Thank you! It was a pleasure to work with you for this video. Hope some day you can actually come over, visit Oulu and see it all with your own eyes, on a bicycle of course! 🥰🥰☃🚲💨
I was happy to take part in this video on behalf of European Cyclists' Federation. Can't wait to experience cycling in Oulu for myself someday! What an inspiration.
Would be great to have you here some day! We're hosting VeloFinland conference here Sept 30 - Oct 1, so maybe that's an opportunity? :) Call for Papers just opened.
As a Dutchman, it is always puzzling how horrific the bicycle lanes in most other countries are, and how completely inept said countries apparently are in improving it.
As an American, it's beyond puzzling. The U.S. and Canada are "inept" at solving this problem because most people don't see it as a problem. I don't think you realize how lucky The Netherlands is for it's non-car based infrastructure. I'm sure you're aware of how car centric the Netherlands was in the 70s. You're lucky that your country turned away from that car centric infrastructure decades ago, because a lot of people in the Netherlands were pushing for it. In most countries, the car centric people won.
@@carstarsarstenstesenn I live in a medium sized city in Ontario. Every time the city moves to try and put in more bike "lanes" the backlash from motorists is immense. They lose their goddamn mind. "Why not put money into improving traffic?" they'll say.
Here in the Netherlands we have even so called "cycling highways". Specially designed routes to go from a to b faster than by car. Sometimes we (me and some friends) do races against cars who is the fastest at a finish point. The winner is most often the one with the most luck with traffic lights.
@@crashingdown6924 Dutch is pretty cold compared to others. Also they just ride a Dutch bike and not literally race in an uncomfortable leaning useless bike.
Didn't expect my home town featured on this channel, a pleasant surprise. PS. as long as cycling is physically possible, I'm cycling no matter the weather.
We have 75.000 km of roads in Denmark, and 15.000 km of bicycle roads, trails and paths. Bicycle roads are always separated from roads, by an 10-20 cm high edge, like a pavement is, or separated by several meters of grass/dirt. There are also a lot of bicycle roads, that are completely separate from roads.
In addition, the roads are quieter and drivers seem to be much more tolerant towards cyclists when you do have to share the road. Add to that the shelter network that means not only can you cycle the length of the country on great trails but you can have a free place to sleep each night as well! I've cycled Denmark south to north twice in the past. It is a fantastic country for cycle touring and bikepacking which I hope to visit again soon.
It has been found that intense cycling can increase the levels of prostate-specific antigens (PSA) in the blood for 24 hours, which could alter the PSA test results among men tested soon after a hard workout. ... A 2013 study linked cycling with the possibility of higher male infertility risks
@@vivianoosthuizen8990 So we shouldn't be bicycling, is what you say? I read the study, and all it says, is, that you can have a raised level of 9% of tPCA within 5 minutes of cycling 55-165 km... if you are over 50 years old. And that the level drops to normal levels over a short period of time. In case you need a PSA test to be performed on you, you should wait 2-4 days, to make sure, your tPSA levels are back to normal. Tell me, how many men above 50 do you believe cycles more than 100 km on a regular basis?! And why should they care, if they can just wait the time out, before having a PSA test performed on them? You think it's more healthy to sit in a car for hours instead? Maybe cycling has a lot of benefits, that driving a car doesn't have? What do birds and trees like the most? Cars or bicycles?
It was a pleasure to hear about infantstructure providers receiving feedback from users about how their works are perceived. Wish we had that everywhere!
The biggest issue is sensibility! I live in Stockholm and we have cycle paths, BUT they are the last to be cleaned of snow, if at all, the first to be parked at of delivery drivers and caps and mostly far too small.
Planners take a lesson from public housing: If you build it they will come. If AND ONLY IF you maintain it they will stay and help you maintain. That's a great incentive plan Oulu has for keeping the paths clear and usable!
It has been found that intense cycling can increase the levels of prostate-specific antigens (PSA) in the blood for 24 hours, which could alter the PSA test results among men tested soon after a hard workout. ... A 2013 study linked cycling with the possibility of higher male infertility risks
Wonderful video! Here in Winnipeg, we deal with the snow a lot as well as vehicle congestion. We need to shift our focus to more sustainable and environmentally friendly methods of transportation.
Awesome video! Proud living in Oulu and the paths are kept clean even when it is pouring snow like right now! Haven’t used my car in two years now, which has saved me roughly 3000€ so far (plus car fixing).
In Belgium we got "bike streets". These are streets where bikes have priority and where cars are allowed too, but cars aren't allowed to pass a bike, when stuck behind. These bike streets are easy to implement - you don't need a lot of road adjustments - and make it much safer for bikes. edit: separate bike lanes are still much better, but it is a start.
These bike streeks actually exist in other European countries as well. But again it all depends on how well it's implemented. It can either be an efficient solution or just a cheap sign without any use.
@@burgerpommes2001 no actually the first such street in Luxembourg was right in front of my school and even if it's not a boulevard type arterial road, there's quite a lot of through traffic to cut from one avenue to an other. It was already a 30kmh road with right priorities at every intersection (every 100-200m). The point was to slow down cars, because they often do not stick to 30-35kmh max and it just becomes too dangerous.
I'm myself from Finland from the city of Jyväskylä and we here have a more mixed quality system when it comes to biking infrastructure. There have been great improvements in the biking lanes, especially the newst ones down town that are clearly separated from roads being on the side walk level made from asphalt compared to the stone bricks of the side walk, with another one being a clearly separated bike lane going next to the down town passing the central church park. However the further away from down town you find just mere pain on the road, like the painted strips on the side of the road itself going from the market place to the historically significant high school (the school institution more, as the original high school was located in a different building), with the most ridiculous part of it being how the bikes go on the road while cars bike on the side walk on allocated spots... We also have going towards the suburbs and the second smaller town centre of Vaajakoski about 5km away a sidewalk divided between pedestrians and cyclists by pain, which unfortunately just stops before ever reaching the smaller town centre (it would be nice to have a continuous bike lane between Down Town Jyväskylä and Vaajakoski honestly). There is also the big problem of snow in the winter, as out city definitely struggles with clearing it. For example the side walk between the high shcool and down town managed to turn into ice earlier this winter despite being near down town, while also the snow from the roads is just dumped on the painted bike lane between down town and the high shcool. There is also a great pedestrian and cyclist shared path that goes around the big lake the city is built around, though which you're able to get to the University, down town and several neighborhoods of the city, and it's not also too hard to get on it from my suburban area with there being a nice good side walk to use.
My experience with Helsinki is similar. There are good areas but maintanence construction that adds cycling lanes doesn't use segregated paths at all and the snow is plowed onto them. They are also very narrow.
The thing car drivers don't get is that building more bike paths will make life EASIER and more comfortable for them not just bikers. People on bikes takes people off the roads, and quite frankly bikers are some of the most vulnerable people in traffic and we owe them good infrastructure.
@@PROVOCATEURSK on the other hands, when I am out biking, cars treat me with the utmost respect, while other cyclists seem to want to crash into me :P.
I was listening to a podcast today, and they were bashing the idea of putting gates on streets with bikes; however, unless you outright make car traffic difficult this is the best solution.
I have NotJustBikes vibes. NotJustBecause they literally made a video just like this about Oulu, but also because they discuss infrastructure and improving public health and safety, transport, and changing the cities of tomorrow.
7:27 This is an important misconception to address. Shop owners will ALWAYS complain about potentially taking away parking spots in front of their shops, or that removing car lanes in favor of protected bicycle lanes will cause congestion which in turn causes less customers. This is blatant horseshit. In the Netherlands alone there have been countless studies into this, and each time the conclusion is that a bicycle friendly neighbourhood INCREASES the amount of customers a store gets, because people will come around more often for smaller trips. The only exception is for shops that sell huge items, for example household appliences like a fridge or washing machines. But those shops tend to be on the outskirts of town next to highways anyway so that is not often an issue when talking about adding bike lanes in a city center.
It's been shown that parking directly in front of shops is used mostly by owners, employees, or maybe even residents if there are flats above the shop. It's not something which generates more revenue for the shop in question. I mean, where I live people just stop their car in the middle of the road if they want to go into a shop anyway, so what difference does having parking make?
Indeed. People don't have the time to watch into shop or restaurant windows at a speed of 50 km / 30 miles an hour. Cycling goes at a pace that's slow enough to both watch around and easily stop and go into a shop. It's basically a more efficient way of walking. Protests beause of a fear for declining commerce are known from Groningen in the late 1970s to various Belgian cities in recent years. But, taking cycling friendly measures, like dividing the inner city for cars, so they get less used for short trips, always result in higher revenue for shop owners.
Seattle put in a nice protected bike lane down a main street, but while it was being finished, they didn't block off the entrance to it at each intersection, so people thought it was just a car lane since it was just wide enough. So for a few months, it was hilarious watching cars do the 5mph walk of shame down the bike lane since they couldn't escape it.
Although not currently commuting by bicycle (and my health reflects it), I have for years in the past. This video has me yearning to do it again! Very cool of Oulu to integrate transport by bicycle into their urban planning, and not just an afterthought.
One should not forget that in addition to infrastructure and road maintenance topography is key to bicycling. Just like Nederland and Denmark, most of Oulu and surrounding areas are very flat terrain making it comfortable to cycle even long distances.
What a GREAT, informative video. I learned about segregated bike paths that appear in Europe but not so commonly here in the States, perceived safety and allocation of space. I love how Pekka rides along at a clip while talking about his urban planning ideas. That's a hoot.
I live in Ottawa Canada and cycling here is pretty mixed in my opinion. On one hand there's a lot of really well designed paths and some physical barriers. on the other hand, there's places where there's no lines, and sometimes not even a sidewalk. Part of what drives me crazy about this city is the pure inconsistency of quality in infrastructure
More of this! Great to see this covered. Keep it up. Transitioning mobility from a focus on cars to walk/bike/transit is vital to all cities around the world.
🚲💚 Bikes are such a great invention: - keep you healthy and happy - don't need fuel and have no CO2 emissions - carry you as far as you have the will to - hardly take up any parking space Our cities would be so much better with less cars and more bikes. Especially segregated bike infrastructure adds so much value to cities.
@@Stophidinginthecomments not really. With a bike you can get away much quicker. But more importantly: Why would someone want to rob someone on a bike at all when there is others with expensive cars? Surely depends on region as well, but at least here in Germany there is no case of vehicle robbery I know of.
@@Stophidinginthecomments you have to remove the insane people and treat them even if they refuse!!!!!!!! You have to also crackdown hard on crime and have jobs meaningful ones after outsourcing crime skyrocketed
That's Vietnam at 2:01, and to be very honest, I rather bike here than in the US because the mopeds are slower, people actually have to use both hands to operate their vehicles, and they are not disconnected from the real world in a giant steel box. Crowded means people have to be slow, deliberate, and attentive. I've cycle in Ho Chi Minh, Bangkok, Seoul, and Jakarta, all were much more pleasant than in freaking San Diego. Imagine that.
Also depends on the city in the US. Cycling in DC, NYC, Chicago, and Boston is generally pretty pleasant because of the trails and protected bike lanes.
Here in Dundee Scotland I tend to weave from road to pavement to prevent a backlog of traffic building up behind me as I cycle. Dundee city is way too small for using the bus service (roughly six and a half miles east to west and three miles north to south) but has yet to encourage proficient cycle paths of any kind for cyclists commuting to or from the city centre.
It's not only plowing that make winter cycling in Oulu and Finland in general possible, but also the sand or gravel that's spread on the roads if they are dangerously icy. The sand and gravel is then cleaned from the roads when the snow melts during the spring.
They're really useful too, as the paths which they are used on are split into halves, one for cyclists and one for pedestrians. The problem arises when the split cant be seen due to the markings on the pavement being covered by snow. The light projections solve this issue and are easily visible all the time.
watching this from an equatorial country (Indonesia), I'm really sad that our climate is not conducive to cycling :) cycling to work/ school is only feasible to those who doesn't sweat a lot or whose sweat doesn't smell bad 7:23 video of my country, the people who bikes are generally doing it only as exercise/ leisure activity, since they can shower at their home afterward
In Canada, we have good cycling lanes (or we call Bike lanes) but during winter, atleast in my area, it’s so hard to cycle because of -Super strong wind and wind chill -poorly shovelled snow on lanes and side walk -Too cold (-15°C to -30°C) -Black ice, and our city doesn’t put a lot of salt or gravel. -Bike might be damage because of cold
Bike isn't a silver bullet solution ofc, in Oulu too many people still drive a car to everywhere. But kids can bike to school alone, most young adults and elderly people use it to run errands, visit friends etc. Everybody cycles at least a few times all year around no matter what age Even though it might be super cold outside, it's not like kids are going to skip school or not visit friends
Here in Belgium you always have a path only for bikes, then one for people and one for cars. And you also have different traffic lights for bikes, people and cars.
Clearly, you live in a different Belgium compared to the one I live in. Have you been to Brussels / any major city? This is not a realistic description at all. Netherlands is 100x better in cycling infrastructure.
I would love to bike to work instead of taking the train/driving, but living in NYC biking from Brooklyn to Manhattan is like a suicide run. We definitely need to create a standalone bike lane that doesn't share the road with cars because even with dedicated bike lanes in NY, people are constantly getting hit/injured/killed.
I ride my bike in a not so bike friendly country (Romania) and still love it. I can only imagine what having such infrastructure as the finns must be like
Another important feature is bike parking, especially when you're just running errands instead of commuting. In many American cities, bikes left on the street are instantly either stolen or plundered.
If you want improvement in quality of life, its much easier to move to another country then to fight against the corporations, mentality and bad infrastructure in the US.
We have enjoyed cycling in Oulu as well as in places around the Netherlands and Denmark. All of these are far better than the cycling paths here in Germany. Ours are too narrow or non-existant in most places.
Thanks for the video! One important factor not mention in the video is the stealing of bicycles. I grew up in Ferrara, Italy (nicknamed "the city of the bicycles), and now live in Gothenburg , Sweden, and in both places this is a huge problem with no apparent solution. Ferrara in Italy is worthy to check since the bicycle culture is really imbedded in the inhabitants of that city. Gothenburg is a city where, (for most parts) is easy to go around with your bike........
This video is great because it highlights the potential for bike traffic in our cities. But it does fall short of discussing further points, i.e. how many people are willing to cycle during winter/bad weather? What about the time it takes for certain routes? It would have been nice to see these questions answered.
Agreed. In cities with exceptional bicycle infrastructure (i.e. Groningen) cycling can be over 50% of all trips. There is also walking and public transport, so cars take a small share. In Amsterdam (a pretty large city) cycling is 38% of trips.
I was living in Athens for 7 years, and i stopped cycling in that period of time. That city is full of narrow roads, parked cars everywhere and even avenues are packed with cars, even many huge SUV's. Space for pedestrians is little, mostly in the center where tourists are, and almost no bike lanes (now few here and there). Many cars and especially taxis and trucks are old, not well maintained and produce a lot of fumes making you breathe sh*t. Also, the biggest issue there and in the balkans is that cars (especially German ones) are a sign of status, and most of people even if their income doesn't permit to own and use a car, they will take it apparently. Now i'm in Copenhagen, a nice clean city and ready to buy a bike again;
Unfortunately the last part about Balkans is very common also in Slovakia. A car is symbol of status. Before only a richer people were able to own one. Now there are three cars in a family, taking up too much space. People who don't have enough money are buying shitty old cars from abroad. Which should be scrapped already because their exhaust system has a faulty DFP filter. It's pure cancer to breathe that black smoke.
@@OKuusava and then they always get angry and surprised why are there traffic jams during rush hour. Car people demand more roads to be built. Which don't solve a problem. It will only attract more cars and cause more jamming. Exactly as said - build them and they will come. There need to be fewer roads for cars built and more roads pedestrianised and used for cycling and walking.
that really makes a huge difference when you want to bike without getting sweaty, like on your way to work/school/friends. Sadly where I live it isn't that good :(.
I recently moved to three acres up the country. In rural Canada without a car! This week I made a 20KM round trip to get the mail and beer and coffee cream. Only in rather warm weather and clear roads. Not today after last nights snowstorm.
Bikes just make so much more sense. They keep you fit and healthy and don't pollute. It's dangerous most places here in the U.S. because the infrastructure isn't there.
I personally have two mountain bikes, one for sport and one for mobility. I started to shift to bike mobility 5 years ago for going to work and for shopping and leisure. And I found it not practicable. Although the infrastructure and its lighting in my home town is good. I had three problems: Problem one: Sweating because of high temperature and because of the mountainous landscape: After arriving in the office, take another shower, change to business cloths. You have to cloth so if you go downhill you should not freeze and if you then go uphill you sweat automatically. Problem two: Rainshowers. Heavy rain (with storm) Problem three: Bikes are the wrong means of transport for shopping. So I bike regularily as a sport. That is great.
Note the comments from the Dutchman below. I am a city planner and we put in cycle lanes in the 80s but we were ahead of the public. The politicians therefore cut off the funding. Now there is very little public money in the U.K. for proper cycle lanes and we are behind the public. This is why, compared to the Netherlands we are so poor at this
How does doing deliveries by bicycle work out in oulu, if lots of the paths are seperated from the streets? Would you have to ride on the roads, and are there good cycle lanes there too?
It's a great idea!!.....If you live 2 miles or less on flat terrain. I would have to go 12 miles up and down hills. I can do it, I am young....It's just the time it would take to get to work. I don't have 1:30 mins to get to work, and then back another. Bicycling works...if you are close to everything or live in small town. I would LOVE to live in small community.
Ebikes solve the distance issue without exerting too much energy, even on hills. But living in a small college town with a few separated bike trails that actually go to shops, campus, and downtown is quite nice with short commutes
What a dream city. Crazy that this frozen tundra city doubled down on cycling and won. It's like more temperate cities have no excuse to not have more bike only roads.
I lived in Oulu for 18mos about 15years ago. I loved bicycling in the summer, not so much in the winter. Never understood how everyone else biked on the ice and snow.
I love how americans are still defending pro-car compromises of the past despite the compromise part going away. American car industry helped US to (and to help others to) win WWII, it helped to grow the economy in record time, it provided jobs. So it made sense, even if somewhat immoral to lobby for them and to design infrastructure around them. And for as long as every family could afford a car and said car was made in US from US made components forged from US steel, it kind of worked. But then corporations closed down local production, started importing foreign cars instead of developing their own to meet the demand and switched whatever remained from local production to cheaper foreign components. So that neither korean, japanese or chinese workers, who were payed significantly less, nor american workers, who lost their jobs, but still had to own a car to get to new one if they were lucky, would be having any savings or retirement plans. No, no, no, we at OCP can't allow that:D Similar things had happened in UK and France. Good to see that people at least attempt to fight back against the solution that turned into a problem.
Here in the U.K. if we get 5 mm of snow then the whole country comes to a standstill 😳 but to be fair , snow is quite rare in England now - Scotland of course is another matter 😄
Joensuu has great bike paths, but they do need to improve on taking care of sidewalks along small residential roads. The first 100 meters from my home is very bumpy and slippery at times, so biking it is like an extreme sport :D The rest 4 kilometers to downtown is in great condition though.
In the UK, as in so much of the world, many disused railways could become dedicated cycle routes.. The "Northern. heights" in North London, is but one example.
Excellent video!! At first I thought this great episode was going to be about Toronto, haha Here the city has made giant leaps forward in the past 10-15 years by introducing every style of bike lanes mention here. There has been a MASSIVE increase in bike ridership in Toronto over the last 20 years, mostly in the more densely populated older city core. There are also quite a few trails which are shared with pedestrians as well. However there is a huge divide amongst road users, some are calling for even more bicycle lanes, especially of the reserved type but there is also a loud vocal opposition to them as well. But you are 100% absolutely correct, fear is the number one reason preventing people from riding bicycles to get around, when presented with dedicated lanes reserved for bicycles, much, much more people will give it a chance and stick with it. Cheers, sir.
Oulu authorities figured it out: plow the snow in a way that keeps a small amount of packed snow on the surface, and more importantly, plow it on a frequent basis. That's how bicycles can still operate in that city during its cold winters.
This is so impressive. I don't mind bicycling in the cold weather; however, snow is really intimidating in part because I'm riding my bicycle along with the cars on the roads and they can slip easily. Plus I have less room on the side of the road when there is snow. This city with its smart pedestrian focused and bicyclist focused infrastructure looks fantastic. Great video thanks for posting!
They have special tires for snow, separated bike lanes, and are used to this. I'm guessing the number of accidents is very small and result in very minor injuries.
Thank you! It was a pleasure to work with you for this video. Hope some day you can actually come over, visit Oulu and see it all with your own eyes, on a bicycle of course! 🥰🥰☃🚲💨
Do an video on The Netherlands. It’s a heaven on earth.
@Zaydan Naufal YES
Geez, I haven't ridden a bike in years.. I mean like the mid 80's, high school here in Washington, D.C. 😲🤗🌝🤗
@@Bananaman-hk6qw and green too 🤪😂 smoke em lot there is no tomorrow
@@happyjoyjoy6976 Haha… ha… stereotypes= funny
I was happy to take part in this video on behalf of European Cyclists' Federation. Can't wait to experience cycling in Oulu for myself someday! What an inspiration.
Would be great to have you here some day! We're hosting VeloFinland conference here Sept 30 - Oct 1, so maybe that's an opportunity? :) Call for Papers just opened.
Thank you for your work o7
Thank you for the work you do Jill!
Thank you for your work!
Could u tell all the pretentious wankers to get out the middle of the road
As a Dutchman, it is always puzzling how horrific the bicycle lanes in most other countries are, and how completely inept said countries apparently are in improving it.
As a Brit who has cycled a fair bit in the Netherlands I can assure you it is even worse than you think ;)
As an American, it's beyond puzzling. The U.S. and Canada are "inept" at solving this problem because most people don't see it as a problem. I don't think you realize how lucky The Netherlands is for it's non-car based infrastructure. I'm sure you're aware of how car centric the Netherlands was in the 70s. You're lucky that your country turned away from that car centric infrastructure decades ago, because a lot of people in the Netherlands were pushing for it. In most countries, the car centric people won.
now imagine its the same when it comes to healthcare, education, emplyment. Any area of human activities is probably plagued by incompetence
@@carstarsarstenstesenn I live in a medium sized city in Ontario. Every time the city moves to try and put in more bike "lanes" the backlash from motorists is immense. They lose their goddamn mind. "Why not put money into improving traffic?" they'll say.
In Slovakia if a driver kills a cyclist or two they don´t even go to prison.
Here in the Netherlands we have even so called "cycling highways". Specially designed routes to go from a to b faster than by car.
Sometimes we (me and some friends) do races against cars who is the fastest at a finish point. The winner is most often the one with the most luck with traffic lights.
the netherlands have great paths
Then u shower at work
?
@@crashingdown6924 no u go home and shower there
@@crashingdown6924 Dutch is pretty cold compared to others. Also they just ride a Dutch bike and not literally race in an uncomfortable leaning useless bike.
We have them too!
-Kempele, 10km south from Oulu
Didn't expect my home town featured on this channel, a pleasant surprise. PS. as long as cycling is physically possible, I'm cycling no matter the weather.
I live 200km north from Oulu in a town called Rovaniemi, and everybody bikes or walks to school becouse we have so good bicycle lanes.
We have 75.000 km of roads in Denmark, and 15.000 km of bicycle roads, trails and paths.
Bicycle roads are always separated from roads, by an 10-20 cm high edge, like a pavement is, or separated by several meters of grass/dirt. There are also a lot of bicycle roads, that are completely separate from roads.
In addition, the roads are quieter and drivers seem to be much more tolerant towards cyclists when you do have to share the road.
Add to that the shelter network that means not only can you cycle the length of the country on great trails but you can have a free place to sleep each night as well!
I've cycled Denmark south to north twice in the past. It is a fantastic country for cycle touring and bikepacking which I hope to visit again soon.
Same in the Netherlands! We have 140.000km of roads and 37.000km fully segregated bicycle paths. Another 4.700km of bicycle lanes.
@@JethroJessop The effect of everybody having bikes - Drivers know what it's like.
It has been found that intense cycling can increase the levels of prostate-specific antigens (PSA) in the blood for 24 hours, which could alter the PSA test results among men tested soon after a hard workout. ... A 2013 study linked cycling with the possibility of higher male infertility risks
@@vivianoosthuizen8990 So we shouldn't be bicycling, is what you say? I read the study, and all it says, is, that you can have a raised level of 9% of tPCA within 5 minutes of cycling 55-165 km... if you are over 50 years old. And that the level drops to normal levels over a short period of time. In case you need a PSA test to be performed on you, you should wait 2-4 days, to make sure, your tPSA levels are back to normal.
Tell me, how many men above 50 do you believe cycles more than 100 km on a regular basis?! And why should they care, if they can just wait the time out, before having a PSA test performed on them?
You think it's more healthy to sit in a car for hours instead?
Maybe cycling has a lot of benefits, that driving a car doesn't have?
What do birds and trees like the most? Cars or bicycles?
It was a pleasure to hear about infantstructure providers receiving feedback from users about how their works are perceived.
Wish we had that everywhere!
I highly recommend the UA-cam channel "Not Just Bikes". It opened my eyes to how much better our lives could become!
They also have a video about Oulu's bicycle lanes! 😀
The biggest issue is sensibility! I live in Stockholm and we have cycle paths, BUT they are the last to be cleaned of snow, if at all, the first to be parked at of delivery drivers and caps and mostly far too small.
Planners take a lesson from public housing:
If you build it they will come.
If AND ONLY IF you maintain it they will stay and help you maintain.
That's a great incentive plan Oulu has for keeping the paths clear and usable!
crime will come to...public housing is a scourge
@@willblack8575 nah
It has been found that intense cycling can increase the levels of prostate-specific antigens (PSA) in the blood for 24 hours, which could alter the PSA test results among men tested soon after a hard workout. ... A 2013 study linked cycling with the possibility of higher male infertility risks
@@vivianoosthuizen8990 riding a bike for transportation is not the same as the intense riding in sport.
@@willblack8575 since it’s not maintained and you don’t treat the mentally unstable so they cause problems
Wonderful video! Here in Winnipeg, we deal with the snow a lot as well as vehicle congestion. We need to shift our focus to more sustainable and environmentally friendly methods of transportation.
Awesome video! Proud living in Oulu and the paths are kept clean even when it is pouring snow like right now! Haven’t used my car in two years now, which has saved me roughly 3000€ so far (plus car fixing).
In Belgium we got "bike streets".
These are streets where bikes have priority and where cars are allowed too, but cars aren't allowed to pass a bike, when stuck behind.
These bike streets are easy to implement - you don't need a lot of road adjustments - and make it much safer for bikes.
edit: separate bike lanes are still much better, but it is a start.
These bike streeks actually exist in other European countries as well. But again it all depends on how well it's implemented. It can either be an efficient solution or just a cheap sign without any use.
these streets only work if through motor vehicle traffic is blocked
@@burgerpommes2001 no actually the first such street in Luxembourg was right in front of my school and even if it's not a boulevard type arterial road, there's quite a lot of through traffic to cut from one avenue to an other. It was already a 30kmh road with right priorities at every intersection (every 100-200m).
The point was to slow down cars, because they often do not stick to 30-35kmh max and it just becomes too dangerous.
@@blanco7726 a street with high volume car traffic is no bike street
@@burgerpommes2001 yh it is, I dont see the contradiction you claim
I'm myself from Finland from the city of Jyväskylä and we here have a more mixed quality system when it comes to biking infrastructure. There have been great improvements in the biking lanes, especially the newst ones down town that are clearly separated from roads being on the side walk level made from asphalt compared to the stone bricks of the side walk, with another one being a clearly separated bike lane going next to the down town passing the central church park. However the further away from down town you find just mere pain on the road, like the painted strips on the side of the road itself going from the market place to the historically significant high school (the school institution more, as the original high school was located in a different building), with the most ridiculous part of it being how the bikes go on the road while cars bike on the side walk on allocated spots... We also have going towards the suburbs and the second smaller town centre of Vaajakoski about 5km away a sidewalk divided between pedestrians and cyclists by pain, which unfortunately just stops before ever reaching the smaller town centre (it would be nice to have a continuous bike lane between Down Town Jyväskylä and Vaajakoski honestly). There is also the big problem of snow in the winter, as out city definitely struggles with clearing it. For example the side walk between the high shcool and down town managed to turn into ice earlier this winter despite being near down town, while also the snow from the roads is just dumped on the painted bike lane between down town and the high shcool. There is also a great pedestrian and cyclist shared path that goes around the big lake the city is built around, though which you're able to get to the University, down town and several neighborhoods of the city, and it's not also too hard to get on it from my suburban area with there being a nice good side walk to use.
My experience with Helsinki is similar. There are good areas but maintanence construction that adds cycling lanes doesn't use segregated paths at all and the snow is plowed onto them. They are also very narrow.
The thing car drivers don't get is that building more bike paths will make life EASIER and more comfortable for them not just bikers. People on bikes takes people off the roads, and quite frankly bikers are some of the most vulnerable people in traffic and we owe them good infrastructure.
Drivers in cars are one of the most selfish people ever. They don´t think, they just want. Their road, their parking space, their time...
@@PROVOCATEURSK on the other hands, when I am out biking, cars treat me with the utmost respect, while other cyclists seem to want to crash into me :P.
@@PROVOCATEURSK thats everyone mate
I was listening to a podcast today, and they were bashing the idea of putting gates on streets with bikes; however, unless you outright make car traffic difficult this is the best solution.
It won't make it easier if parking or car lanes are destroyed
I have NotJustBikes vibes. NotJustBecause they literally made a video just like this about Oulu, but also because they discuss infrastructure and improving public health and safety, transport, and changing the cities of tomorrow.
This guy does videos on literally everything in construction.
Love seeing Oulu get the love it deserves!
Especially for a format + topic where I feel many other channels miss the mark, this is really one of the best explainers I've ever seen out there!
7:27 This is an important misconception to address. Shop owners will ALWAYS complain about potentially taking away parking spots in front of their shops, or that removing car lanes in favor of protected bicycle lanes will cause congestion which in turn causes less customers. This is blatant horseshit. In the Netherlands alone there have been countless studies into this, and each time the conclusion is that a bicycle friendly neighbourhood INCREASES the amount of customers a store gets, because people will come around more often for smaller trips. The only exception is for shops that sell huge items, for example household appliences like a fridge or washing machines. But those shops tend to be on the outskirts of town next to highways anyway so that is not often an issue when talking about adding bike lanes in a city center.
It's been shown that parking directly in front of shops is used mostly by owners, employees, or maybe even residents if there are flats above the shop. It's not something which generates more revenue for the shop in question. I mean, where I live people just stop their car in the middle of the road if they want to go into a shop anyway, so what difference does having parking make?
this.
Indeed. People don't have the time to watch into shop or restaurant windows at a speed of 50 km / 30 miles an hour. Cycling goes at a pace that's slow enough to both watch around and easily stop and go into a shop. It's basically a more efficient way of walking.
Protests beause of a fear for declining commerce are known from Groningen in the late 1970s to various Belgian cities in recent years. But, taking cycling friendly measures, like dividing the inner city for cars, so they get less used for short trips, always result in higher revenue for shop owners.
Excellent. Now we know what to do if we go back to the 60s and get to build from scratch.
I spent some time in Valencia, Spain and its bicycle system was very good and I found it safe too.
Seattle put in a nice protected bike lane down a main street, but while it was being finished, they didn't block off the entrance to it at each intersection, so people thought it was just a car lane since it was just wide enough.
So for a few months, it was hilarious watching cars do the 5mph walk of shame down the bike lane since they couldn't escape it.
I need a video of that 🤣
I studied in Oulu for a year back in the '90's. Loved it, didn't see many bikes back then, though.
Although not currently commuting by bicycle (and my health reflects it), I have for years in the past. This video has me yearning to do it again! Very cool of Oulu to integrate transport by bicycle into their urban planning, and not just an afterthought.
One should not forget that in addition to infrastructure and road maintenance topography is key to bicycling. Just like Nederland and Denmark, most of Oulu and surrounding areas are very flat terrain making it comfortable to cycle even long distances.
What a GREAT, informative video. I learned about segregated bike paths that appear in Europe but not so commonly here in the States, perceived safety and allocation of space. I love how Pekka rides along at a clip while talking about his urban planning ideas. That's a hoot.
I live in Ottawa Canada and cycling here is pretty mixed in my opinion. On one hand there's a lot of really well designed paths and some physical barriers. on the other hand, there's places where there's no lines, and sometimes not even a sidewalk. Part of what drives me crazy about this city is the pure inconsistency of quality in infrastructure
More of this! Great to see this covered. Keep it up. Transitioning mobility from a focus on cars to walk/bike/transit is vital to all cities around the world.
You captured it well. Segregated bike pathways are best of all.
Came here from B1M. Subscribed. These videos are amazing
A bicycle is the most energy efficient means of transportation, not to mention all the health benefits one gets.
Love biking. Need more built infrastructure asap.
Im so happy to see so many clips of Pittsburgh! Im one of those weirdos that gave up my SUV and only use my bike. Its been 9 months and no regrets.
Thank you for educating the world about safe bike infrastructure!
As a cyclist, Oulu seems like paradise! 🥰
🚲💚
Bikes are such a great invention:
- keep you healthy and happy
- don't need fuel and have no CO2 emissions
- carry you as far as you have the will to
- hardly take up any parking space
Our cities would be so much better with less cars and more bikes. Especially segregated bike infrastructure adds so much value to cities.
But it also creates more danger. It is easier for someone to rob you from your bike than inside your car
@@Stophidinginthecomments not really. With a bike you can get away much quicker. But more importantly: Why would someone want to rob someone on a bike at all when there is others with expensive cars?
Surely depends on region as well, but at least here in Germany there is no case of vehicle robbery I know of.
it is great indeed, it's a shame it doesn't have wider use.
@@Stophidinginthecomments you have to remove the insane people and treat them even if they refuse!!!!!!!! You have to also crackdown hard on crime and have jobs meaningful ones after outsourcing crime skyrocketed
@@Stophidinginthecomments Rob you? you are American right?
In 52 years of life I've never felt any danger of anyone robbing me.
That's Vietnam at 2:01, and to be very honest, I rather bike here than in the US because the mopeds are slower, people actually have to use both hands to operate their vehicles, and they are not disconnected from the real world in a giant steel box. Crowded means people have to be slow, deliberate, and attentive. I've cycle in Ho Chi Minh, Bangkok, Seoul, and Jakarta, all were much more pleasant than in freaking San Diego. Imagine that.
Also depends on the city in the US. Cycling in DC, NYC, Chicago, and Boston is generally pretty pleasant because of the trails and protected bike lanes.
I appreciate that you included several clips of my hometown, Pittsburgh, PA, in this video!
Here in Dundee Scotland I tend to weave from road to pavement to prevent a backlog of traffic building up behind me as I cycle. Dundee city is way too small for using the bus service (roughly six and a half miles east to west and three miles north to south) but has yet to encourage proficient cycle paths of any kind for cyclists commuting to or from the city centre.
It's not only plowing that make winter cycling in Oulu and Finland in general possible, but also the sand or gravel that's spread on the roads if they are dangerously icy. The sand and gravel is then cleaned from the roads when the snow melts during the spring.
Oh wow, those projected traffic signs are a genius idea.
They're really useful too, as the paths which they are used on are split into halves, one for cyclists and one for pedestrians. The problem arises when the split cant be seen due to the markings on the pavement being covered by snow. The light projections solve this issue and are easily visible all the time.
watching this from an equatorial country (Indonesia), I'm really sad that our climate is not conducive to cycling :) cycling to work/ school is only feasible to those who doesn't sweat a lot or whose sweat doesn't smell bad
7:23 video of my country, the people who bikes are generally doing it only as exercise/ leisure activity, since they can shower at their home afterward
Europeans will never understand the pain of having to cycle in 40-45 c weather
Great report, great city! 👍🏾😎 Thx. Hope this will be a role model for other cities @ the world. 🙂
That's very interesting given the fact the city is located in a fairly cold region.
Netherlands:
Shouldn't that be "Cheers in Dutch"? :-)
In Canada, we have good cycling lanes (or we call Bike lanes) but during winter, atleast in my area, it’s so hard to cycle because of
-Super strong wind and wind chill
-poorly shovelled snow on lanes and side walk
-Too cold (-15°C to -30°C)
-Black ice, and our city doesn’t put a lot of salt or gravel.
-Bike might be damage because of cold
Bike isn't a silver bullet solution ofc, in Oulu too many people still drive a car to everywhere. But kids can bike to school alone, most young adults and elderly people use it to run errands, visit friends etc. Everybody cycles at least a few times all year around no matter what age
Even though it might be super cold outside, it's not like kids are going to skip school or not visit friends
7:27 Yeah, "some business owners" have been proven wrong again and again. Thanks for mentioning it lmao
this is actually my favorite city
I love how you are able to pronounce Pekka Tahkola 3:53 as Packets of Cola
Here in Belgium you always have a path only for bikes, then one for people and one for cars. And you also have different traffic lights for bikes, people and cars.
Same in The Netherlands
Ok but ‘Belgium’ doesn’t exist.
Clearly, you live in a different Belgium compared to the one I live in. Have you been to Brussels / any major city? This is not a realistic description at all. Netherlands is 100x better in cycling infrastructure.
@@Acer113 True. But Brussels is just generally a shithole.
Pekka, please come to the USA and teach us!
I would love to bike to work instead of taking the train/driving, but living in NYC biking from Brooklyn to Manhattan is like a suicide run. We definitely need to create a standalone bike lane that doesn't share the road with cars because even with dedicated bike lanes in NY, people are constantly getting hit/injured/killed.
Omg how freaking obvious and fantastic “the contractor is bonused or sanctioned based on customer satisfaction“
I ride my bike in a not so bike friendly country (Romania) and still love it.
I can only imagine what having such infrastructure as the finns must be like
Another important feature is bike parking, especially when you're just running errands instead of commuting. In many American cities, bikes left on the street are instantly either stolen or plundered.
If you want improvement in quality of life, its much easier to move to another country then to fight against the corporations, mentality and bad infrastructure in the US.
Because US is a rich country with poor people
Bike parking isn't the solution to that. Fixing the Gini coefficient is a better measurement against bike theft.
I would love to go there!
We have enjoyed cycling in Oulu as well as in places around the Netherlands and Denmark. All of these are far better than the cycling paths here in Germany. Ours are too narrow or non-existant in most places.
Thanks for the video! One important factor not mention in the video is the stealing of bicycles. I grew up in Ferrara, Italy (nicknamed "the city of the bicycles), and now live in Gothenburg , Sweden, and in both places this is a huge problem with no apparent solution. Ferrara in Italy is worthy to check since the bicycle culture is really imbedded in the inhabitants of that city. Gothenburg is a city where, (for most parts) is easy to go around with your bike........
This video is great because it highlights the potential for bike traffic in our cities. But it does fall short of discussing further points, i.e. how many people are willing to cycle during winter/bad weather? What about the time it takes for certain routes? It would have been nice to see these questions answered.
Agreed.
In cities with exceptional bicycle infrastructure (i.e. Groningen) cycling can be over 50% of all trips. There is also walking and public transport, so cars take a small share.
In Amsterdam (a pretty large city) cycling is 38% of trips.
Important Video. The city really sets an example
great video🚲🚴🚴♂
The UK should implement results bonus-based compensation on all contracts that's a genius idea.
Do this in Switzerland. Its a hell to ride there
I was living in Athens for 7 years, and i stopped cycling in that period of time. That city is full of narrow roads, parked cars everywhere and even avenues are packed with cars, even many huge SUV's. Space for pedestrians is little, mostly in the center where tourists are, and almost no bike lanes (now few here and there). Many cars and especially taxis and trucks are old, not well maintained and produce a lot of fumes making you breathe sh*t.
Also, the biggest issue there and in the balkans is that cars (especially German ones) are a sign of status, and most of people even if their income doesn't permit to own and use a car, they will take it apparently.
Now i'm in Copenhagen, a nice clean city and ready to buy a bike again;
Unfortunately the last part about Balkans is very common also in Slovakia. A car is symbol of status. Before only a richer people were able to own one. Now there are three cars in a family, taking up too much space. People who don't have enough money are buying shitty old cars from abroad. Which should be scrapped already because their exhaust system has a faulty DFP filter. It's pure cancer to breathe that black smoke.
Love how you say getting cars from place to place, can't wait to focus on moving people not vehicles
@@OKuusava and then they always get angry and surprised why are there traffic jams during rush hour. Car people demand more roads to be built. Which don't solve a problem. It will only attract more cars and cause more jamming. Exactly as said - build them and they will come.
There need to be fewer roads for cars built and more roads pedestrianised and used for cycling and walking.
1:29 it isn't all by design. I live in japan where there the terrain is super mountainous and its really tough cycling
that really makes a huge difference when you want to bike without getting sweaty, like on your way to work/school/friends. Sadly where I live it isn't that good :(.
Most people in Japan live in huge cities on a flat terrain.
The Tokyo metro area alone is home to 37 million people.
Yeah, doing this in San Francisco would be tough.
I recently moved to three acres up the country. In rural Canada without a car!
This week I made a 20KM round trip to get the mail and beer and coffee cream.
Only in rather warm weather and clear roads. Not today after last nights snowstorm.
Bikes just make so much more sense. They keep you fit and healthy and don't pollute. It's dangerous most places here in the U.S. because the infrastructure isn't there.
Bike paths are also cheap to build and to maintain. They are pennies on the dollar when compared to roads meant to carry heavy traffic.
Nice video.
"But what about snow" people losing to children is so funny to me
I personally have two mountain bikes, one for sport and one for mobility. I started to shift to bike mobility 5 years ago for going to work and for shopping and leisure. And I found it not practicable. Although the infrastructure and its lighting in my home town is good. I had three problems:
Problem one: Sweating because of high temperature and because of the mountainous landscape: After arriving in the office, take another shower, change to business cloths. You have to cloth so if you go downhill you should not freeze and if you then go uphill you sweat automatically.
Problem two: Rainshowers. Heavy rain (with storm)
Problem three: Bikes are the wrong means of transport for shopping. So I bike regularily as a sport. That is great.
Note the comments from the Dutchman below. I am a city planner and we put in cycle lanes in the 80s but we were ahead of the public. The politicians therefore cut off the funding. Now there is very little public money in the U.K. for proper cycle lanes and we are behind the public. This is why, compared to the Netherlands we are so poor at this
How does doing deliveries by bicycle work out in oulu, if lots of the paths are seperated from the streets? Would you have to ride on the roads, and are there good cycle lanes there too?
We need that bonus/sanction system for EVERY kind of business, especially public works, maybe people would actually do their job that way.
It's a great idea!!.....If you live 2 miles or less on flat terrain. I would have to go 12 miles up and down hills. I can do it, I am young....It's just the time it would take to get to work. I don't have 1:30 mins to get to work, and then back another. Bicycling works...if you are close to everything or live in small town. I would LOVE to live in small community.
Ebikes solve the distance issue without exerting too much energy, even on hills. But living in a small college town with a few separated bike trails that actually go to shops, campus, and downtown is quite nice with short commutes
What a dream city. Crazy that this frozen tundra city doubled down on cycling and won. It's like more temperate cities have no excuse to not have more bike only roads.
I lived in Oulu for 18mos about 15years ago. I loved bicycling in the summer, not so much in the winter. Never understood how everyone else biked on the ice and snow.
you need something called a jacket
More than one bike
Snow tires if you are really worried.
I love how americans are still defending pro-car compromises of the past despite the compromise part going away. American car industry helped US to (and to help others to) win WWII, it helped to grow the economy in record time, it provided jobs. So it made sense, even if somewhat immoral to lobby for them and to design infrastructure around them. And for as long as every family could afford a car and said car was made in US from US made components forged from US steel, it kind of worked. But then corporations closed down local production, started importing foreign cars instead of developing their own to meet the demand and switched whatever remained from local production to cheaper foreign components. So that neither korean, japanese or chinese workers, who were payed significantly less, nor american workers, who lost their jobs, but still had to own a car to get to new one if they were lucky, would be having any savings or retirement plans. No, no, no, we at OCP can't allow that:D
Similar things had happened in UK and France. Good to see that people at least attempt to fight back against the solution that turned into a problem.
wow its a great idea I would put forward the concern about Electric Speed
My best channel,what school can't teach me I learnt here and in BIM
Here in the U.K. if we get 5 mm of snow then the whole country comes to a standstill 😳 but to be fair , snow is quite rare in England now - Scotland of course is another matter 😄
Joensuu has great bike paths, but they do need to improve on taking care of sidewalks along small residential roads. The first 100 meters from my home is very bumpy and slippery at times, so biking it is like an extreme sport :D The rest 4 kilometers to downtown is in great condition though.
Since the vast majority of canadians live below the arctic circle, theres no excuse why we cant do this
Ahhh, sounds like a dream!
Great video 🙌
Wooo
yes love this channel and now you're on the reallocation of road space agenda, woo
Not Just Bikes is the OG channel of urban design🔊
It's not a competition
@@adanactnomew7085
No need to rank channels imo.
Not just bikes is a nice and extremely informative channel though. Would recommend!
1:35 I don’t think many “trade routes” are maintained by cars. They are mostly an inefficient measure to transport one or a few people from A to B
Love to visit Oulu just to ride on the bike lanes. As a side note, sometimes bicyclist don't sharrow but own
Great initiative!
In Denmark, you have bike roads everywhere even in the remost of towns
A neighboring city just added bike lanes. It’s a big deal here in the US where we’re not too bike friendly.
In the UK, as in so much of the world, many disused railways could become dedicated cycle routes.. The "Northern. heights" in North London, is but one example.
I like Finland I wish one day visit there
Excellent video!! At first I thought this great episode was going to be about Toronto, haha
Here the city has made giant leaps forward in the past 10-15 years by introducing every style of bike lanes mention here. There has been a MASSIVE increase in bike ridership in Toronto over the last 20 years, mostly in the more densely populated older city core. There are also quite a few trails which are shared with pedestrians as well.
However there is a huge divide amongst road users, some are calling for even more bicycle lanes, especially of the reserved type but there is also a loud vocal opposition to them as well.
But you are 100% absolutely correct, fear is the number one reason preventing people from riding bicycles to get around, when presented with dedicated lanes reserved for bicycles, much, much more people will give it a chance and stick with it.
Cheers, sir.
Oulu authorities figured it out: plow the snow in a way that keeps a small amount of packed snow on the surface, and more importantly, plow it on a frequent basis. That's how bicycles can still operate in that city during its cold winters.
This is so impressive. I don't mind bicycling in the cold weather; however, snow is really intimidating in part because I'm riding my bicycle along with the cars on the roads and they can slip easily. Plus I have less room on the side of the road when there is snow. This city with its smart pedestrian focused and bicyclist focused infrastructure looks fantastic. Great video thanks for posting!
They have special tires for snow, separated bike lanes, and are used to this.
I'm guessing the number of accidents is very small and result in very minor injuries.