaction. Two years ago, for example, some residents of Deerwood Villas II, a gated community off Southside Boulevard, protested plans by the Florida Department of Transportation to build a sidewalk along the east side of the boulevard. Months before that, some Ortega residents unsuccessfully sued to stop the DOT from building a sidewalk along the east side of Roosevelt Boulevard. Sidewalks would make it easier for criminals to invade their neighborhoods. But in Amsterdam, Melgers said, bicycles and footpaths aren't alternative transportation modes.
People rely on their bikes and their feet to get around.
We have traffic lights for bicycles. We have traffic lights for pedestrians everywhere. We don't just use bicycles for touring. I see where you have bicycle paths, but you only get to ride for 10 minutes before the path stops. That's not to say that everything in Amsterdam is hunky-dory, though.