The Dutch capital Amsterdam is widely known for being bike-friendly. But it wasn’t always a model cycling city. Public outrage at rising traffic casualties in the Seventies caused city planners to rethink their approach to urban design.
Video by Gloria Kurnik
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41 Comments
It's a whit
How amsterdam became the worst city in the netherlands
3:22 i’m finnish and it says ”Finald” IT’S FINLAND NOT ”FINALD” IDIOT
3:21 As a Dane I’m not altogether surprised that the Netherlands far exceeds Denmark in bike travel, but it’s still kinda sad.
PS: Maybe proofread the graph annotations. 😉
Meanwhile according to the Dutch is Amsterdam one of the worst cities to cycle compared to the rest of the Netherlands.
Americans: OMG Amsterdam is a cycle heaven!
Dutch: I hate cycling in Amsterdam!
2:10 why the children's bicycles by the way? Most of us don't (obviously) ride on those…
That's way too many bikes. You need some bike control laws.
There's much more to the Netherlands than just Amsterdam and I'd even say this: Amsterdam is not always an accurate reflection of the Netherlands. This is true when it comes to cycling, too: there are so many Dutch cities with better bike infrastructure than A'dam. Please, get outside that f* capital city and find out about the real NL.
Seriously, everyone in the city should just use bikes for travel within the city.. It will solve a LOT of problems.
The paradox of people praising the Dutch for making it awful to drive, while bashing the Americans for making it awful (not really) to bike. Double standards at their finest. It's interesting to see how, when offered a real choice, everyone wants to be like the US while few even know where the Netherlands is on a map. No offense, just an observation.
You make it seem like driving is terrible in netherlands, yet every year it's rated the best country for drivers in the world.
I want a city where we commute in mopeds
Plus they have a great tram, metro and suburban rail system. There's no need for a car.
Meanwhile in Dublin there's no metro and if u have the balls to cycle in the city centre u are risking ur life.
😊😊😊
props to amsterdam 😎
Less air pollution as well
No hills helps.
It's a dystopia not a paradise. Guy was getting treated by an ambulance presumably bicycled when I was there in June 2022. Nothing wrong with cars, motor bikes, buses and trains. Bikes are for children.
Wonder why they don't wear compulsory helmets, as in Australia and other countries? All the science in bike accident survival is behind them. Perhaps as there's so many bikes on the city roads, fewer vehicles and steep hills that they don't go very fast at all, so their injuries aren't as serious. Surely many would ride faster on country roads, though, and they see lots of bike accidents causing disabilities and deaths.
809th comment
It certainly wasn't a paradise to walk around with the wired everything sharing the same space idea …pretty dangerous
In Dhaka, 2-3 cars per upper middle class to upper class families just because they feel like it. Great. Really.
I was just searching videos on the matter after having seen some people arguing that Paris was going the wrong way by trying to make cars less attractive to move in the city…. but it's crazy how these people got it all wrong by saying that Netherlands never did anything "against cars"…. Amsterdam is how it is today because people have fought decades ago to make it safer and make car less appealing/slow cars speed/avoid transit on smaller streets…. the whole story is more about how car traffic have been successfully managed and overall reduced than anything else really….
Love the idea. Montreal (Canada) had really develop the cycling road around the city which is done by reducing the road for the car. The problem is there are much more people using car than bikes to transit due the long distance and especially the weather. Winter with -20C and 1.5 meter of snow is unpracticable and cars are the only option. Bikes lanes are really dividing our society: praise by the downtown urban citizens and hated by the midtown or suburbs.
looks like a dream place to live
🐋
How lucky u guys are , here in usa 🇺🇸 is so dangerous to ride a bicycle on the cities let alone crazy drivers
More cities need to take Amsterdam’s lead!! The benefits in doing so would be tremendous!
Not practical. Sweaty – arriving at work, no place to shower. GOING TO THE OPERA IN A GOWN AND WITH A FANCY HAIRDO CRUSHED BY A HELMUT. Trams and trains BEST SOLUTION.
My best decision I made in 2022 – getting rid of my car and getting a bike. 💅🏻💛
I would have liked to see the alternate version of amsterdam
Easy to use and clean. Very convenient.
Its the ENTIRE country, not only Amsterdam. Disappointing that you didnt point that out because it doesnt give the total picture.
Imagine being called the Anarchists for defending your city when the real anarchists want to destroy your community and heritage for whatever they consider "modern and futuristic".
Imagine being called the Anarchists for defending your city when the real anarchists want to destroy your community and heritage for whatever they consider "modern and futuristic".
Omg, china just successful eradicated cyclist away. They bring modern traffic jam, pollution etc., very modernized.
Thank you for the video.Makes the design more attractive for bikers and less attractive for cars
Has always been like this. No different from 50 years ago.
London currently is in a transition towards being more bicycle friendly. They did a survey to find out what's keeping people off bikes most and the number one issue is safety.
Safety is not solved with helmets or "correct" cycling behavior. It is solved by creating safe infrastructure. The Netherlands by and large have this safe infrastructure everywhere, which is why we don't even need to wear helmets. We are protected by the roads themselves.
I came up with some selling points for bicycle infrastructure that might resonate in the US:
– having the freedom to choose your form of transportation and use it safely
– making neighbourhoods more liveable
– saving time when kids can go to school and leisure activities by themselves
– saving space in congested cities
– better air quality
– emptier car lanes
– aid in the fight against obesity