In "bike advocacy" circles it's common to hear people claim that bike lanes have to be separated from vehicular traffic all the time.
This is pointing out that view is wrong.
This is pointing out that view is wrong.
Neighborhood greenways are a somewhat similar idea, although it looks like the level of calming is a lot higher in the Netherlands relative to its implementation in parts of the US like Portland.
When bike lanes are not separated they are only not separated because of a cost or space issue in Amsterdam. Not by design. I spend most of my days in Amsterdam, others in The Hague, and when I cycle I prefer to cycle on a bike lane. Drivers still tend to push you aside when there are no specific lanes.
The article, and many foreigners find the dutch system amazingly impressive, but for me, dutch, I still see a lot of room for improvement. Cars inside the city still annoy, cycling lanes are still ignored by parking cars.
The reason why these treatments aren't front and center is because people are being hurt and killed on high-speed arterials, where the best choice is protected bike lanes. Different tools for different problems.
And, actually, I agree with this. I really don't think bicycles and cars can share the road. It's simply too easy to do things like "door" a bicycle unintentionally.