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Today the Netherlands is known for its incredible bike infrastructure. But this European country wasn’t always a utopia for cyclists.
For the last 6 months I’ve been obsessed with this question: How did the Netherlands go from having traffic-clogged cities to having some of the world’s best bike infrastructure.
In this video I want to share what I learned with you and why I think there might just be hope for my car-obsessed society here in America.
Thanks to @NotJustBikes for letting me use some footage of car-free streets. If you haven’t seen Jason’s videos, I highly recommending checking out his channel here: https://www.youtube.com/@NotJustBikes
Sources: https://www.distilled.earth/p/how-the-netherlands-built-a-biking
#biking #urbanism #sustainability
32 Comments
Does this not mean a nightmare for logistics and delivery
im dutch i dont drive a bike but a car driving bikes suck big time. its a idealisme a green dream thats is nuts invented by nazi idiots
Unfortunately not everybody is able to ride a bike.
I need the car to transport elderly family relatives and they cannot manage long distance foot walks.
So inner cities need to make it possible for these old or handicapped people to still have access to everything.
Only stupid people say "x" instead of "times"
there is zero hope for your car-obsessed cities in america
What a beatiful topic thanks for the video
up by 5x??? who talks like that?
The dutch are in general awesome people. I live in luxemburg which is quite close to the netherlands and i love spending time there. It's very hard to find an unfriendly dutch.
You should have mentioned that it's all possible because Amsterdam and other Dutch cities are in flat land.
Great video and shows that change is around the corner and for sure not impossible. We moved as a fam to Portugal, just under Lisbon and brought our bikes from the Netherlands. We are cycling 90% of our daily tasks, school, sport, office etc. The town were we live here is that Dutch city from the 1970's going into change. The are more and more bicycle lanes coming over here and when they change a street they always build a path into it. We are just two years here but it is moving into the right direction. Not all car drivers here understand how this works and stay behind the bicycle instead of passing us. Then we give them extra spaces to show we are aware of the car. Together we make that change. I believe also with the electric bikes there is a fantastic new movement for the longer distances and also the older people that will take the bicycle. So it is coming. Thanks for making this video and giving a platform to make that change.
Holland is a nightmare for car drivers but also for pedestrians, including children, elderly, handicapped and tourists.
Super agressive, egocentric cyclists everywhere.
Holland went from one extreme to another extreme.
It's about freedom. Feel the wind. And feel save………
: )
The Netherlands is flat. Much of the UK is not. A fact lost on many promoters of cycling in the UK.
One big difference you've missed between the US and The Netherlands is that the US seperates residential areas from commercial areas and making them barely accessible without a car. While The Netherlands has commercial zones within residential zones.
Look up:
Veilig Verkeer Nederland (Fotoalbum) reclame uit de jaren 90
It's a public safety advertisement against drunk driving.
But it is also very effective when seen in the light of 'Stop de kindermoord'
A fantastic and very emotional video.
0:22 My favorite place in Amsterdam. The Paradiso.
Dallas Texas, city was working towards more bikable, but a leftist leader killed the effort and focused on revenue from sports, as a result the city spends a ton of money to put bike lanes in areas where no one dare in the name of equality
This is an interesting film spoilt by the terrible sound editing. You don't need music for most of it, and when it is used it should be subtle, not drowning out the speaker.
Great video!
Great video, thank you!
Wow
—how Disingenuous-the Netherlands population is 17.1 Million-The US has 331.8 Million people and you are comparing . these two on equal footing ——Like you said you are not go at numbers. –Dude really .in america, mom and pop businesses die away because there are not enough foot traffic. When people ride bicycles, they tend to stop at shops along the ways like mom and pop stores. Driving is necessary in America because most shopping malls are located away from their homes. Those stores are big box businesses. Bring Bicycles back will allow small shops to thrive.
This is impossible in the USA. There they can't even get rid of the Gun lobby and save the lives that are tragically lost because of useless gun violence.
The reason the USA is the way it is today in the field of transportation is because of the car lobby that got rid of nearly all trams and stopped even the idea of highspeed rail.
The USA is nailed shut by lobbies who have been introducing laws for ages to protect their business against any new ideas that may affect their cash flow.
The USA will sadly remain a country of suburbs and cars and shopping malls for a long time to come, even in the era of Amazon and home delivery.
F*ck BIKES 🚲🚴♀️🚴🚴♂️🚵♀️🚵🚵🚵♂️‼️
If my life were on the line, I could NOT tell you why people feel the HAVE to have this incredibly retarded backround "music" that is SO out of place. It isn't even good music or relates to the story line. It's no different than having a mosquito buzzing around your ear. I wish people realized this "music" is SO unnecessary and wouldn't use it. We're here for bikes, not to be in a trance by some annoying noise. I just don't know what goes on in people's heads to where NOISE has to CONSTANTLY be pounding in their ears. I wanted to see this video, but not with a "barking dog" constantly in the backround. I'll never understand people's need for noise.
Thank you very much for sharing this beautiful and informative video with us.
🤓❤️
I haté cars
Car-free Sundays is definitely a good idea to implement. It will give people a taste of riding on the road with bikes that they normally wouldn't be able to experience, making biking infrastructure more palettable for non-bikers.
I think the issue of air pollution by the early 1970's was a major issue in Dutch cities, too. That's why they decided to aggressively improve rail service in that country to make it more convenient to use, which made it more viable to convert cities to use a lot more bicycles. Right now, you can travel around most of the Netherlands with plentiful convenient rail service by Nederlandse Spoorwagen and Arriva Netherlands, which means you can easily do the "last kilometer" trip to your workplace or home by bicycle.