During our recent trip to the Netherlands, we met up with Jason Slaughter whose popular YouTube channel, Not Just Bikes, focuses on urban planning and how cities can be made better places to live. If you’re not already subscribed to Not Just Bikes, we highly recommend it! Jason took us on a bike tour of Amsterdam, and we’re excited to share the ride and all our insights from the experience with you. As always, thank you for watching and let us know what you think in the comments!
Timecodes:
0:00 Jason from Not Just Bikes
1:00 Removal of surface parking
1:45 Trials for transportation city planning
2:50 Biking around Amsterdam at night
3:30 Netherlands was not always bike friendly
5:00 Amsterdam bike infrastructure in the 1970s
5:50 Amsterdam traffic lights for bicycles
8:30 Building bicycle infrastructure
9:00 Following design guidelines for bicycle infrastructure
10:50 Feeling safe while bicycling
12:30 Wide streets being dangerous for biking
14:00 Bad bike infrastructure in Amsterdam
15:10 Separating cars and bicycles
16:10 Islands for crossing intersections
17:00 About Jason Slaughter from Not Just Bikes
18:10 Building societies for cars
19:45 Economics of roadway development
21:50 Cycling culture leads to better quality of life
24:30 Amsterdam before bicycle infrastructure
25:00 Driving in The Netherlands is great
26:05 Strawinskylaan parking garage
27:50 Why people ride bicycles in North America
29:00 Amsterdam Financial district infrastructure
30:50 Tunnels for bicycling
31:50 Not Just Bikes Youtube Channel
#Notjustbikes #Amsterdaminfrastructure #ebikes
Musicbed ID: MB01MQKRRQKXEFZ
49 Comments
The editing came together really well for this one. It's amazing how well you can film from a bakfiets!
Thanks for coming out in the evening. It was a good ride and it's nice to show people the parts of Amsterdam that the tourists never see.
6:00 My bike is full metal (Aluminum & steel, mostly), so most normal traffic detectors will also pick up my bike.
At around 9:00 Jason describes how in Netherlands they bring a road up to the current standards when the road is resurfaced. I can't speak for everywhere else in the U.S., but in Colorado there are several reasons why it doesn't work that way.
First, a resurfacing ("asphalt overlay") is considered maintenance, while a change in the road's design, the basic infrastructure, is an engineering project. Roads aren't fundamentally changed during maintenance. Even where such standards exist, often called "complete street" standards, there isn't a requirement to bring the road up to those standards during a maintenance project.
When a road is redesigned, though, depending on if it's a city, county, or state road, there is often a requirement to apply a complete streets standard. The Colorado Department of Transportation, which designs and maintains all of the state highways and interstates, has a complete streets policy, but they left themselves a loophole: If applying the complete streets standard increases the cost of a engineering project by a certain amount (I believe it's 20%), then the complete streets standards are optional. I live in a more rural part of Colorado where CDOT seems to choose to ignore their own complete streets standards whenever possible.
The more urban parts of Colorado, I'm told, often take a different approach, but where I am the state traffic engineers are too often allowed to not give a crap.
This was such a great listen, just a conversation between two guys riding their bikes and talking about that. One thing I've always wanted to know, what the air quality and even clarity of the sky is like in a city that has a majority of non-combustible-engine traffic. I'm guessing the skies are bluer than pretty much any North American city, except not at night of course.
Few times when , Jason s in a video 🙂👍
18:00 PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE emphasize this point that you made, Jason, but you made it almost as only an after thought:
People all over the world need to stop using the word or idea of CULTURE or NATIONALISM as an excuse for THEIR BAD UNJUST CONSCIOUS DECISIONS & LAWS.
Conservatism is the evil. We need to get rid of conservatism and conservatives.
I have binge watched your videos. Great content. New Sub here😊
Why did I assume they were taking acid for this video
I call bullshit on cars not paying their way. Car mobility in the Netherlands is a significant portion of the average households budget. I can't see how a non car driving familie pays for roads used by car drivers, how do they pay that, what taxes do they pay and how is it allocated to roadworks? Cars in the Netherlands pay 22 billion Euros in tax through BPM and fuel tax. I just want to see a calculation proving that expenditure of roads etc, is higher than the tax collected. Being Dutch myself and knowing the Dutch tax system, this is extremely unlikely, I would like to see proof.
When you take the power of the sun and strap it to your handlebars
There are crosses on the sides of roads all over North America because of fatalities from auto accidents. Some politicians see them as a rebuke and want them taken down. Why they don't consider investigating the cause and coming up with a solution to prevent a reoccurrence is beyond me. I guess the Dutch figured it out: slow the cars down and there will be fewer fatal accidents. Maybe Americans and Canadians figured it out too, but reject the solution?
According to this video, once traffic is slowed, pedestrians will come out and walk. And once it's safe for women and children to walk, then they will want to bike to get there quicker or go further.
If city planners are going to build spaces with the idea that only cars will use them, those city planners should be required to finance cars for every person in the city who would struggle to finance it themselves- all costs; purchase, insuring, road-worthiness tests, repairs, all taxes and fuel. If they want everyone in a car and build accordingly, they must buy and finance cars for everyone, they'd soon change tactics if they had to pay for their mess themselves!
19:50 The interaction in the background is so sweet 😀
Resonate strongly with being miserable whilst driving. I quite enjoy driving a car on a twisty country back road, but I avoid driving as much as possible when in the city or the suburbs. A bike is a much nicer, 'more free' experience overall.
Great vid, great seeing Jason!
This was a tight show!
👍🏻
I love u guys. Nice to see the collab everyone was waiting for
While I've been into riding bikes from a very young age thanks to my parents for providing me with the bike and lessons, I didn't start riding for real leisure and exercise until I reached the age of 19. I grew up in Daytona Beach and spotted a group of riders enjoying a nice night ride with proper lights and following the rules of the road. This intrigued me and I was hooked ever since. I've primarily owned MTBs until the last few years when I developed knee issues. Which my wife asked if there was any way to retrofit our bikes with assistance. Thankfully Trek started their electric assist line and we sold our old bikes to purchase 2 FS Powerfly bikes. We have really enjoyed them.
Our riding culture seems to be drifting further from those not interested as years go on. IMHO, if we truly want to more folks interested in cycling we need to foster the cycling fever at a young age. Additionally we should learn to coexist on the roads. Actual City planning engineers need to be fully invested in designing future developments to include multiple methods of transportation and leave room for growth as well.
You mentioned that some roads are designed way too wide. Have you driven on any roads in countries where the drivers don't follow the rules of the road much less the lines? Currently working in Saudi and most cyclists can only enjoy main roads in the early mornings on the weekends. Otherwise the driver mix of multiple cultures here would be too dangerous to navigate by bicycle. Altho the government does have plans for the future to make road improvements to include special bike lanes protected from the busy traffic. They have several nice areas now for sports and recreation, but mostly around the perimeter of big cities.
You are trying to overproduce your videos man. No need at all for the slow music and black and white sections. Your viewers get it.. they don't need hand holding
I love this video and both channels
love the fact that they dont feel the need to blast everything with bright white leds…
So cool to see Netherlands also have bad infrastructures
Just one question for pedestrian only buildings, how do delivery trucks get in there for big deliveries?
> Me making ~$100 000 per annum
> Takes the bus to work everyday because it's just easier that way
Of course, it should be mentioned that the bus is full. Of normal everyday people. That helps.
How could that system be applied here in the Philippines where we have two seasons. Hot and HOTTER?
Why is Jason, driving on the outside also, not having his front light on? This, with the wearing of dark clothing, is not very safe (but a very 'Amsterdam' thing to do especially in the past). Speaking of headlights: bikers having this led-lights should be aware that they should only be eluminating the road in front of you. Not the other traffic coming towards you. They're really blinding!
In my neighbourhood, in Markham Ontario, they have bicycle lanes, just painted lines on the side of the road but cars are allowed to park at the side of the road, which they always are, rendering the "bike" lane to be absolutely useless. So, at least here, the "bike" lane is really expensive infrastructure in that it is a waste of paint and time since the lane cannot even be used anyway.
English speaking people don't really understand difference between isolation and individualism.
My friends from US and UK are very smart individuals, but at the same time they always try to isolate onself from the world.
Nothing outside oneself and one's family seems slightly important to them.
Your government can't use tax dollars to build public transit, if you don't want to do anything extra to other people.
Generousity and cooperation is necessary for society to sustain.
Strikes me as a couple of jerks that are stuck on them self. And they really believe they know it all,
Сool video
London has Some nice bike paths now
I love love the rolling Interviews
Great video. I've long wanted to figure out how to get Jason's videos in front of my Mayor. I wonder how one impacts the Youtube algorithm so that this video, and Jason's, and Strong Towns videos start popping up in front of American Mayors and municipal Planning Directors automatically.
At 15:10, it's just like Milton Keynes in England. It's a new city built completely differently to anywhere else in the UK with a grid system. Cars have an entirely seperate infrastructure to cyclists and pedestrians. Have a search of "redways Milton Keynes", a 320 km network exclusively to cycle and walk on completely seperate to vehicles. Its super fast and safe. Cycling infrastructure in the UK is either non existent or genuinely dreadful. Moving to Milton Keynes earlier this year, cycling on the redways is an absolute dream.
Its so weird not just bikes has been a faceles voice for me for so long seeing his voice live its weird
Saw this in my recommended, noticed "with Not Just Bikes" so that was an instaclick. Jason is amazing in what he does and he is not even a bycicle person (by his own admission). He is totally correct when he says he kinda opened the eyes of many Dutch about how different our infratructure is to so many other countries in the world and especially NA. From a young age I always dreamed about going to the States and how I would explore where I was obviously using a bycicle. Because for us Dutch born during and after the {late) 1960's (1968 myself) that would be the normal thing to do. Of course you take the bike to explore New York or Los Angeles right? His chaneel made me really aware on how that would be virtually impossible.
One thing I wondered for a while. As a big fan of both cycling and public transport (the two go hand in hand overhere), I always wondered why the American cycling advocates on Youtube don't work together with the American Public Transport advocates/enthousiasts. If you guys would work together, not just on Youtube but irl as well… surely you empower both groups? A channel like Miles in Transit for example has really highlighted how broken THAT system is in the USA. If you band together… stronger voices make things happen.
31:25 we prefer tunnels if it is really needed but we do also build special cycle/pedestrian bridges and tbh, those are the most beautiful modern bridges you can find anywhere. Just image search for "Dutch Bycicle Bridges" for some great examples.
Didn't encounter your channel before, will check out some more vids and possibly/probably sub.
23:10 the whole of the US
No fuckin way NJB's last name is SLAUGHTER thats such a metal last name LOL
American small towns can go green riding very quickly.
People get an e-bike and you’ll begin experiencing real joy the first time you ride and it doesn’t stop.
I 🧡 your video's and those from Just Bikes. As a resident of Rotterdam, the Netherlands, indeed I never realised it was that special until the two of you pointed that out.
Coincidentally I was at the Zuidas this afternoon, since I work at the third bank of the Netherlands which HQ is in front of the train station you passed.
I have a car, I have a bike, but also I have a card for public transport (provided by my employer).
Having to visit our HQ I always go by train, since that is much quicker. Also I get stuck in traffic during rush hours. It would double my journey time.
In Rotterdam I tend to do most on bike, depending on what I want to do. Only if it's at the other side of Rotterdam, if I have to bring heavy stuff, then I go by car.
Also within Rotterdam I can use my public transportation card. So many options to opt: trams, metro, trains and buses. We have an app that calculates the quickest options.
Thanks again for your videos 👌🏼
Totally true, driving in the Netherlands is a great experience. I drove in Japan, France, Belgium and the Netherlands, the best infrastructure, less congested, less waiting at traffic lights and safe driving, all was in the Netherlands.
Yes, good bicycle infrastructure make car driving too safer. Try Tokyo stroads and it’s easy to understand.
The other day I heard Russel Brand and Tucker Carlson talking about architecture that shows a hatred for people vs architecture that shows a love for people. Some of these designs I feel show the latter.
Interesting video. It makes me appreciate my biking everyday. Quite safe. Dry most of the time😊 Imo Amsterdam is going in the right direction on this subject.
christ he looks exactly like someone who is a urbanist.
I love the editing at 21:27 lmao good to be able to make fun of yourself sometimes, even if you are speaking facts
This is pretty compelling. There are definitely a lot of hurdles to making transit a real alternative in developing (or regressive) countries such as the United States. I love my car, but I also own several bikes and would like to ride them a lot more often than I find it practical to. If I could roll them onto transit, that would be a big help, and I'll readily admit, I drive quickly when I perceive it feels safe to do so, but changing roads to de-priotitize the perception of safety for drivers would be excellent.