Some 30 years ago I was cycling to school from Huizen to Hilversum daily and one hot summer day I had shorts and a t-shirt on and then it started pouring down, but it wasn't cold, actually didn't mind at all getting wet. Then I saw a girl coming from a cycle path that merged on to mine and she was in this same situation, we were both happy and soaked. And boy did she look hot that way! So riding up the same direction we started talking and from the one came the other and she is now my wife. So yeah. social interaction and resilience, I'm 100% with you Chris!
It true that you’re not made of sugar, but you are indeed a lightning rod-and the Netherlands gets a whopping 0 lightning strikes a year. Here in the US, we get 20 million lightning strikes a year. Is there a solution to this problem?
@@shannontrainer5857 We've got plenty of strikes. When there is a thunderstorm, it is always advised not to stand in an open field or something. It really doesn't make a difference whether you're cycling or walking. So the solution: don't act like a lightning rod. Or you might want to pull on a metal netting, working like a cage of Faraday.
@@shannontrainer5857 Lol what? Are you cycling around wearing trees or lamp posts on your heads or something? Also, Comparing lighning strikes in a 17 million nation the size of New Jersey to the ENTIRE U.S. is downright silly. Sounds like you're desperately looking for arguments why this won't work in the U.S and therefore nothing has to be done.
I really like the discussion about helmets. I didn't know that the Netherlands have both the lowest number of helmet usage in the world alongside the lowest number of bike fatalities per km in the world.
That because everybody there ride as slow as molasses. The average cycling speed in the Netherlands is 10 miles per hour. The reason for this is the compact, dense nature of Dutch cities. The physical city sizes there doesn’t exceed 85 square miles. The result are extremely short cycling distances-no more than 3 miles a day on average.
Head injuries and bicycle helmet laws: “ the greatest effect of the helmet law was not to encourage cyclists to wear helmets, but to discourage cycling. In contrast, despite increases to at least 75% helmet wearing, the proportion of head injuries in cyclists admitted or treated at hospital declined by an average of only 13%. “
Safety in numbers: more walkers and bicyclists, safer walking and bicycling: “A motorist is less likely to collide with a person walking and bicycling if more people walk or bicycle. Policies that increase the numbers of people walking and bicycling appear to be an effective route to improving the safety of people walking and bicycling.“
My 14 year old son has been cycling to his high school, about 6,5 kms from our house, on his own for the last 2 years- as all Dutch kids do. I think that if you're that age, it is great that you are able to move around autonomously and discover your own city through cycling. Making your own decisions, going around freely, it all contributes to the happiness of individuals!
@MikeN Ike it's a lot better to get your bike stolen than to get your car stolen. And if the parents don't have to drive the child to school (or anywhere else, really) they save a lot of money on gas.
@MikeN Ike I've never heard of a person getting robbed of their bike in broad daylight or by a gangmember. But I'm not quite sure if you're comparing US and NL now, or suggesting it happens in NL.
So what I'm noticing is, the cyclists are actually able to go the speed that cyclists prefer, like 20 - 30 kph. The drivers aren't really restrained and having to do a lot of waiting. And you're able to talk at a normal level and be heard. Nice. Doing this video in Toronto, you'd have to be single file the whole way, either stuck behind some 10kph cyclist or having to do 40kph in front of drivers, and you'd have to be yelling because the street is so loud.
I'll tell ya, my electric bike is capped at 25 and it's anoying af. 30 is indeed preferred, unless headwinds, then we all huddle behind the biggest biker like we're riding tour de France
20 kmh in build up areas. When you are riding a bike at 30 kmh in a down town area, you act like an asshole in a car driving 90-100 kmh on a small street/road.
I am not kidding when I tell you the amount that I have learnt from these people is unbelievable. Because of their publicly available multimedia, I am now instantly able to see the difference in minimal things in planning and streetscape design such as texture changes, prioritisation - especially for people, and almost an entirely new perspective change about how to see quality of life. What’s nice, though, is not only is it able to help me figure out how the Dutch are building it better overseas, but also how I can help advocate for change in my town of Bedford in the United Kingdom. A big example of this is the communicative reminder from the bruntlett’s multimedia that *our street designs are not set in stone*. They change and adapt as often as we do. Leaving the street designs as if they’re finished products will produce more flaws than it intends to solve. This idea tends to get people thinking shorter term, and in worst case scenario, traps them in an image fixation. Great video as always, Propel team!! Hope you all have a wonderful Christmas!! 🎄
We live in Delft with our family of four, without a car, doing everything by (non-electric) bicycle and public transport (and a shared car service subscription for the maybe 5 times a year we need a car). Not owning a car saves us a lot of money and stress and we generally just enjoy cycling. Melissa and Chris are very knowledgeable about the urban development of Delft and I have learned some things that I did not know. Also, it was fun seeing you guys cycle all these streets that I cycle so regularly. Not sure why it is so pleasuble to watch something you already know on UA-cam. Thank you for this wonderful video!
Almost a third of the Netherlands is situated below sea level, the Dutch are problem solvers, if you look at the innovative ways they tackled flooding it's amazing, The first windmill was built in the year 1221 used for pumping water. they have taken a very practical approach to fixing their traffic congestion problems as well something we can all learn from. Looking forward to watching the video .
@@Leon1904ffhhsus That's even more amazing.Seeing what's happening with the Evangelicals--Insurrectionists -anti-democratic forces in the USA, maybe the Romans were right about the Christians as well :) What did the Romans ever do for us eh!
So, I was triggered by the mention of the door to door chain of bike-train-bike transport, and I can tell you that lot's of people own a second bike to cover the train - work stretch of the journey. The name for these bikes is 'stationsfiets' which translated means trainstationbike. This will often times be a very very cheap sort of second hand bike.
fun fact: the intersection at 16:40 was actually made more car-friendly by installing those lights, not less. It is a spot where a 30kph road exits onto a 50 kph road. In the Netherlands, this is often fitted with a special continuous curb that makes cars yield to every singly bicyclist, pedestrian and car on the 50kph road. During rush hour it was simply impossible to leave the neighbourhood that way because there is a nonstop stream of students going to and from uni. Eventually, they installed the lights to give the cars a chance to squeeze through.
I absolutely love their book "Curbing Traffic." It should be required reading for every transportation planner, elected official with even a smidge of decision making that impacts transportation and/or land use, and parents who don't even realize the sacrifices they're making due to car dominance in North America. Who else would you add to the list of people who need to read the book?
Love this! I wish they had it available in Audiobook since I’m dyslexic and it’s tough for me to read books. But helping more people to understand their knowledge of what is working currently in the Netherlands is good for humanity.
@@Propelbikes - Consider getting the e-book, and use your phone to read it to you. I've been doing that with library books that I can't get as an audiobook. You may have to tweak the DRM, but if you poke around a bit you can find how to do it. Of course people should buy these books to support the authors and their work.
Definitely some of the traffic people at my council, but I'm afraid some of the executive bosses live outside the city and drive in, and that may be their motivation for being so protective of the flow of motor traffic at a time of climate change, when the rest of Europe are explicitly prioritising active travel and public transport.
I've always lived semi close to Delft and i remember biking to Delft to go to the movies with friends. We had to drive past that ugly train track and I always felt like it was such a bleak part of the city. Nowadays whenever I bike into Delft it feels so nice, open and friendly. That change did cause a ton of financial troubles for the city, but livability definitely went up by a lot. Edit: really looking forward to reading their books, they sound great!
It's important to be aware that most of the Dutch cycling infrastructure is almost brand new, they started in the early 80's as Car's were taking over, but much of the infrastructure in the middle of cities is even newer, in Haarlem it went from a city often gridlocked with small streets and lots of car parking to a city where the main pedestrianised market square looks like its been there forever, not just 20 years, previously it was a roundabout with car parking hated by all. If the desire is there change can be accomplished. We are car free, with 2 ebikes and an e-cargo bike, brilliant and we love it.
I spent a month in Tokyo, Japan, when I was 15 years old, back in 1989. While occasionally I rode the subway around the city, I mostly took the bicycle that was at my great grandmother's house. I was able to ride from the village of Itibachi into Tokyo proper and all over the place from there. I had the time of my life mostly because everyone obeyed the traffic rules, and they were very considerate towards me on my bike. I never once felt unsafe and nervous. I wish American culture were like that.
I live in Germany pretty close to the dutch border and it always fascinates me how the okayish german bike infrastructure turns instantly into the nicest bike path when crossing the border. In my view this is a good example of how having several huge car companies and their lobbyists in the country (and in office *cough* Volker Wissing) affect my personal every day life. I am happy there has been a slow shift in awareness in recent years and maybe some day there will be a bike parking garage at my local train station too.
The city I live in (Sheffield in the UK) was also rebuilt after heavy bombing in WW2 and is super car centric. It is quite hilly but there is so much to learn and I hope that the lessons shared here filter through to the town planners who are grappling with the current car centric status quo which creates a hostile environment for everyone. Cycling here, even for experienced cyclists is horrible and as a result the vast majority of people don't dare to do it despite it being a city full of cyclists. It's scary and certainly you could never take children anywhere in town by bike. We have so far to go but I hope we are at least starting on the right path soon.
8:42 When I lived in Groningen and worked in Leeuwarden, I’d get to the train station by bike to catch a train. But actually, in Leeuwarden, the office was very close to the train station. Many financial institutions are located there. Banks, insurers, etc. So it’s not even always necessary to rent an “OV-fiets” for the final leg of the trip.
It's not only how we where educated nor only our culture. It took many accidents to come to changes. Last not least in the NL we have associations like VVV and Dutch Cyclist Accociation and ANWB that all help reforming our now cycle able nation.
another great side effect is that bike lanes are on overall an ideal skate/longboard surface. i can kick push my board between cities without getting wiped out by cars, go deep into the countryside and still glide through in between cows, on dykes or through a forest... never could do that in any other country i visited. so if you like cruising on a deck, you can go nuts over here. :)
Great video (other than some audio issues but that happens when you film outsider and while cycling). I'm currently listening to Melissa and Chris's book so this was great timing.
Yes, we did struggle a bit with the audio on this one and I think it was conflated with UA-cam encoding it a bit weird. Glad you enjoyed the vid! I’m dyslexic so I’m happy I got the audiobook and a private lesson from the dynamic duo themselves
Chris i must say you are the GURU of electric bikes in my opinion. You should get a show on discovery or one of them where you travel and have your bikes. i would think it would be cool. Just saying
That’s very kind of you to say, but I’m still learning. I would very much like to bring this to a bigger platform in the future though. That would be awesome!
A friend of mine lives in the city center of Delft, more or less just inside the “car free”/ autoluwe zone. One time I took a wrong turn and “had” to drive across most of the zone to leave it. It took a while because you can’t drive at any speed above walking pace, but I got out of the maze legally and relatively quickly. Just don’t get frustrated, road rage never helps 😂
Loved the video and I'm absolutely ordering both of their books. For what it's worth, the picture at 4:20 is not the former elevated railway viaduct, but the current tramline going from the central station to the south-east neighbourhoods of Delft. The yellow-ish appartment building in the center of the photograph and the buildings adjacent to it were recently built on the space where the tracks used to be.
@@mkhtel I found the first book on audible, so I can't really help you there, but I ordered the second book and I should have it finished by the end of this lockdown. So you can for sure borrow it by then.
What a fabulous informative video...I am a fanatic bicyclist who would love to commute with my bike on a daily basis...I live in Florida and can’t see why it is so hard to build this infrastructure....12 months of building and construction possibilities...
As a native, I hate Florida wasting their potential, like flatness and good weather, on car-centric sprawl. Hopefully the Brightline train will promote better urban design there
@@shannontrainer5857 I said urban design, not sustainability. It's more important for Florida to build the infrastructure, like intercity public transport, than worrying if it's eco-friendly yet
If almost everyone will accept change the way they travel, then it is not that hard for transition from car to bicycle to take place. The problem is that most of the population today do have this thinking that they can't live without cars so that is why most of the cities urban designs are crap, very car centric and dangerous. I had an errand yesterday and I cycle 4.8miles with my bicycle (not road bike or ebike)and it took me only less than 12minutes to get there back and forth. No traffic at all when you are using bicycle and very practical nowadays. I remember the 15minute neighborhood by Anne Hidalgo of paris. With better planning of the city roads, It is possible. But I am very impressed on the Dutch overall. Smart people.
Thanks! But Dutch city design isn't aimed to please bicycles, it is there to keep everything manageable. If everyone would use their car for every trip, we would end up with US cities. But we like our old inner cities, with tiny streets and alleys, cathedrals and old buildings. So we cannot do anything else than keep our cities for walking, cycling and parking at the edge for cars. It was a choice we made, just in time, to save our way of living, to save who we are. In fact we had little choice.
I am a Dutchman of almost 63 years old. I've never worn a helmet on a regular bike and never will. A few years ago I had a cross-hybrid bike and when I used it I definitely put on a helmet. Then my speed was also much higher. Now I ride an e-bike and I also keep my speed quite low. I often go about 17 or 18 km per hour. I think soon enough. If you are in a rush it just means you should have left home sooner :-) I cycle every day and enjoy being outside. Incidentally, I am a strong supporter of an obligation to wear a helmet for tourists who come to the Netherlands. Some tourists know nothing about cycling behavior in the Netherlands and they behave strangely. So we recognize people with a helmet as tourists and we look a little extra to see if there is a threat :-)
Absolutely superb video, with such an honest and down to Earth common sense delivery. But then what would you expect from the Dutch people! I haven't visited Delft for nearly 30years, but look forward to doing so again in a couple of weeks' time. Can't wait to see this wonderful town again, and all the improvements that have been made. Full marks to the Dutch people, we all have a lot to learn from you.
Exactly. If you are bubble wrapped and everything goes your way as a child you don't become resilient...nor self reliant cause you depend on those that fix things for you. So when bad things happen you fall apart or get sad...it effects your happiness. But if you are taught to be resilient and self reliant from an early age. When things don't go your way as an adult your response is more "well thats surprising. Ohh well sh!t happens. I've managed worse. I'll be fine". Its just a set back not the end of the world. You can face adversity and do it with a smile cause it doesn't effect your view of the world or your view of yourself. Its just a bump in the road...and we dutchies just cycle over those bumps. Take cycling in bad weather. Sure it can be unpleasant but it is what it is. It won't kill you. Or like the saying says, you are not made of sugar..you won't melt.
In the Netherlands it all of combinations. In our household of 2 we own 3 cars and 4 bikes. If I have to go far from the city center I take the car, in the city center the bike. To another city center, I take the train or bus. It happens that the cars or the bikes don’t move for a week.
I looooove this video. Am going to share it on my Facebook. My American relatives visited us September 2022. The younger generation (daughters and in-law of my cousin) were totally smitten of Delft. Residing in Rotterdam myself, Delft is a ten minutes drive. I watch the videos of foreigners living in the Netherlands because they show me that what I see as „normal" and take for granted, is not that normal for the rest of the world. „We are not made of sugar" 😂 yes, I know that expression. Age 12 I attended junior high, in the city center, while we lived in the outskirts of Rotterdam. I had to cycle half an hour, through any weather condition. In the summer, no problem. During autumn (rain) or winter (snow, freezing, black ice) I had to go to school. No mercy, and no one felt sorry for me, since thousands of young students experience(d) the same. Now I live on a busy street behind Rotterdam Central Station, with many schools near. So every morning and every afternoon I see many many groups of youngster commuting to/from school. Helmets.... Finally I hear a good explanation on why helmets do not work, and are not accepted by the mainstream in the Netherlands. Personal safety is way less important than infrastructure. Indeed, helmets give you a false sense of safety. It will withhold Dutch people from hopping on their bikes, for certain. If it would help reduce deaths and injuries, I advise car drivers to put helmets and neck protection, since there are way more car accidents than bike accidents, with severe head and necks injuries to the people in these accidents. In all the decades living in Rotterdam, I have seen bike accidents very rarely, while I saw a lot of car accidents. Since the 90's the Netherlands strive to sink train tracks and -stations. Delft is one of those projects, but I can name many by heart. In the 90's the train tracks from Rotterdam, to the south was sunk (because the rail passed a busy canal, which has priority over rail and road, so many delays). It was a five years project during which Rotterdam was cut open (literally) over 3 kilometers for five years. In five years in the 2010's Rotterdam got a new train station. The new train station including a bicycle parking at the front for 8,000 bicycles. At the back there was a parking created for 3,000 bikes. That was not enough. So the parking at the back was extended (doubled), and at the front extra space was created. Still not enough.... Can you imagine if these bikes were cars; that all these commuters came by car!🤔😳 Finally: I am amazed to see how you all know so much on the history of Dutch cities and the projects, the transitions through the past decades. My sincere compliment and gratitude for these videos. 👌🏼🙏🏼
08:30 I am proud of own bike-Public Transport-OV-fiets/bike system, but I prefer to bring my own bike with me. The reasons why are: gears (getting older), theft (rampand on Utrecht Terwijde station) and mirrors on my bike.
Hopefully, you make it to Utrecht while you're over there.. bike parking garages there are the gold standard. Connect with Mark Wagenbuur (Bicycle Dutch) while there. The insurance policy "incentive" of automatic fault and drivers-as-cyclists is a huge component necessary for bicycle infrastructure transformation (esp. in the U.S.). I appreciate the use of drop-bar frames by all genders, so much more practical.
Love you're video's i was really surprised to see that biking is becoming a thing in New York City as well wich is great btw and also great for you're personal health. Greetings from the Netherlands🇳🇱 Other than that a great video keep it up👍
one thing i noticed that in the netherlands and german drivers drive moore expecting mistake the difference of it's my right of way so im not stopping compared to yes it my right of way but i cee the car isn't stopping so i stop i call it predicted driving
Instead of renting a bike at the target station, for commutes it is not uncommon to own 2 bikes (one for each station). Another observation on car use, a trip by car within a dutch city most of the time not (really) faster then going by bike. Parking a car costs more time (distance, finding a spot, buying a ticket). And for example here in Tilburg parking your bike in the city center (near the shops) is free, and parking a car is pretty expensive. I usually go by car either just for comfort or because I have to shop for something big/heavy.
Great video! (It sounds like you're recording with a stereo mic and the channels are out of phase with each other, if you are recording stereo, try deleting one of the audio tracks or flipping the phase of one of the tracks)
Lots of Dutch people own two bikes in order to achieve the bike-train-bike trip. One in their home city, the other in the city they work or go to uni in. That's how I've always done it. Much cheaper than renting a shared bike every day. The second bike is generally a crappy cheap bike, just meant for that last 5-10 minutes of cycling.
Re nyc and bike parking, the current penn redevelopment plan has a ton of bike parking. Also shoutout to the oonee people for doing good stuff. Would love to see you do a ride with shabazz Stuart over there!
Mandatory watching for all UK city planners too. Bike lanes that finish in the middle of a street - who'd have thought it possible! Bikes on demarcated lanes nevertheless still sharing space with cars, lorries and busses, who'd have thought it ? Country lanes where bikes and cars are on the same tarmac - idiocy. The Netherlands (and Denmark) have done the homework for us. Now The UK needs to use and copy that expertise - especially as the growth of electric cars which we can't hear coming at city speeds increases. But they won't, for at least another 30 - 40 years....with untold more deaths and maiming injuries.
Hello! Nice videos about cycling and how it is possible to change a city. I went in the NEtherland 3 years ago. A lot of things struck me but there is this small thing: Les cédez le passage... in French (I'm from Québec). The yield sing. It is so well used and it is every where. I think in north America it is not well used! Here in Québec, we see that on the road on the speed bump but it is put on the wrong side... You did see of course the big round about with all the yield signs on the road. So well used! It's prevent the use and abuse of stop signs and lights.
that was a very interesting video. I wish the UK was more like that. yes we have steep hills and mountains but I'm sure we could find a way around that obstacle. people say what about the distances between city's but you just say trains. and I'm sure the Dutch have a bike ride option for them journeys as well. even as I have been writing this the answer as cone into my mind about the steep hills. electric battery's. I sore a video of a battery that you could take put on and off an normal bike and you could even put power back into the battery by peddling backwards once in a while so I guess that would solve a lot of that problem. as I said at the beginning of this video it was very interesting. if more people got on bikes then their would be less obesity and fat related illnesses
We cycle to the trainstation, park our bike there, go by train to another city, once there take our (rental or our own second bike) out of the parking and cycle the rest of the way to our destination. Dutch people often have more than one bike, a.o. for reasons like this
Please keep in mind, we are a very smal country, just 16000 square miles. We can't use space like the USA does. We need to have a decent infrastructure and we devellop long term plans. Each time a tiny piece of area is rebuild we do it according to the general outlines, which include bike lanes. Obviously we did not build the bike infrastructure in one year, it took thirty years or more. Essential to keep us al mobile; the car drivers benefit very much from the bike infrastructure, all bikers are not using their car (which most of the bikers also own) which keeps the roads drivable. It is also related to paying taxes, a difficult subject for Americans ;-) Also keep in mind that this small country is like the 17th economy in the world. Some things do work over here. Best regards from the Netherlands.
Lots of countries have a long way to go to catch-up with the Netherland and cycling. It would be interesting to compare health statistics to see if and what health benefits it produces
In cities that have capability for canals, I could see the advantages of switching to electric motors for boats. This would be a good way to transport things that are large and heavy in urban environments.
@@weetikissa no they just renamed the train station from Delft Zuid to Delft campus. It's the same train station they had for over 30 years. And it's still further away from the campus then the main station...
It's also not uncommon for people to have two or more bikes. One for daily use to the train station and one stored at the destination for the last mile journey
Have read their books and followed the Bruntlett's activities for a while now. They are great at putting forward the case for better cycling infrastructure and showing all the benefits of the work, for example that's been done in Delft. Delft has a lot of similarities with the historic, slightly wider spread and larger population of around 180,000 here in York. Our city council could learn a lot from looking at Delft, and places like Ghent and Utrecht, in how to implement similar measures and reduce car traffic in the city - which is getting out of hand! Great video summarising how recently some of the big changes have been made, how they've benefitted society, and how very possible it is to make those changes.
@@mediumrick7667 I myself live in the central province of Utrecht and although the capital Utrecht is well known, the rest of the province is not. Amersfoort is an interesting medieval city, Bunschoten is a typical old-fashioned fishing village and Houten is the national bicycle city. Just northwest are Laren and Blaricum which could be our version of Beverly Hills and Naarden is a very interesting fortified town.
The intersection at 16:30 didn't use to be that way. It was an intersection where cars had right of way, without lights. It was pretty bad for all involved. This was just a couple of years ago, so it's an example of redesigning the intersection if it's up for renewal anyway.
The problem in the US and Canada is that the shops are on the outsources of the city. So people need the car . If you build shops in the city and above the shops apartments then the city wil be more livable and you can stat to use the bike better
@@paulwolf7562 you're actually safer with more people on the street, not less. People with bad intentions generally do not like being witnessed by everyone.
I bike whenever I can, but Wisconsin is not the Netherlands and the winter weather and hilly terrain, along with our current car culture, prohibits year round biking. I can only dream of the day our city planners make the tough decisions necessary to make it safe and viable to either bike or walk daily.
Lovely video, interesting as well. Perhaps in a next project you could pay attention to the latest threat to the relative peace on city bicycle path, especially Amsterdam? It's the electric bicycle, in particular the many ones that are being illegally speeded up. The problem is worsening each day, almost like happened when "scooters" and "snorfietsen" and "brommers" conquered the bicycle paths and almost took over, until they were banned by law. You see, the dark side of the coin is that these perfect paths always also attract the wrong kind of traffic. Like those trendy VanMoof's ebikes, which still can easily be speeded up to 32km/h. But also electric bakfietsen for the transportation of children, so often driven by manical mothers, using their vehicle like a tank, and way too fast. All these cause those cyclists who are more vulnerable, like elderly people, to stay away from the perfect paths and avoid biking at all. Your thoughts please on this new threat, and suggestions how to fight back. Maybe in a new video? Thanks in advance!
Pretty good trains indeed. I lived in Belgium for three years when most people were just getting basic cell phones. I was fascinated to see people checking and resetting their watches when their train arrived. Yeah, the trains were so on schedule that people used their arrival as a time hack.
In this year when I become 60 I am certainly looking at how my partner and I can age in place we live in Bielefeld, Germany so we have a modicum of bicycle infrustructure but not enough (though I suspect it is never enough LOL) and we do have a disadvantage we have some quite steep hills I tend t use a lot of public transport mostly trams and when I worked trains and of course Shank's Pony i.e. walking I do echo that I do shop more often but for smaller quantities. When I first arrived here in our building was a 90+ year old widow and every day she went out to town on the tram and bought the smallest quantities of meat, cheese, bread and vegetables for her meals and I learnt from her that it is a good way to shop.
I wanted to write you a comment and hopefully connect with you directly if possible. I am a current expat living in the South of the Netherlands for the past 3.5 years. That said I like to say you really did a great job on these series of videos you did in the Netherlands. I like your demeanor and how you ask questions and do not just take things for face value. The couple you interviewed here are truly honest in their discussion about their experiences and what they have learned being in Delft both good and bad. I dont like when I see other video producers or content creators make these "Dutch cycling is pure UTOPIA" videos. As I can tell you cycling in the Netherlands far better then cycling in a big USA city such as say San Francisco or Silicon Valley were I was born and raised. Yet cycling in the Netherlands is far from perfect either or far from being the utopia that so many people paint a picture of on UA-cam. There plenty of good things as well as problems that still exist. I find it a bit biased or unfair how so many UA-camrs do videos about cycling in the Netherlands and only show Amsterdam 90% of the time. Dutch cycling is far more then Amsterdam and the same goes for the way of life. Its much like having people come to the USA and visiting New York City and that's it and go back home to their country and say how dirty America is or how big the buildings are when New York is not all of the USA its the same for Amsterdam. This couple really said some valued realistic views about dutch life. There is something else to keep in mind who ever started this thing about how dutch children or dutch people are the happiest is not necessarily true. There is a very high rate of suicide in young people in the Netherlands as well as adults. My girlfriend works for social services for many years and I worked with youth organizations here and back in the USA and have to say the kids here have just the same if not more problems of unhappiness as in the USA or any other country. The dutch are also notorious for hiding statistics that do not make them look good such as suicides or criminal activity or auto accidents everything thing gets hidden because of "Privacy Laws" that keep those numbers out of the publics eye which is a very dutch way of doing things. I dont want to sound negative about Dutch culture or cycling but like to give you my view or take on the things I see every day commuting on a bike from small problems to seriously dangerous ones. If you like to speak to me privately more I would gladly like to speak to you and give you some true non biased opinion from a American who is not living in Amsterdam and who has cycled all over the Netherlands. There are many great things here but there are many things that are not so good also. Feel free to comment on my channel and I will gladly respond to you. Thanks and keep up the great work.
@@rutgerb heel gemakkelijk worden ze niet genoemd of besproken. Ik ben getuige geweest van 2 doden door voertuigen of scooters en er wordt niets vermeld in het nieuws. Dit waren doden en dan heb je de ernstige ongevallen zonder vermelding in nieuws en media.
Volume a tad low on this one - even with my settings fully up, it was difficult to hear. And for the benefit of non-European viewers, the 'New Church' [Nieuwe Kerk] was built between 1396-1496 :-)
Another enlightening and very informative upload Chris. I had no Idea that the Dutch rely so heavily on bicycles and the cruiser kind of retro look of the bikes is really kinda cool!
Beautiful. I'm from Rawalpindi, Pakistan. It's just chaotic here. I drive a motorbike or moped as you guys call it, as well as a car. Although motorbike is better than a car as it has 4 times less carbon footprint, but bicycles look awesome, and I would surely want to make my contribution to make my city look like this. How do we get in touch?
It should be noted, the picture you have for the old railway viaduct at 4:17 already shows the new situation (I think?). The previous rail viaduct was more like this: nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spoorviaduct_Delft#/media/Bestand:Delft_spoorviaduct.jpg
You can do your everyday cycling in NL without a bike because of the safe infrastructure, and because everyone is proficient at bicycling. A helmet requirement would actually lower the amount of people that use a bicycle, research has shown. But people still put on a helmet if they get on a race bike, and there's a growing sentiment for people to use helmets for electric bikes that can go up to 40km/hr.
This always makes me frustrated with our priorities in the US. We have been working for 4 years to get a bike rack installed at our children’s school. We are the only people who ride to school (ages 4 & 7) and everyone looks at us like “oh so sweet” you ride the kids to school. Unfortunately the route takes us across 2 “stroads” a construction site that blocked access for bikes, and a level train crossing. Certainly peds/bike mobility is an afterthought.
Yes, of course. You can seriously hurt or kill someone with a car so driving one comes with huge responsibility. If you can't live with the consequences of hurting someone, don't drive.
@@weetikissa As someone from the United States, I'm just shocked. I've been leveled by a car while walking in a sidewalk and been hit by a car while riding my bike on a designated bike route. I am in agreement with you. The problem is the law (in the U.S.) wants to blame the cyclist or the pedestrian and protect the car driver who probably hasn't had any sort of proficiency examination since the one they got when they first received their license.
It works as follows: cyclists are considered 'weak' participants in traffic. As such they will by default be entitled to 50% of their claimed damage, even if the cyclist caused the accident. Exceptions are if the cyclist deliberately caused an accident or the motorist really had no way to avoid the accident (example: riding a bike without lights on non-illuminated roads and unexpectedly crossing the road). As a driver, I don't like these rules since they seem unfair to the motorist. But as a cyclist I can see how this legislation contributes to a safe environment for the weaker participants in traffic. And cyclists also have to follow rules and will be fined if they break them.
I lot of people think a law like this changes a lot, but I'm not sure this law has resulted in fewer accidents here. I presume nobody hits a cyclist on purpose. The law is great because before the implementation of this law the cyclist was punished twice: He has a far greater chance to be (badly) injured because of the accident than the driver does, and he has to pay for all the damage. If you want drivers to not hit pedestrians or cyclists, there are much better ways to accomplish that.
Some 30 years ago I was cycling to school from Huizen to Hilversum daily and one hot summer day I had shorts and a t-shirt on and then it started pouring down, but it wasn't cold, actually didn't mind at all getting wet. Then I saw a girl coming from a cycle path that merged on to mine and she was in this same situation, we were both happy and soaked. And boy did she look hot that way! So riding up the same direction we started talking and from the one came the other and she is now my wife. So yeah. social interaction and resilience, I'm 100% with you Chris!
Wow! This is so nice to hear! I can’t imagine that could/would happen in a car
@@Propelbikes Not a chance in the world. It was one of those love at first sight moments where it was eye contact and a smile right after it.
Love this so much! I might have to follow up with you on this story in the future
@@Propelbikes Thanks, and sure won't mind that! 👍
What a lovely story.
The two things every Dutch child is told (and traumatized by😉)1. You are not made of sugar. 2. Do I look like a taxi driver?
Love this!
It true that you’re not made of sugar, but you are indeed a lightning rod-and the Netherlands gets a whopping 0 lightning strikes a year. Here in the US, we get 20 million lightning strikes a year. Is there a solution to this problem?
@@shannontrainer5857 hahahahaha, where did you find this nonsense? Do you seriously think we have no lightning? That's just hilarious!!!
@@shannontrainer5857 We've got plenty of strikes. When there is a thunderstorm, it is always advised not to stand in an open field or something. It really doesn't make a difference whether you're cycling or walking. So the solution: don't act like a lightning rod. Or you might want to pull on a metal netting, working like a cage of Faraday.
@@shannontrainer5857 Lol what? Are you cycling around wearing trees or lamp posts on your heads or something? Also, Comparing lighning strikes in a 17 million nation the size of New Jersey to the ENTIRE U.S. is downright silly. Sounds like you're desperately looking for arguments why this won't work in the U.S and therefore nothing has to be done.
I really like the discussion about helmets. I didn't know that the Netherlands have both the lowest number of helmet usage in the world alongside the lowest number of bike fatalities per km in the world.
Pretty wild huh?
the discussion always ends fast when you tell people there are more head injuries in the bathroom.
imagine wearing a helmet when taking a shower :)
That because everybody there ride as slow as molasses. The average cycling speed in the Netherlands is 10 miles per hour. The reason for this is the compact, dense nature of Dutch cities. The physical city sizes there doesn’t exceed 85 square miles. The result are extremely short cycling distances-no more than 3 miles a day on average.
Head injuries and bicycle helmet laws:
“ the greatest effect of the helmet law was not to encourage cyclists to wear helmets, but to discourage cycling. In contrast, despite increases to at least 75% helmet wearing, the proportion of head injuries in cyclists admitted or treated at hospital declined by an average of only 13%. “
Safety in numbers: more walkers and bicyclists, safer walking and bicycling:
“A motorist is less likely to collide with a person walking and bicycling if more people walk or bicycle. Policies that increase the numbers of people walking and bicycling appear to be an effective route to improving the safety of people walking and bicycling.“
My 14 year old son has been cycling to his high school, about 6,5 kms from our house, on his own for the last 2 years- as all Dutch kids do. I think that if you're that age, it is great that you are able to move around autonomously and discover your own city through cycling. Making your own decisions, going around freely, it all contributes to the happiness of individuals!
My childeren are cycling to school in their own since they were 7. Primary school was about 7 min cycling. Secundairy school 30 min.
No, your phone (or expensive watch) get robbed. Not a childerens bike.
Depends where you live. In my area it is no zo bad at all. My childeren never have been robbed, and their friends neigher
@MikeN Ike it's a lot better to get your bike stolen than to get your car stolen. And if the parents don't have to drive the child to school (or anywhere else, really) they save a lot of money on gas.
@MikeN Ike I've never heard of a person getting robbed of their bike in broad daylight or by a gangmember.
But I'm not quite sure if you're comparing US and NL now, or suggesting it happens in NL.
So what I'm noticing is, the cyclists are actually able to go the speed that cyclists prefer, like 20 - 30 kph. The drivers aren't really restrained and having to do a lot of waiting. And you're able to talk at a normal level and be heard. Nice. Doing this video in Toronto, you'd have to be single file the whole way, either stuck behind some 10kph cyclist or having to do 40kph in front of drivers, and you'd have to be yelling because the street is so loud.
30 kph is when you oversleep
I'll tell ya, my electric bike is capped at 25 and it's anoying af. 30 is indeed preferred, unless headwinds, then we all huddle behind the biggest biker like we're riding tour de France
it’s km/h not kph
20 kmh in build up areas. When you are riding a bike at 30 kmh in a down town area, you act like an asshole in a car driving 90-100 kmh on a small street/road.
Im70 and live in Vermont, up in the snowy mountains and so miss biking…yes, go Dutch and ride ride ride
Get a fat bike and get out there ;)
I am not kidding when I tell you the amount that I have learnt from these people is unbelievable. Because of their publicly available multimedia, I am now instantly able to see the difference in minimal things in planning and streetscape design such as texture changes, prioritisation - especially for people, and almost an entirely new perspective change about how to see quality of life. What’s nice, though, is not only is it able to help me figure out how the Dutch are building it better overseas, but also how I can help advocate for change in my town of Bedford in the United Kingdom.
A big example of this is the communicative reminder from the bruntlett’s multimedia that *our street designs are not set in stone*. They change and adapt as often as we do. Leaving the street designs as if they’re finished products will produce more flaws than it intends to solve. This idea tends to get people thinking shorter term, and in worst case scenario, traps them in an image fixation.
Great video as always, Propel team!! Hope you all have a wonderful Christmas!! 🎄
We live in Delft with our family of four, without a car, doing everything by (non-electric) bicycle and public transport (and a shared car service subscription for the maybe 5 times a year we need a car). Not owning a car saves us a lot of money and stress and we generally just enjoy cycling. Melissa and Chris are very knowledgeable about the urban development of Delft and I have learned some things that I did not know. Also, it was fun seeing you guys cycle all these streets that I cycle so regularly. Not sure why it is so pleasuble to watch something you already know on UA-cam. Thank you for this wonderful video!
I'm an American and I aspire to live like you do. This gives me a model to follow.
Almost a third of the Netherlands is situated below sea level, the Dutch are problem solvers, if you look at the innovative ways they tackled flooding it's amazing, The first windmill was built in the year 1221 used for pumping water. they have taken a very practical approach to fixing their traffic congestion problems as well something we can all learn from. Looking forward to watching the video .
Thanks for sharing this great info Johnny!
Actually, we have a wooden tides powered pumping device from Roman times in our local museum near Rotterdam. Keeping our land dry is natural for us.
@@Leon1904ffhhsus That's even more amazing.Seeing what's happening with the Evangelicals--Insurrectionists -anti-democratic forces in the USA, maybe the Romans were right about the Christians as well :)
What did the Romans ever do for us eh!
The town I moved to from London, hell yeah. Appreciate the rides every day after London traffic.
It’s so nice!
11:22 small correction; deems them liable, not at fault. A technicality, but an important one in certain cases
So, I was triggered by the mention of the door to door chain of bike-train-bike transport, and I can tell you that lot's of people own a second bike to cover the train - work stretch of the journey. The name for these bikes is 'stationsfiets' which translated means trainstationbike. This will often times be a very very cheap sort of second hand bike.
And a lot of DELFT students need this stationsfiets to go around. Bus to campus is much langer and often full.
@@janwestra8255 Much "Langer" hahahah lekker man
@@theo7474 autocorrect sucks.
fun fact: the intersection at 16:40 was actually made more car-friendly by installing those lights, not less. It is a spot where a 30kph road exits onto a 50 kph road. In the Netherlands, this is often fitted with a special continuous curb that makes cars yield to every singly bicyclist, pedestrian and car on the 50kph road. During rush hour it was simply impossible to leave the neighbourhood that way because there is a nonstop stream of students going to and from uni. Eventually, they installed the lights to give the cars a chance to squeeze through.
Haha, in Czechia we use "You're not made of sugar, you won't melt" too
I absolutely love their book "Curbing Traffic." It should be required reading for every transportation planner, elected official with even a smidge of decision making that impacts transportation and/or land use, and parents who don't even realize the sacrifices they're making due to car dominance in North America. Who else would you add to the list of people who need to read the book?
Love this! I wish they had it available in Audiobook since I’m dyslexic and it’s tough for me to read books. But helping more people to understand their knowledge of what is working currently in the Netherlands is good for humanity.
@@Propelbikes - Consider getting the e-book, and use your phone to read it to you. I've been doing that with library books that I can't get as an audiobook. You may have to tweak the DRM, but if you poke around a bit you can find how to do it. Of course people should buy these books to support the authors and their work.
Definitely some of the traffic people at my council, but I'm afraid some of the executive bosses live outside the city and drive in, and that may be their motivation for being so protective of the flow of motor traffic at a time of climate change, when the rest of Europe are explicitly prioritising active travel and public transport.
I've always lived semi close to Delft and i remember biking to Delft to go to the movies with friends. We had to drive past that ugly train track and I always felt like it was such a bleak part of the city. Nowadays whenever I bike into Delft it feels so nice, open and friendly. That change did cause a ton of financial troubles for the city, but livability definitely went up by a lot.
Edit: really looking forward to reading their books, they sound great!
It's important to be aware that most of the Dutch cycling infrastructure is almost brand new, they started in the early 80's as Car's were taking over, but much of the infrastructure in the middle of cities is even newer, in Haarlem it went from a city often gridlocked with small streets and lots of car parking to a city where the main pedestrianised market square looks like its been there forever, not just 20 years, previously it was a roundabout with car parking hated by all.
If the desire is there change can be accomplished. We are car free, with 2 ebikes and an e-cargo bike, brilliant and we love it.
Yay! So awesome you were able to connect with Melissa and Chris. We visited them in 2019 a few months after their big move - love Delft! Cheers! John
Zaandam has been going through major transformation over the years.. Their city center is totally made "car-free"
Awesome! I’ll have to check it out
I spent a month in Tokyo, Japan, when I was 15 years old, back in 1989. While occasionally I rode the subway around the city, I mostly took the bicycle that was at my great grandmother's house. I was able to ride from the village of Itibachi into Tokyo proper and all over the place from there. I had the time of my life mostly because everyone obeyed the traffic rules, and they were very considerate towards me on my bike. I never once felt unsafe and nervous. I wish American culture were like that.
I live in Germany pretty close to the dutch border and it always fascinates me how the okayish german bike infrastructure turns instantly into the nicest bike path when crossing the border. In my view this is a good example of how having several huge car companies and their lobbyists in the country (and in office *cough* Volker Wissing) affect my personal every day life. I am happy there has been a slow shift in awareness in recent years and maybe some day there will be a bike parking garage at my local train station too.
The city I live in (Sheffield in the UK) was also rebuilt after heavy bombing in WW2 and is super car centric. It is quite hilly but there is so much to learn and I hope that the lessons shared here filter through to the town planners who are grappling with the current car centric status quo which creates a hostile environment for everyone. Cycling here, even for experienced cyclists is horrible and as a result the vast majority of people don't dare to do it despite it being a city full of cyclists. It's scary and certainly you could never take children anywhere in town by bike. We have so far to go but I hope we are at least starting on the right path soon.
8:42 When I lived in Groningen and worked in Leeuwarden, I’d get to the train station by bike to catch a train. But actually, in Leeuwarden, the office was very close to the train station. Many financial institutions are located there. Banks, insurers, etc. So it’s not even always necessary to rent an “OV-fiets” for the final leg of the trip.
Their latest book Curbing Traffic is such a treat to read. Eye opening, well structured and short as can be. Cannot recommend enough!
wow....this channel is fantastic.
That’s very kind of you to say!
Bought and read: Building A Cycling City.
Sure wish America would hurry up and start to cycle on a huge level!
Great city touring video.
It's not only how we where educated nor only our culture. It took many accidents to come to changes. Last not least in the NL we have associations like VVV and Dutch Cyclist Accociation and ANWB that all help reforming our now cycle able nation.
another great side effect is that bike lanes are on overall an ideal skate/longboard surface.
i can kick push my board between cities without getting wiped out by cars, go deep into the countryside and still glide through in between cows, on dykes or through a forest...
never could do that in any other country i visited.
so if you like cruising on a deck, you can go nuts over here. :)
Great video (other than some audio issues but that happens when you film outsider and while cycling). I'm currently listening to Melissa and Chris's book so this was great timing.
Yes, we did struggle a bit with the audio on this one and I think it was conflated with UA-cam encoding it a bit weird. Glad you enjoyed the vid! I’m dyslexic so I’m happy I got the audiobook and a private lesson from the dynamic duo themselves
Chris i must say you are the GURU of electric bikes in my opinion. You should get a show on discovery or one of them where you travel and have your bikes. i would think it would be cool. Just saying
That’s very kind of you to say, but I’m still learning. I would very much like to bring this to a bigger platform in the future though. That would be awesome!
Melissa and Chris I love your book. keep up the good work.
They are awesome!
@@Propelbikes I just bought their other book, thanks to you video.
Awesome! Thank you for your support
Delft is wonderful. Lovely ice cream shop on the square! Cycling around the Netherlands is a joy compared to the Uk.
A friend of mine lives in the city center of Delft, more or less just inside the “car free”/ autoluwe zone. One time I took a wrong turn and “had” to drive across most of the zone to leave it. It took a while because you can’t drive at any speed above walking pace, but I got out of the maze legally and relatively quickly. Just don’t get frustrated, road rage never helps 😂
Loved the video and I'm absolutely ordering both of their books. For what it's worth, the picture at 4:20 is not the former elevated railway viaduct, but the current tramline going from the central station to the south-east neighbourhoods of Delft. The yellow-ish appartment building in the center of the photograph and the buildings adjacent to it were recently built on the space where the tracks used to be.
Glad you enjoyed! You should definitely get their books and thanks for the inside tip about the railway!
Heey Mark, if you buy them can I borrow them after you've read 'm?
@@mkhtel I found the first book on audible, so I can't really help you there, but I ordered the second book and I should have it finished by the end of this lockdown. So you can for sure borrow it by then.
chek the picture i posted
I am loving these Netherlands videos. Maybe Denmark is next.
What a fabulous informative video...I am a fanatic bicyclist who would love to commute with my bike on a daily basis...I live in Florida and can’t see why it is so hard to build this infrastructure....12 months of building and construction possibilities...
That’s definitely a possible strategy!
As a native, I hate Florida wasting their potential, like flatness and good weather, on car-centric sprawl. Hopefully the Brightline train will promote better urban design there
@@AssBlasster You do know that the Brightline trains runs on diesel.
@@shannontrainer5857 I said urban design, not sustainability. It's more important for Florida to build the infrastructure, like intercity public transport, than worrying if it's eco-friendly yet
@@AssBlasster My question is do you ever see any diesel trains in the Netherlands?
If almost everyone will accept change the way they travel, then it is not that hard for transition from car to bicycle to take place. The problem is that most of the population today do have this thinking that they can't live without cars so that is why most of the cities urban designs are crap, very car centric and dangerous. I had an errand yesterday and I cycle 4.8miles with my bicycle (not road bike or ebike)and it took me only less than 12minutes to get there back and forth. No traffic at all when you are using bicycle and very practical nowadays. I remember the 15minute neighborhood by Anne Hidalgo of paris. With better planning of the city roads, It is possible. But I am very impressed on the Dutch overall. Smart people.
Thanks! But Dutch city design isn't aimed to please bicycles, it is there to keep everything manageable. If everyone would use their car for every trip, we would end up with US cities.
But we like our old inner cities, with tiny streets and alleys, cathedrals and old buildings.
So we cannot do anything else than keep our cities for walking, cycling and parking at the edge for cars.
It was a choice we made, just in time, to save our way of living, to save who we are. In fact we had little choice.
Brilliant couple and I love the Netherlands. Ordered the first book!
I am a Dutchman of almost 63 years old. I've never worn a helmet on a regular bike and never will. A few years ago I had a cross-hybrid bike and when I used it I definitely put on a helmet. Then my speed was also much higher. Now I ride an e-bike and I also keep my speed quite low. I often go about 17 or 18 km per hour. I think soon enough. If you are in a rush it just means you should have left home sooner :-) I cycle every day and enjoy being outside.
Incidentally, I am a strong supporter of an obligation to wear a helmet for tourists who come to the Netherlands. Some tourists know nothing about cycling behavior in the Netherlands and they behave strangely. So we recognize people with a helmet as tourists and we look a little extra to see if there is a threat :-)
Absolutely superb video, with such an honest and down to Earth common sense delivery. But then what would you expect from the Dutch people!
I haven't visited Delft for nearly 30years, but look forward to doing so again in a couple of weeks' time. Can't wait to see this wonderful town again, and all the improvements that have been made. Full marks to the Dutch people, we all have a lot to learn from you.
It's just more fun to get out there and ride your bike..!
Exactly. If you are bubble wrapped and everything goes your way as a child you don't become resilient...nor self reliant cause you depend on those that fix things for you. So when bad things happen you fall apart or get sad...it effects your happiness.
But if you are taught to be resilient and self reliant from an early age. When things don't go your way as an adult your response is more "well thats surprising. Ohh well sh!t happens. I've managed worse. I'll be fine". Its just a set back not the end of the world. You can face adversity and do it with a smile cause it doesn't effect your view of the world or your view of yourself. Its just a bump in the road...and we dutchies just cycle over those bumps.
Take cycling in bad weather. Sure it can be unpleasant but it is what it is. It won't kill you. Or like the saying says, you are not made of sugar..you won't melt.
In the Netherlands it all of combinations. In our household of 2 we own 3 cars and 4 bikes. If I have to go far from the city center I take the car, in the city center the bike. To another city center, I take the train or bus. It happens that the cars or the bikes don’t move for a week.
We were in Delft back a few years ago and they were in the process of building that parking facility. It's fun to see how it turned out.
American here. I want a Dutch bike.
I looooove this video. Am going to share it on my Facebook.
My American relatives visited us September 2022. The younger generation (daughters and in-law of my cousin) were totally smitten of Delft.
Residing in Rotterdam myself, Delft is a ten minutes drive.
I watch the videos of foreigners living in the Netherlands because they show me that what I see as „normal" and take for granted, is not that normal for the rest of the world.
„We are not made of sugar" 😂 yes, I know that expression.
Age 12 I attended junior high, in the city center, while we lived in the outskirts of Rotterdam. I had to cycle half an hour, through any weather condition. In the summer, no problem. During autumn (rain) or winter (snow, freezing, black ice) I had to go to school. No mercy, and no one felt sorry for me, since thousands of young students experience(d) the same.
Now I live on a busy street behind Rotterdam Central Station, with many schools near. So every morning and every afternoon I see many many groups of youngster commuting to/from school.
Helmets.... Finally I hear a good explanation on why helmets do not work, and are not accepted by the mainstream in the Netherlands. Personal safety is way less important than infrastructure.
Indeed, helmets give you a false sense of safety. It will withhold Dutch people from hopping on their bikes, for certain.
If it would help reduce deaths and injuries, I advise car drivers to put helmets and neck protection, since there are way more car accidents than bike accidents, with severe head and necks injuries to the people in these accidents.
In all the decades living in Rotterdam, I have seen bike accidents very rarely, while I saw a lot of car accidents.
Since the 90's the Netherlands strive to sink train tracks and -stations. Delft is one of those projects, but I can name many by heart.
In the 90's the train tracks from Rotterdam, to the south was sunk (because the rail passed a busy canal, which has priority over rail and road, so many delays). It was a five years project during which Rotterdam was cut open (literally) over 3 kilometers for five years. In five years in the 2010's Rotterdam got a new train station.
The new train station including a bicycle parking at the front for 8,000 bicycles.
At the back there was a parking created for 3,000 bikes.
That was not enough. So the parking at the back was extended (doubled), and at the front extra space was created.
Still not enough....
Can you imagine if these bikes were cars; that all these commuters came by car!🤔😳
Finally: I am amazed to see how you all know so much on the history of Dutch cities and the projects, the transitions through the past decades.
My sincere compliment and gratitude for these videos. 👌🏼🙏🏼
Love your video's. You're a nice guy. Love from the Netherlands.
You’re very kind Hank! Thanks for your support!
Haha oh I didnt recognize the Bruntlett in the thumbnail but I am reading their book Curbing Traffic!!! It’s been a great read so far!
My daily cycling route to my office looks even nicer in this video.
Loving your Amsterdam series!
Thanks Alex! This one is a little south of Amsterdam, but I assure you it was even more fun to experience than watch!
@@Propelbikes For people in Amsterdam, Delft is very far away 😆
Wait till you see Amsterdam beach and Amsterdam castle.
Great video, just a pleasure to watch. Super camera work. I hope commenting here helps spread the video, keep it up!
08:30 I am proud of own bike-Public Transport-OV-fiets/bike system, but I prefer to bring my own bike with me. The reasons why are: gears (getting older), theft (rampand on Utrecht Terwijde station) and mirrors on my bike.
Another great video. Thanks Chris for all the great content and interviews you have coming from the Netherlands. Keep it up.
Hopefully, you make it to Utrecht while you're over there.. bike parking garages there are the gold standard. Connect with Mark Wagenbuur (Bicycle Dutch) while there. The insurance policy "incentive" of automatic fault and drivers-as-cyclists is a huge component necessary for bicycle infrastructure transformation (esp. in the U.S.). I appreciate the use of drop-bar frames by all genders, so much more practical.
Love you're video's i was really surprised to see that biking is becoming a thing in New York City as well wich is great btw and also great for you're personal health.
Greetings from the Netherlands🇳🇱
Other than that a great video keep it up👍
Thanks! NYC is moving in the right direction but there is a lot of work ahead!
Amazing video as always. I think you all have found a great format!
Innovation is the key word
For sure!
I apologize for going off topic . This video is meant to show what can be.
No worries at all! Thanks for your support
It helps that there is good public transport too for the older people that don’t feel like using bikes.
one thing i noticed that in the netherlands and german drivers drive moore expecting mistake the difference of it's my right of way so im not stopping compared to yes it my right of way but i cee the car isn't stopping so i stop i call it predicted driving
Instead of renting a bike at the target station, for commutes it is not uncommon to own 2 bikes (one for each station). Another observation on car use, a trip by car within a dutch city most of the time not (really) faster then going by bike. Parking a car costs more time (distance, finding a spot, buying a ticket). And for example here in Tilburg parking your bike in the city center (near the shops) is free, and parking a car is pretty expensive. I usually go by car either just for comfort or because I have to shop for something big/heavy.
You have a choice. That's what matters.
@@xFD2x Absolutely, and I like having it.
Great video! (It sounds like you're recording with a stereo mic and the channels are out of phase with each other, if you are recording stereo, try deleting one of the audio tracks or flipping the phase of one of the tracks)
Thanks for the tip. I’ll make sure Tara sees this
I wasn't able to watch this video because of this problem.
Lots of Dutch people own two bikes in order to achieve the bike-train-bike trip. One in their home city, the other in the city they work or go to uni in.
That's how I've always done it. Much cheaper than renting a shared bike every day. The second bike is generally a crappy cheap bike, just meant for that last 5-10 minutes of cycling.
Delft is beautiful
Re nyc and bike parking, the current penn redevelopment plan has a ton of bike parking. Also shoutout to the oonee people for doing good stuff. Would love to see you do a ride with shabazz Stuart over there!
Great news about the Penn redevelopment plan. I hope it’s secure parking.
Shabazz is high on my list for sure! He’s doing amazing things.
@@Propelbikes I second having Shabazz on in one of your videos. Thanks!
Mandatory watching for all UK city planners too. Bike lanes that finish in the middle of a street - who'd have thought it possible! Bikes on demarcated lanes nevertheless still sharing space with cars, lorries and busses, who'd have thought it ? Country lanes where bikes and cars are on the same tarmac - idiocy. The Netherlands (and Denmark) have done the homework for us. Now The UK needs to use and copy that expertise - especially as the growth of electric cars which we can't hear coming at city speeds increases. But they won't, for at least another 30 - 40 years....with untold more deaths and maiming injuries.
Hello! Nice videos about cycling and how it is possible to change a city. I went in the NEtherland 3 years ago. A lot of things struck me but there is this small thing: Les cédez le passage... in French (I'm from Québec). The yield sing. It is so well used and it is every where. I think in north America it is not well used! Here in Québec, we see that on the road on the speed bump but it is put on the wrong side... You did see of course the big round about with all the yield signs on the road. So well used! It's prevent the use and abuse of stop signs and lights.
5:10.... love the little work van keeping a safe distance, not MGIFing
that was a very interesting video. I wish the UK was more like that. yes we have steep hills and mountains but I'm sure we could find a way around that obstacle. people say what about the distances between city's but you just say trains. and I'm sure the Dutch have a bike ride option for them journeys as well. even as I have been writing this the answer as cone into my mind about the steep hills. electric battery's. I sore a video of a battery that you could take put on and off an normal bike and you could even put power back into the battery by peddling backwards once in a while so I guess that would solve a lot of that problem. as I said at the beginning of this video it was very interesting. if more people got on bikes then their would be less obesity and fat related illnesses
ua-cam.com/video/vB31WF4DVBo/v-deo.html
bikes in trains!
We cycle to the trainstation, park our bike there, go by train to another city, once there take our (rental or our own second bike) out of the parking and cycle the rest of the way to our destination. Dutch people often have more than one bike, a.o. for reasons like this
I'd love to see another video of you visiting Groningen up North sometime.
Right! Groningen is a fantastic city to traverse by bike.
Please keep in mind, we are a very smal country, just 16000 square miles. We can't use space like the USA does. We need to have a decent infrastructure and we devellop long term plans. Each time a tiny piece of area is rebuild we do it according to the general outlines, which include bike lanes. Obviously we did not build the bike infrastructure in one year, it took thirty years or more. Essential to keep us al mobile; the car drivers benefit very much from the bike infrastructure, all bikers are not using their car (which most of the bikers also own) which keeps the roads drivable.
It is also related to paying taxes, a difficult subject for Americans ;-) Also keep in mind that this small country is like the 17th economy in the world. Some things do work over here. Best regards from the Netherlands.
Amazing that your two interviewees are able to ride and speak and seemingly enjoy themselves without electricity. Have they been bionically enhanced?
Lots of countries have a long way to go to catch-up with the Netherland and cycling. It would be interesting to compare health statistics to see if and what health benefits it produces
It's been done. Cycling added about half a year to life expectancy compared to the rest of Europe.
Thank you for the information, lets hope the rest of the world catches up with the Netherlands approach to cycling and its infrastructure
its easy :
a Car makes you fat and burns your money
a bike runs on fat and saves you money
:)
One thing clear, I use a bike a lot, BUT I AM NOT A ""CYCLIST""!! Thank you for reading and keep thst in mind ;)
This channel is so much more than just about bikes
Most dutch inner cities do have shop deliveries in the off hours or E-cargo bikes.
In cities that have capability for canals, I could see the advantages of switching to electric motors for boats. This would be a good way to transport things that are large and heavy in urban environments.
As someone living in Delft the 3th bike space underneath the station is also always full they should really consider a 4th space.
They just opened a new train station nearer to the university campus. Hopefully that will relieve some of the pressure.
@@weetikissa no they just renamed the train station from Delft Zuid to Delft campus. It's the same train station they had for over 30 years. And it's still further away from the campus then the main station...
It's also not uncommon for people to have two or more bikes. One for daily use to the train station and one stored at the destination for the last mile journey
Have read their books and followed the Bruntlett's activities for a while now. They are great at putting forward the case for better cycling infrastructure and showing all the benefits of the work, for example that's been done in Delft.
Delft has a lot of similarities with the historic, slightly wider spread and larger population of around 180,000 here in York. Our city council could learn a lot from looking at Delft, and places like Ghent and Utrecht, in how to implement similar measures and reduce car traffic in the city - which is getting out of hand!
Great video summarising how recently some of the big changes have been made, how they've benefitted society, and how very possible it is to make those changes.
Note: Gent (nog GHent) is a Belgian city. Minor detail.
I love Amsterdam and was born in Delft, but for that "non-touristy" feeling you should definitely go to ordinary Dutch cities...
Looking forward to visiting more cities on our next trip!
@@Propelbikes Take a small trip (15/20 minutes) to Schiedam, marvel at the tallest historic windmills on this planet.
Do you have any specific recommendations?
@@mediumrick7667 Groningen!
@@mediumrick7667 I myself live in the central province of Utrecht and although the capital Utrecht is well known, the rest of the province is not. Amersfoort is an interesting medieval city, Bunschoten is a typical old-fashioned fishing village and Houten is the national bicycle city. Just northwest are Laren and Blaricum which could be our version of Beverly Hills and Naarden is a very interesting fortified town.
Thank you for doing this lovely video. I have already shard it ! :-)
The intersection at 16:30 didn't use to be that way. It was an intersection where cars had right of way, without lights. It was pretty bad for all involved. This was just a couple of years ago, so it's an example of redesigning the intersection if it's up for renewal anyway.
actually, the bikes had the right of way. The lights were installed so the cars could actually get through during rush hour
@@Selawen Hmm could be I'm misremembering. I remember it being really annoying though.
The problem in the US and Canada is that the shops are on the outsources of the city.
So people need the car .
If you build shops in the city and above the shops apartments then the city wil be more livable and you can stat to use the bike better
You wanna ride a bike down through an inner city? Go ahead. Have fun, especially after dark or early morning.
Thanks Euclidean zoning! /s
@@paulwolf7562 you're actually safer with more people on the street, not less. People with bad intentions generally do not like being witnessed by everyone.
So cool...great going getting excellent information into the world!
Wow Delft.! this is my parents city and were i grew up as a child.. In the mid 90's i remember how it started to change its infra-structure..
As my last name probably suggests: my roots are in Delft aswell. I remember the train bridge through the city quite well.
I bike whenever I can, but Wisconsin is not the Netherlands and the winter weather and hilly terrain, along with our current car culture, prohibits year round biking. I can only dream of the day our city planners make the tough decisions necessary to make it safe and viable to either bike or walk daily.
Lovely video, interesting as well.
Perhaps in a next project you could pay attention to the latest threat to the relative peace on city bicycle path, especially Amsterdam?
It's the electric bicycle, in particular the many ones that are being illegally speeded up. The problem is worsening each day, almost like happened when "scooters" and "snorfietsen" and "brommers" conquered the bicycle paths and almost took over, until they were banned by law.
You see, the dark side of the coin is that these perfect paths always also attract the wrong kind of traffic. Like those trendy VanMoof's ebikes, which still can easily be speeded up to 32km/h.
But also electric bakfietsen for the transportation of children, so often driven by manical mothers, using their vehicle like a tank, and way too fast.
All these cause those cyclists who are more vulnerable, like elderly people, to stay away from the perfect paths and avoid biking at all.
Your thoughts please on this new threat, and suggestions how to fight back. Maybe in a new video? Thanks in advance!
Pretty good trains indeed. I lived in Belgium for three years when most people were just getting basic cell phones. I was fascinated to see people checking and resetting their watches when their train arrived. Yeah, the trains were so on schedule that people used their arrival as a time hack.
Really really really good stuff here. Thank you.
In this year when I become 60
I am certainly looking at how
my partner and I can age in place
we live in Bielefeld, Germany
so we have a modicum of bicycle infrustructure
but not enough
(though I suspect it is never enough LOL)
and we do have a disadvantage
we have some quite steep hills
I tend t use a lot of public transport
mostly trams and when I worked trains
and of course Shank's Pony i.e. walking
I do echo that I do shop more often but for smaller quantities.
When I first arrived here in our building was a 90+ year old widow
and every day she went out to town on the tram
and bought the smallest quantities of meat, cheese, bread and vegetables
for her meals
and I learnt from her that it is a good way to shop.
I wanted to write you a comment and hopefully connect with you directly if possible. I am a current expat living in the South of the Netherlands for the past 3.5 years. That said I like to say you really did a great job on these series of videos you did in the Netherlands. I like your demeanor and how you ask questions and do not just take things for face value. The couple you interviewed here are truly honest in their discussion about their experiences and what they have learned being in Delft both good and bad. I dont like when I see other video producers or content creators make these "Dutch cycling is pure UTOPIA" videos. As I can tell you cycling in the Netherlands far better then cycling in a big USA city such as say San Francisco or Silicon Valley were I was born and raised. Yet cycling in the Netherlands is far from perfect either or far from being the utopia that so many people paint a picture of on UA-cam. There plenty of good things as well as problems that still exist. I find it a bit biased or unfair how so many UA-camrs do videos about cycling in the Netherlands and only show Amsterdam 90% of the time. Dutch cycling is far more then Amsterdam and the same goes for the way of life. Its much like having people come to the USA and visiting New York City and that's it and go back home to their country and say how dirty America is or how big the buildings are when New York is not all of the USA its the same for Amsterdam. This couple really said some valued realistic views about dutch life. There is something else to keep in mind who ever started this thing about how dutch children or dutch people are the happiest is not necessarily true. There is a very high rate of suicide in young people in the Netherlands as well as adults. My girlfriend works for social services for many years and I worked with youth organizations here and back in the USA and have to say the kids here have just the same if not more problems of unhappiness as in the USA or any other country. The dutch are also notorious for hiding statistics that do not make them look good such as suicides or criminal activity or auto accidents everything thing gets hidden because of "Privacy Laws" that keep those numbers out of the publics eye which is a very dutch way of doing things. I dont want to sound negative about Dutch culture or cycling but like to give you my view or take on the things I see every day commuting on a bike from small problems to seriously dangerous ones. If you like to speak to me privately more I would gladly like to speak to you and give you some true non biased opinion from a American who is not living in Amsterdam and who has cycled all over the Netherlands. There are many great things here but there are many things that are not so good also. Feel free to comment on my channel and I will gladly respond to you. Thanks and keep up the great work.
Hoe worden die statistieken van zelfmoord, criminaliteit en auto ongelukken achter gehouden?
@@rutgerb heel gemakkelijk worden ze niet genoemd of besproken. Ik ben getuige geweest van 2 doden door voertuigen of scooters en er wordt niets vermeld in het nieuws. Dit waren doden en dan heb je de ernstige ongevallen zonder vermelding in nieuws en media.
@@RViscara maar dat is niet de taak van de media.
@@rutgerb hoe handig....... as it makes statistics look a lot better but not exactly the truth how dutch...
@@RViscara when you are looking towards the media as gatekeepers of statistics you are not smart, to keep it civil.
Volume a tad low on this one - even with my settings fully up, it was difficult to hear. And for the benefit of non-European viewers, the 'New Church' [Nieuwe Kerk] was built between 1396-1496 :-)
Another enlightening and very informative upload Chris. I had no Idea that the Dutch rely so heavily on bicycles and the cruiser kind of retro look of the bikes is really kinda cool!
They look good, but are the worst to drive because of the big handlebars and more difficult to fit in a bike parking.
Beautiful. I'm from Rawalpindi, Pakistan. It's just chaotic here. I drive a motorbike or moped as you guys call it, as well as a car. Although motorbike is better than a car as it has 4 times less carbon footprint, but bicycles look awesome, and I would surely want to make my contribution to make my city look like this. How do we get in touch?
It should be noted, the picture you have for the old railway viaduct at 4:17 already shows the new situation (I think?). The previous rail viaduct was more like this: nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spoorviaduct_Delft#/media/Bestand:Delft_spoorviaduct.jpg
I'm Dutch, ride bikes every day and actually never used a bike parking like that. I just always take the nearest lightpost as my bike parking spot.
In Dutch city centers it is slowly becomming illegal to park a bike anywere you like. But only after plenty of parking has been made first.
You can do your everyday cycling in NL without a bike because of the safe infrastructure, and because everyone is proficient at bicycling. A helmet requirement would actually lower the amount of people that use a bicycle, research has shown. But people still put on a helmet if they get on a race bike, and there's a growing sentiment for people to use helmets for electric bikes that can go up to 40km/hr.
This always makes me frustrated with our priorities in the US. We have been working for 4 years to get a bike rack installed at our children’s school. We are the only people who ride to school (ages 4 & 7) and everyone looks at us like “oh so sweet” you ride the kids to school. Unfortunately the route takes us across 2 “stroads” a construction site that blocked access for bikes, and a level train crossing. Certainly peds/bike mobility is an afterthought.
Automatically at fault for hitting a cyclist. Wow.
Yes, of course. You can seriously hurt or kill someone with a car so driving one comes with huge responsibility. If you can't live with the consequences of hurting someone, don't drive.
@@weetikissa As someone from the United States, I'm just shocked. I've been leveled by a car while walking in a sidewalk and been hit by a car while riding my bike on a designated bike route. I am in agreement with you. The problem is the law (in the U.S.) wants to blame the cyclist or the pedestrian and protect the car driver who probably hasn't had any sort of proficiency examination since the one they got when they first received their license.
It works as follows: cyclists are considered 'weak' participants in traffic. As such they will by default be entitled to 50% of their claimed damage, even if the cyclist caused the accident. Exceptions are if the cyclist deliberately caused an accident or the motorist really had no way to avoid the accident (example: riding a bike without lights on non-illuminated roads and unexpectedly crossing the road). As a driver, I don't like these rules since they seem unfair to the motorist. But as a cyclist I can see how this legislation contributes to a safe environment for the weaker participants in traffic. And cyclists also have to follow rules and will be fined if they break them.
I lot of people think a law like this changes a lot, but I'm not sure this law has resulted in fewer accidents here. I presume nobody hits a cyclist on purpose. The law is great because before the implementation of this law the cyclist was punished twice: He has a far greater chance to be (badly) injured because of the accident than the driver does, and he has to pay for all the damage. If you want drivers to not hit pedestrians or cyclists, there are much better ways to accomplish that.
Sustainable Safety Law sure is awesome!!