How come we seem to have a problem with solutions if they are simple? We all need to exercise more, if we don’t want to become attached to our office chairs and couches and keep health care costs affordable. Our bodies are made to move, but sometimes it seems that the movement from the right foot to the accelerator pedal is the only thing our society is designed for.
I was grumbling to myself after a call from a journalist from The Stentor, the regional newspaper in Zwolle, where I live. He wanted to know what I thought about the accessibility of our hospital, the Isala clinics, by bicycle. I laughed. You mean inaccessibility! It is almost impossible to go to the hospital by bicycle. There is no signage anywhere, not to the hospital and not to the hospital – except for that one tiny sign for the bicycle shed at the main entrance. Where there is no bicycle crossing. And which is far too small – and already crammed with staff bicycles. There are still a few parking facilities, but they are completely impossible to find for the unsuspecting cyclist. Autoroutes, on the other hand, are already indicated from the highway. Signs, arrows, parking lots everywhere.
I did a completely unrepresentative survey on twitter and my fears came true: in most cities, signage for bicycles and parking facilities at hospitals leaves something to be desired to a greater or lesser extent. In my view, hospitals are not just places where people should be made better, but also kept healthy – and people really don’t just go to the hospital when they are critically ill, but also for minor checkups, or to visit. This is often fine on a bicycle. Why then does the simplest method of getting people exercise not make way for every hospital?
Who even came up with the idea that cars deserve so much space?
Because if they know somewhere that we are still not at the level of before corona in terms of sports and exercise, it should be in the hospitals. I checked the Sports Participation Index, and although things are going better than last year, we are still far from the two-thirds of the population that sports four times a month or more – the level of 2019. Then it would be all hands on deck to change that as quickly and easily as possible?
We like to present ourselves as cycling country so much that we are hardly aware that you see countless more signs, arrows and signposts for cars. As a cyclist you have to be lucky. Speaking of which, who came up with the idea that cars deserve so much space anyway? You only see it when you realize it, Johan Cruijff once said, and it really is. Why do we teach children to watch out for cars, when it is actually too crazy for words that a potential murder weapon on wheels is allowed to interfere with their game? Who deserves priority now?
So I was eating myself up, and that is not quite right, because Zwolle is doing very well as a bicycle city. Then such a bad situation as the one at the hospital is extra noticeable. So go ahead, place signs, paint arrows, give way and convert some parking spaces into bicycle sheds. Remove all barriers to opting for the bicycle. And that applies to all hospitals. Because good healthcare starts with you.
Marijn de Vries is a former professional cyclist and journalist.