Glad to see another TH-cam promoting biking. Since getting city governments to make bike infrastructure takes so long, I think we should encourage more individuals to take up biking and learn why it's so great, and ditch their cars when possible. I hope seeing larger numbers of bike riders will then prompt leaders to create more bike infrastructure.
Thanks for watching, and I agree that we need to continue working for public and city support for bike improvements! Look for more bike-focused content to come!
I don't think most people will ditch their cars when they experience near death experiences on a daily or weekly basis. So many people tell me they would bike if it were safe. I don't blame people who don't bike due to fear.
Excellent work, even though as a Dutch person I mostly watch in horror 😅 Since the algorithm is finding me now I expect things to start growing. Good luck on the journey!
Thanks for watching! We have a long way to go in the US, but the Netherlands offers a fantastic example of how streets can be built for all travel modes!
my mouth dropped at San Diego's Fifth ave metamorphosis. In the past three years I've gotten really optimistic for bikes in the USA. The speed at which they improve is not something I expected!
Thanks for watching to the end! It was a pretty cool transformation. I think we'll continue to see upgrades in steps like this, where a cheap improvement with paint is tested first, then if it's popular, more expensive adjustments are made with concrete.
Ah, Chicago. We've got so much work to do to be a truly biking city. One "small" way we could make neighborhood streets better for biking is to be aggressive with installing diverters. My dream is a diverter at every intersection a busy arterial meets a side street.
True that Chicago has a lot of work to do, but so do most US cities. Progress will likely only get made a small change at a time, helping our cities to gradually evolve into more walkable, bikeable places.
4:05 which bridge is that on? It’s interesting to see 2 bike lanes going in the same direction. 4:35 also, bikes lanes in a road median? What road is that on? Also, even inside city limits, trail quality can vary a lot. In Phoenix, the Grand Canal trail has signalized crossings at every intersection between Indian School at 23rd Avenue and 12th Street, though virtually every other crossing doesn’t even have a crosswalk. Out on the west end of the trail, there are some grade separations at 83rd Avenue and 91st Avenue out in Glendale. Also, each tier has better and worse configurations. Tier 1 only works on streets with slow traffic. The worst configuration for tier 2 is the bike lane between moving traffic and parked cars with no buffers on either side, as the other issue with that configuration is that oncoming traffic has less visibility of bikes. I unfortunately had a close call at one point while riding down Apache Boulevard in Tempe, as the section had that configuration, and someone was pulling out of a parking garage. Painted gutters are generally better than anything in between parked cars and moving traffic. Of course, whenever there’s a parked vehicle or construction that blocks the bike lane, that’s a different story, and all tier 2 configurations have the problem of when you need to turn left. Some people are able to pull off vehicular left turns, even on busy stroads, though I don’t have that kind of confidence. Tier 3 probably has the least clear-cut answer, as 2-way bike lanes provide a little more access, though I’m not sure how the safety of the contra flow lane compares to that on the normal flow lane. Tier 4 is the best when pedestrians don’t mix in with bikes. At the Tempe campus of Arizona State University, most sidewalks are designated as multi use pathways, though those don’t work all that well when there are too many bikers and pedestrians, and the central part of campus is a walk-only zone. Even on the outskirts of campus, whenever there’s a class change, you have to go slower than normal to reduce the risk of crashing into anyone, which reduces the utility of having a bike.
Thanks for watching, and you're right about significant variation within each tier! 4:05 is Damen Ave bridge north of Fullerton in Chicago. The bike "passing" lane is pretty unusual, although I read that New York was widening some of its bike lanes for this purpose, so maybe we'll start seeing more of it. Speaking of New York, 4:35 is Edgewater Rd, just south of Starlight Park.
@@pointtopoint-cp6hr i know. I just don't wanna be middle aged by the time we're at an acceptable standard. It doesn't help how I'm currently living on the nw side, probably the worst part of the city in this regard. Hopefully I will be able to move soon.
College campuses are great place to test more radical (by US standards) bike- and pedestrian-focused designs, given the density and high percentage of walkers and riders. Ideally, that can be then extended beyond the campus perimeter.
wow i know exactly where that thumbnail picture is taken ha its cool to see footage of a place I ride everyday. half expecting to see myself love these videos
Where I live in Germany in a more suburban area, the most common bike lane is just on the side walk. It's physically separated from cars by the curb and from pedestrians it's just separated just with paint or differently colored paving. I think it works very well, especially when the bike lane is on both sides of the street. It's also nice that it forces the sidewalk to be wider and it also makes walking much nicer because you're further away from traffic. It's definitely not the nicest kind of bike lane but I think it's perfectly alright for areas where traffic isn't that fast and where there's not that many cyclists and pedestrians. When you get into areas that are even less dense and urban, a nice and wide sidewalk can be enough as well. Both aren't the nicest options, but they're probably a lot less expensive than more elaborate bike lanes. Also in my experience safety isn't really an issue, the most dangerous thing are the cars coming out of driveways.
Thanks for watching! Any separation between bikes and cars is a good thing, but you're right that then cyclists and pedestrians need to watch out for each other. And everyone needs to be aware of driveways and alleys!
That is actually the worst king of bike infrastructure. Pedestrians are even more annoying than cars, because they are completely unpredictable. A car may be dangerous, but at least you have a good idea what it is going to do next. Also putting bike lanes on sidewalks means you will have bad surface (tree ruts..), lots of unnecessary dips (for driveways), and lots of curbs. Anything faster than walking speed, and this is completely unusable.
@@siriosstar4789 a car has to keep a minimum passing distance of two metres when overtaking a bicycle outside of built-up areas. Unfortunately, that is not very well enforced... (i.e. not enforced at all.)
@@siriosstar4789 Are you sure that it's illegal to ride on the sidewalk there? Most of the time on those kind of roads the sidewalk is for both cyclists and pedestrians. That is generally shown with a blue sign with images of pedestrians on the top and cyclists on the bottom.
@@turboseizethen it's badly executed. The split version has a recommend combined width of little over five meters with 2 for the cyclists and 2.5 for the pedestrians (the rest being buffers). In reality it can still work down to three meters (1.2+1.8) if people are patient. Also driveways and even small side streets are supposed to go up to sidewalk level. The shared version is primary for out of town with 2.5 (older ones 2 meters) for both directions and pedestrians being only a theoretical option. Small towns however often keep them through, where things get problematic with both pedestrians and with cars coming out of driveways.
Thanks for watching! You were probably thinking, "We just call them bike lanes." If the Dutch standards for street design were implemented more broadly here in the US, I think a lot more people would consider biking as a viable transportation option.
In Australia, I know several people who have been hit by cars while cycling. Cycling on the roads shared with cars is not safe, and even if you try to protect yourself as much as possible, you can still end up in hospital, or worse. The best bike lanes are the ones that are protected from cars. A simple curb is usually enough for most roads, and barriers for bike lanes along high speed roads.
100%. The more protection and separation that bikes can get, the better. Different traffic calming measures to slow down vehicles can also help, to a point.
REally like that you pointed out those community streets that usually don't have much traffic. On those you really don't need a dedicated bike lane often. Great video by the way. Obvious sub
2:18 It looks as if the cyclist in front of you doesn't dare to make full use of the buffer zone. His wheels are directly on the line, so half his body is right in the dooring zone. I know it takes courage and energy to take up space and be assertive, but not doing so is dangerous. Rule of thumb: Put your front wheel where the cars put their right wheels.
You're totally right. It feels counterintuitive to anyone not comfortable riding in traffic, but it's actually safer to be out into the road a bit, where you're farther from opening doors, and drivers can see you more easily.
The best biking roads are Category 4 but separated completely from vehicle traffic. Its great to have your own road but if you ride alongside a highway with noise and pollution it is no fun. So roads only for bikes going through parks etc. are amazing.
Yeah, there is definitely variation within the Category 4 routes. Rail trails in wooded areas can be some of the better options in the US, as long as there aren't too many road crossings.
Come to Singapore. It will change your opinion of Category 4 bike paths. Nearly all our bike paths are this type and you will find pedestrians walking all over these bike paths. No one respects the lanes because when it is far from the road, pedestrians see it as just being a glamorized footpath. In my opinion, protected bike lanes are still the best form of bike infrastructure.
Thanks for watching! That's a good point about having pedestrian conflicts on certain types of bike paths. No matter where you are, you need to be watching out for someone!
The Jordan River bike trail is a huge fully separated bike lane in Salt Lake City. Might be a good candidate for a top ten cities with unexpected bike infrastructure. The walk score is low, but the bike score is pretty high.
Cities need to do more to encourage people to ride bicycles. Safe protected bike lanes and trails are needed so adults and children can ride safely. Speak up for bicycles in your community. Bicycles make life and cities better. Ask your local transportation planner and elected officials to support more protected bike lanes and trails. Children should be riding a bicycle to school and not be driven in a minivan.
Hello, I recently started to bike however there are some issues that I'd like someone to research and address into a video: - How to circumvent bad climate? Just a few hours ago I had to leave my bike and jump on a bus because of intense rain and the lack of proper equipment. Cycling when the weather is nice and easy but how to be fully equipped when the weather turns bad? - How to not get my cycle stolen? Right now it is staying attached on a T-parking downtown, and I'm reallt afraid to see the saddle or wheel gone tomorrow... I think nobody in the "urban planning" youtube sphere has to be convinced or the benefits of bike nowadays. It's cool. Now I'd like to see the everyday's problems of biking being addressed: dealing with rainy days, get proper equipment, get the bike maintained, etc. Down to earth problematics. PS: I am a French person leaving in a mid-size city, where a lot of safe bike infrastructure does already exist (but is still imperfect as I still feel threatened by cars and dumb SUVs)
Thanks for watching, and thanks for the comment. I'm planning a video about year-round bike commuting later this summer, and I'm going to address some of these topics. You're right that there are other logistical challenges beyond just infrastructure.
There is no such thing as bad weather, only bad clothing. With rain gear - or even without, if you have the chance to take a quick shower and put on a set of dry clothes at your destination - getting caught in the rain is nothing to worry about. Rain is just water. Small drops of water do not hurt.
In Denmark, according to a former US Ambassador (Trump), we can't even afford to buy cars, so we use bikes because of that! Of course we have separate bike lanes - to both sides, along most roads in cities (And also outside towns), also with separate traffic lights, to make the bike traffic smooth. Also bike "Highways" and bridges across town and over the local harbor. Mostly it is a pleasure to ride bikes in Denmark!
Thanks for watching! If only more of our US politicians would visit Denmark, the Netherlands, etc. to see this type of infrastructure firsthand, we could make progress here much more quickly. Slow progress is better than no progress, though!
He's totally correct. Riding bikes in Copenhagen with our family was a delight. So safe. I also have good memories of Munich where you have 2 way bike lanes on the super wide sidewalks. I'm not sure you can transplant this to the US because our cities are so spread out and our weather, especially in the midwest, isn't conducive to all season bike commuting.
Thanks for the comment. You're right that some of the European infrastructure would be challenging to implement here, but more of the challenge comes from how our transportation modes are prioritized in the US, with so much focus on cars.
@@michaelplunkett5124 I'm surprised that you found any "contraflow" bike lanes in Munich. There's usually one oneway bike lane on each sidewalk and you can actually be fined if you use itin the wrong direction. @ Point to point: I like that you pointed out that quiet side streets don't need bike lanes. Munich still has some narrow ones with ridiculous curves around obstacles and bumpy cobblestones whenever there's a driveway. Fortunately they've taken down the blue signs on those, so you're free to ride on the street now. As a general rule, no new bike lanes are built if the speed limit is 30 km/h.
Yes, most Americans are so car orientated that they dismiss cycling right away. Denmark is a great place to cycle. I love your free wooden shelters all over Denmark, so holiday touring cyclists can sleep in them. Saying hi from the Netherlands.
My bike route from the suburbs to the city involves a mix of all four categories, which obviously do not coalesce well together, but just knowing that there's a large portion of the 4th type spanning the adjacent town to the city is really what motivates me to brave the absence leading up to it, which other than getting several flat tires, isn't to bad.a I've been electing to swing up onto the sidewalk when the road in front is obstructed with parked cars, rather than kick out in between moving traffic and potential driver doors and moving back onto the shoulder when I can. I've also learned to be a little bolder taking the lane while downtown, as traffic is slow and dense enough and biking is common enough to where I don't feel like I'm holding up the cars and risking becoming a human sharrow. While this isn't optimal at all, it's brief enough to make reconnecting with the other bike infrastructure and calmer streets worth it, and I hope increased presence of bikers will lead to more changes.
Thanks for watching and thanks for the comment! I think your experience is shared by many bike commuters, accepting some less-than-ideal sections in order to get to the good stuff. And hoping for some upgrades so we can enjoy a safer and more consistent ride in the future.
I love when planners sneak in opportunistic bike paths. See for instance the Beelhouwersdijk in Utrecht; there is a water pipe below the ground there so there is an almost perfectly straight line on which there can be no buildings, street or car road; so instead they made it a cyclepath.
The straightness reminds me of the rail trails in the US. What would be a big deal here and take years of public debate was probably almost an afterthought in the Netherlands, tacked on to another project.
Great video! as a Chicagoan I can confirm I rarely use the bike lanes unless they're protected because they're just dangerous most of the time. Otherwise I stick to the slow sidestreets and dedicated cycle paths which chicago has a good amount of. Our cycling network would be much better off if we only add bike lanes that are protected or and then focus on making grade separated paths that go through public parks, the boulevard system, and along the river.
Thanks for watching! With the grid Chicago has, creating a true bike network should be easier than in some cities. Ideally, select streets would be prioritized for bikes while leaving others alone, and there would be a focus on connections to parks, schools, libraries, etc.
Thanks for sharing, and I agree. Following the crowd isn't always the best advice, but a route with a fair amount of bike traffic should be one of the better options on a particular corridor.
If the bike lane has cars parked on the right i won't use it because I don't want to be hit by a car door. If a car comes up behind me I will move over briefly to let it pass.
Yeah, sometimes the only option is to come to a complete stop. There are many situations where you have to ride ultra defensively (and slow), assuming every driver and rider is trying to run you off the road.
I'd rather bike in an 9 foot lane with a sharrow than a bike gutter, or almost any separated bike lane that rides parallel to a road with lots of intersections where I'll frequently almost get right and left hooked by drivers who don't expect a bike. Taking a lane I only almost get hit by bullies who are trying to intimidate with their vehicles.. it sucks but at least I know they see me.
Thanks for watching! Good point about separated bike lanes with lots of intersections. Especially in car-centric suburbs, there's not enough bike traffic on these for vehicles to be expecting a bike, and the vehicles are often moving at higher speeds than in dense urban areas.
The photo on the right looks like where people go to get whacked. "Yeah just go down that alley no problem, right down there. Right in there" - Robert DeNiro
Bicycles, ebikes, electric cargo bicycles, robo taxis and escooters are great options for last mile, short distance travel. Reduced transportation costs and fossil fuels free transportation. Cities need to do more to encourage people to ride bicycles by providing SAFE, PROTECTED BIKE LANES and trails. Every adult and child should own a bicycle and ride it regularly. Bicycles are healthy exercise and fossil fuels free transportation. Electric bicycles are bringing many older adults back to cycling. Ride to work, ride to school, ride for health or ride for fun. Children should be able to ride a bicycle to school without having to dodge cars and trucks. Separated and protected bike lanes are required. It will also make the roads safer for automobile drivers. Transportation planners and elected officials need to encourage people to walk, bike and take public transportation. Healthy exercise and fossil fuels free transportation. In the future cities will be redesigned for people not cars. Crazy big parking lots will be transformed with solar canopies generating free energy from the sun.
Category minus 1 - actively dangerous roads, the best example I know of being one lane each way with a solid white line down the middle. There is room for me on a bicycle, or there is room for a car, but there is not room for the car to pass me without crossing the line, which it is forbidden by law from doing. It is also forbidden from passing me closer than 1m50cm away. The driver of the car almost invariably decides that they don't care, and they're going to pass me far too closely in a dangerous manner, sometimes around a bend or over a hill for good measure. Welcome to Portugal.
Thanks for sharing. That does sound like a new category, or at least the very bottom of the category 0, creating a very unpleasant experience for those on bikes (and perhaps for some in cars too).
American cyclist are very scared of riding around stuff, this isn't Korea or China where a cyclist is perfectly capable of going around a parked car without making a big deal about it.
In some outer boroughs of NYC, the car is still the king and bike lanes are an afterthought. I have to plan riding tertiary roads just to get to where the decent bike lanes start. Even sharrow roads are sparse where I live. The best (most direct) streets leading to various parks and main Greenways have nothing marked for bikes. I simply have to deal with heavy car traffic and poorly maintained streets. Minority race areas get nothing for bikes. I feel bad for delivery people who use bikes for their living. Manhattan has plenty of bike lanes but outside of that borough it's a biker's challenge to find safe streets to ride on. It's unfair the way bikers are ignored in many parts of NYC. I honestly don't understand why wide streets that run for many miles have nothing for bikes, not even sharrows.😢😡
You make a lot of good points. Equal access to bike infrastructure is critical, and perhaps even more important in lower-income areas where alternative transportation options are sometimes limited.
The problem in the US is thats its cycling infrastructure is haphazard at best. They paint some lines on a high speed road and thats it. If you're lucky there will be some separation or a colored bike lane. "look at us, we are going green! We are promoting cycling!" and all of that crap. Just as you say, its an afterthought. At the end of most cycling "friendly" roads there is no connected bicycle road to continue and you're dumped in traffic again. Cities has to stop thinking "Lets add cycling roads" and start thinking bike routes. Car roads are planned, why not do the same for bicycles? Cities still think car centric, not transportation centric. Its easy to judge if you live in that cycling heaven called The Netherlands. Cities would need to stop adding bike lanes to big, heavy traffic roads, but convert an adjacent smaller road to a one way car road, with separated bike lanes, and a low speed for cars. Amsterdam/the netherlands has been doing this for years and it works. And for car lovers, think about this. Would it not be great in NY if half of the cars on the road converted to cyclists, even if you had to give up a car lane?
"Haphazard" is a good way to describe how bike infrastructure is built here. Rather than thinking about a network, and logically connecting key parts of a city, sometimes it feels like cities are trying to hit a "miles added" metric, with sub-par lanes tossed everywhere.
This video shows several riders extremely close to parked cars. NEVER do this! If someone opens the door of a parked car, your chances to react to this are essentially zero. Best case you run into the door at full speed and get severely injured, worse would be you somehow manage to evade the door, but get run over by a truck that was following right behind you. Worst is you crash into the door, get severely hurt, and then get thrown of the bike into traffic and *then* run over. NEVER RIDE CLOSE TO PARKED CARS! You need at least one metre of safety distance.
Thanks for watching. The risk of dooring is exactly why it's so important to have lanes that are at least buffered, but ideally protected or grade-separated. Simply reducing speed and giving yourself some additional reaction time is another way to mitigate some of the risk.
The USA could should look at what Europe is doing. Multi-model transportations is the future. If we want to be one with our natural world, we must learn to get along, or mother nature has the power over man. It is past time to move to a sustainable way of living.
You're absolutely right that Europe provides a great model for how cities can be designed better. The American attachment to cars has held us back, but we're slowly making progress, at least in urban areas.
I dont like how the main bike lanes are on the roadways with the most car traffic, i prefer to bicycle on a neighbourhood road away from car traffic, why cant a few neighbourhood roads have protected bike lanes and just leave the main roads how they were?
Thanks for the comment! I agree that the addition of bike lanes to arterial streets is somewhat misguided, unless there is enough space for the lanes to be protected. Drivers would certainly prefer your suggestion. I'm hoping we start to see more of the neighborhood greenways that provide safer bike routes on quiet residential streets. For more on neighborhood greenways, check out my Contraflow and Advisory Lane videos!
@pointtopoint-cp6hr thanks for the suggestion I will watch this video, I think in a perfect world a neighbourhood road parallel to a main road would be converted into a pedestrian/bicycle only roadway.
You don’t mention the danger of riding in the door zone. Some people get killed that way. A bike lane designed to be in the door zone is worse than no bike lane. By not mentioning this, you endanger your viewers. You also mention that in certain types of bike lanes, you can relax. But those bike lanes meet with traffic in intersections. Are you unaware that most bike/car collisions occur in intersections?
Thanks for watching. Yes, dooring is why the unbuffered bike lanes are the worst ones, and why some streets without bike lanes are preferable. In terms of relaxation, I guess everything is relative. The best bike lanes/paths minimize the interaction with vehicle traffic, making them (generally) the safest and most relaxing.
@@prashnaveetprasad8339 Numbers? So one car DARED to park in a bike lanes that should not have been there? I have parked In bike lanes where that curb was also signed as legal parking. And for good reason since less that 10 people use that bike lanes per day. Meanwhile, in a green lane near my work, where there are hundreds of bikes using the street per hour, experienced cyclists use the traffic lanes (illegally) because the green lanes are choked with pedestrians and scooters.
pleasantly edited and overdubbed, nice
Glad to see another TH-cam promoting biking. Since getting city governments to make bike infrastructure takes so long, I think we should encourage more individuals to take up biking and learn why it's so great, and ditch their cars when possible. I hope seeing larger numbers of bike riders will then prompt leaders to create more bike infrastructure.
Thanks for watching, and I agree that we need to continue working for public and city support for bike improvements! Look for more bike-focused content to come!
I don't think most people will ditch their cars when they experience near death experiences on a daily or weekly basis. So many people tell me they would bike if it were safe. I don't blame people who don't bike due to fear.
Excellent work, even though as a Dutch person I mostly watch in horror 😅
Since the algorithm is finding me now I expect things to start growing. Good luck on the journey!
Thanks for watching, and thanks for the comment! The quicker the US can start trying to build to the Dutch standard, the better.
Love to see the world improve biking infrastructure, here from the comfort of the Netherlands.
Thanks for watching! We have a long way to go in the US, but the Netherlands offers a fantastic example of how streets can be built for all travel modes!
my mouth dropped at San Diego's Fifth ave metamorphosis. In the past three years I've gotten really optimistic for bikes in the USA. The speed at which they improve is not something I expected!
Thanks for watching to the end! It was a pretty cool transformation. I think we'll continue to see upgrades in steps like this, where a cheap improvement with paint is tested first, then if it's popular, more expensive adjustments are made with concrete.
It's a very nice bike lane and connects right into the downtown bike paths
Ah, Chicago. We've got so much work to do to be a truly biking city. One "small" way we could make neighborhood streets better for biking is to be aggressive with installing diverters. My dream is a diverter at every intersection a busy arterial meets a side street.
True that Chicago has a lot of work to do, but so do most US cities. Progress will likely only get made a small change at a time, helping our cities to gradually evolve into more walkable, bikeable places.
4:05 which bridge is that on? It’s interesting to see 2 bike lanes going in the same direction.
4:35 also, bikes lanes in a road median? What road is that on?
Also, even inside city limits, trail quality can vary a lot. In Phoenix, the Grand Canal trail has signalized crossings at every intersection between Indian School at 23rd Avenue and 12th Street, though virtually every other crossing doesn’t even have a crosswalk. Out on the west end of the trail, there are some grade separations at 83rd Avenue and 91st Avenue out in Glendale.
Also, each tier has better and worse configurations. Tier 1 only works on streets with slow traffic. The worst configuration for tier 2 is the bike lane between moving traffic and parked cars with no buffers on either side, as the other issue with that configuration is that oncoming traffic has less visibility of bikes. I unfortunately had a close call at one point while riding down Apache Boulevard in Tempe, as the section had that configuration, and someone was pulling out of a parking garage. Painted gutters are generally better than anything in between parked cars and moving traffic. Of course, whenever there’s a parked vehicle or construction that blocks the bike lane, that’s a different story, and all tier 2 configurations have the problem of when you need to turn left. Some people are able to pull off vehicular left turns, even on busy stroads, though I don’t have that kind of confidence. Tier 3 probably has the least clear-cut answer, as 2-way bike lanes provide a little more access, though I’m not sure how the safety of the contra flow lane compares to that on the normal flow lane. Tier 4 is the best when pedestrians don’t mix in with bikes. At the Tempe campus of Arizona State University, most sidewalks are designated as multi use pathways, though those don’t work all that well when there are too many bikers and pedestrians, and the central part of campus is a walk-only zone. Even on the outskirts of campus, whenever there’s a class change, you have to go slower than normal to reduce the risk of crashing into anyone, which reduces the utility of having a bike.
Thanks for watching, and you're right about significant variation within each tier! 4:05 is Damen Ave bridge north of Fullerton in Chicago. The bike "passing" lane is pretty unusual, although I read that New York was widening some of its bike lanes for this purpose, so maybe we'll start seeing more of it. Speaking of New York, 4:35 is Edgewater Rd, just south of Starlight Park.
It's so nice to see talk about chicago regarding urbanism, sometimes it can feel hopeless.
It's not hopeless! But change will take some time, and there are other US cities even in worse shape than Chicago.
@@pointtopoint-cp6hr i know. I just don't wanna be middle aged by the time we're at an acceptable standard. It doesn't help how I'm currently living on the nw side, probably the worst part of the city in this regard. Hopefully I will be able to move soon.
My college town had reworked a central campus street to be extremely bike-friendly. Feels like a piece of Amsterdam
College campuses are great place to test more radical (by US standards) bike- and pedestrian-focused designs, given the density and high percentage of walkers and riders. Ideally, that can be then extended beyond the campus perimeter.
Love all the Chicago footage. Americas best biking city
wow i know exactly where that thumbnail picture is taken ha
its cool to see footage of a place I ride everyday. half expecting to see myself
love these videos
Hey, thanks for watching! The Lakefront Path is a truly magical place, especially in the summer!
"Alright, you might see a bike here but don't worry, the road still belongs to you." Unfortunately spot on 😭😭
Sad but true. Thanks for watching!
Where I live in Germany in a more suburban area, the most common bike lane is just on the side walk. It's physically separated from cars by the curb and from pedestrians it's just separated just with paint or differently colored paving. I think it works very well, especially when the bike lane is on both sides of the street. It's also nice that it forces the sidewalk to be wider and it also makes walking much nicer because you're further away from traffic. It's definitely not the nicest kind of bike lane but I think it's perfectly alright for areas where traffic isn't that fast and where there's not that many cyclists and pedestrians. When you get into areas that are even less dense and urban, a nice and wide sidewalk can be enough as well. Both aren't the nicest options, but they're probably a lot less expensive than more elaborate bike lanes. Also in my experience safety isn't really an issue, the most dangerous thing are the cars coming out of driveways.
Thanks for watching! Any separation between bikes and cars is a good thing, but you're right that then cyclists and pedestrians need to watch out for each other. And everyone needs to be aware of driveways and alleys!
That is actually the worst king of bike infrastructure. Pedestrians are even more annoying than cars, because they are completely unpredictable. A car may be dangerous, but at least you have a good idea what it is going to do next.
Also putting bike lanes on sidewalks means you will have bad surface (tree ruts..), lots of unnecessary dips (for driveways), and lots of curbs. Anything faster than walking speed, and this is completely unusable.
@@siriosstar4789 a car has to keep a minimum passing distance of two metres when overtaking a bicycle outside of built-up areas.
Unfortunately, that is not very well enforced... (i.e. not enforced at all.)
@@siriosstar4789 Are you sure that it's illegal to ride on the sidewalk there? Most of the time on those kind of roads the sidewalk is for both cyclists and pedestrians. That is generally shown with a blue sign with images of pedestrians on the top and cyclists on the bottom.
@@turboseizethen it's badly executed. The split version has a recommend combined width of little over five meters with 2 for the cyclists and 2.5 for the pedestrians (the rest being buffers). In reality it can still work down to three meters (1.2+1.8) if people are patient. Also driveways and even small side streets are supposed to go up to sidewalk level.
The shared version is primary for out of town with 2.5 (older ones 2 meters) for both directions and pedestrians being only a theoretical option. Small towns however often keep them through, where things get problematic with both pedestrians and with cars coming out of driveways.
Great video. Me, a Dutchman learned a new definition: Grade Separated bike lanes/ path. Which are the best bike lanes.
Thanks for watching! You were probably thinking, "We just call them bike lanes." If the Dutch standards for street design were implemented more broadly here in the US, I think a lot more people would consider biking as a viable transportation option.
In Australia, I know several people who have been hit by cars while cycling. Cycling on the roads shared with cars is not safe, and even if you try to protect yourself as much as possible, you can still end up in hospital, or worse. The best bike lanes are the ones that are protected from cars. A simple curb is usually enough for most roads, and barriers for bike lanes along high speed roads.
100%. The more protection and separation that bikes can get, the better. Different traffic calming measures to slow down vehicles can also help, to a point.
REally like that you pointed out those community streets that usually don't have much traffic. On those you really don't need a dedicated bike lane often.
Great video by the way. Obvious sub
Thanks for watching! Some of the quiet side streets are truly hidden gems.
2:18 It looks as if the cyclist in front of you doesn't dare to make full use of the buffer zone. His wheels are directly on the line, so half his body is right in the dooring zone.
I know it takes courage and energy to take up space and be assertive, but not doing so is dangerous.
Rule of thumb: Put your front wheel where the cars put their right wheels.
You're totally right. It feels counterintuitive to anyone not comfortable riding in traffic, but it's actually safer to be out into the road a bit, where you're farther from opening doors, and drivers can see you more easily.
The best biking roads are Category 4 but separated completely from vehicle traffic. Its great to have your own road but if you ride alongside a highway with noise and pollution it is no fun. So roads only for bikes going through parks etc. are amazing.
Yeah, there is definitely variation within the Category 4 routes. Rail trails in wooded areas can be some of the better options in the US, as long as there aren't too many road crossings.
Come to Singapore. It will change your opinion of Category 4 bike paths. Nearly all our bike paths are this type and you will find pedestrians walking all over these bike paths. No one respects the lanes because when it is far from the road, pedestrians see it as just being a glamorized footpath. In my opinion, protected bike lanes are still the best form of bike infrastructure.
Thanks for watching! That's a good point about having pedestrian conflicts on certain types of bike paths. No matter where you are, you need to be watching out for someone!
The Jordan River bike trail is a huge fully separated bike lane in Salt Lake City. Might be a good candidate for a top ten cities with unexpected bike infrastructure. The walk score is low, but the bike score is pretty high.
Thanks for the tip! I'll have to check out that trail the next time I'm in Utah!
Cities need to do more to encourage people to ride bicycles. Safe protected bike lanes and trails are needed so adults and children can ride safely. Speak up for bicycles in your community. Bicycles make life and cities better. Ask your local transportation planner and elected officials to support more protected bike lanes and trails. Children should be riding a bicycle to school and not be driven in a minivan.
Thanks for watching. Advocacy is definitely an important piece of the puzzle in improving bike infrastructure.
Hello,
I recently started to bike however there are some issues that I'd like someone to research and address into a video:
- How to circumvent bad climate? Just a few hours ago I had to leave my bike and jump on a bus because of intense rain and the lack of proper equipment. Cycling when the weather is nice and easy but how to be fully equipped when the weather turns bad?
- How to not get my cycle stolen? Right now it is staying attached on a T-parking downtown, and I'm reallt afraid to see the saddle or wheel gone tomorrow...
I think nobody in the "urban planning" youtube sphere has to be convinced or the benefits of bike nowadays. It's cool. Now I'd like to see the everyday's problems of biking being addressed: dealing with rainy days, get proper equipment, get the bike maintained, etc. Down to earth problematics.
PS: I am a French person leaving in a mid-size city, where a lot of safe bike infrastructure does already exist (but is still imperfect as I still feel threatened by cars and dumb SUVs)
Thanks for watching, and thanks for the comment. I'm planning a video about year-round bike commuting later this summer, and I'm going to address some of these topics. You're right that there are other logistical challenges beyond just infrastructure.
There is no such thing as bad weather, only bad clothing. With rain gear - or even without, if you have the chance to take a quick shower and put on a set of dry clothes at your destination - getting caught in the rain is nothing to worry about. Rain is just water. Small drops of water do not hurt.
Love to see a chicago urbanist. Too few on this platform
Category 1 in Australia just has a yellow bike logo.
In Denmark, according to a former US Ambassador (Trump), we can't even afford to buy cars, so we use bikes because of that!
Of course we have separate bike lanes - to both sides, along most roads in cities (And also outside towns), also with separate traffic lights, to make the bike traffic smooth. Also bike "Highways" and bridges across town and over the local harbor. Mostly it is a pleasure to ride bikes in Denmark!
Thanks for watching! If only more of our US politicians would visit Denmark, the Netherlands, etc. to see this type of infrastructure firsthand, we could make progress here much more quickly. Slow progress is better than no progress, though!
He's totally correct. Riding bikes in Copenhagen with our family was a delight. So safe. I also have good memories of Munich where you have 2 way bike lanes on the super wide sidewalks. I'm not sure you can transplant this to the US because our cities are so spread out and our weather, especially in the midwest, isn't conducive to all season bike commuting.
Thanks for the comment. You're right that some of the European infrastructure would be challenging to implement here, but more of the challenge comes from how our transportation modes are prioritized in the US, with so much focus on cars.
@@michaelplunkett5124 I'm surprised that you found any "contraflow" bike lanes in Munich. There's usually one oneway bike lane on each sidewalk and you can actually be fined if you use itin the wrong direction.
@ Point to point: I like that you pointed out that quiet side streets don't need bike lanes. Munich still has some narrow ones with ridiculous curves around obstacles and bumpy cobblestones whenever there's a driveway. Fortunately they've taken down the blue signs on those, so you're free to ride on the street now. As a general rule, no new bike lanes are built if the speed limit is 30 km/h.
Yes, most Americans are so car orientated that they dismiss cycling right away. Denmark is a great place to cycle. I love your free wooden shelters all over Denmark, so holiday touring cyclists can sleep in them. Saying hi from the Netherlands.
My bike route from the suburbs to the city involves a mix of all four categories, which obviously do not coalesce well together, but just knowing that there's a large portion of the 4th type spanning the adjacent town to the city is really what motivates me to brave the absence leading up to it, which other than getting several flat tires, isn't to bad.a
I've been electing to swing up onto the sidewalk when the road in front is obstructed with parked cars, rather than kick out in between moving traffic and potential driver doors and moving back onto the shoulder when I can. I've also learned to be a little bolder taking the lane while downtown, as traffic is slow and dense enough and biking is common enough to where I don't feel like I'm holding up the cars and risking becoming a human sharrow. While this isn't optimal at all, it's brief enough to make reconnecting with the other bike infrastructure and calmer streets worth it, and I hope increased presence of bikers will lead to more changes.
Thanks for watching and thanks for the comment! I think your experience is shared by many bike commuters, accepting some less-than-ideal sections in order to get to the good stuff. And hoping for some upgrades so we can enjoy a safer and more consistent ride in the future.
I love when planners sneak in opportunistic bike paths. See for instance the Beelhouwersdijk in Utrecht; there is a water pipe below the ground there so there is an almost perfectly straight line on which there can be no buildings, street or car road; so instead they made it a cyclepath.
The straightness reminds me of the rail trails in the US. What would be a big deal here and take years of public debate was probably almost an afterthought in the Netherlands, tacked on to another project.
Great video! as a Chicagoan I can confirm I rarely use the bike lanes unless they're protected because they're just dangerous most of the time. Otherwise I stick to the slow sidestreets and dedicated cycle paths which chicago has a good amount of. Our cycling network would be much better off if we only add bike lanes that are protected or and then focus on making grade separated paths that go through public parks, the boulevard system, and along the river.
Thanks for watching! With the grid Chicago has, creating a true bike network should be easier than in some cities. Ideally, select streets would be prioritized for bikes while leaving others alone, and there would be a focus on connections to parks, schools, libraries, etc.
Another good way to find at least decent routes is via Strava's heat maps
Thanks for sharing, and I agree. Following the crowd isn't always the best advice, but a route with a fair amount of bike traffic should be one of the better options on a particular corridor.
If the bike lane has cars parked on the right i won't use it because I don't want to be hit by a car door. If a car comes up behind me I will move over briefly to let it pass.
Yeah, sometimes the only option is to come to a complete stop. There are many situations where you have to ride ultra defensively (and slow), assuming every driver and rider is trying to run you off the road.
I'd rather bike in an 9 foot lane with a sharrow than a bike gutter, or almost any separated bike lane that rides parallel to a road with lots of intersections where I'll frequently almost get right and left hooked by drivers who don't expect a bike. Taking a lane I only almost get hit by bullies who are trying to intimidate with their vehicles.. it sucks but at least I know they see me.
Thanks for watching! Good point about separated bike lanes with lots of intersections. Especially in car-centric suburbs, there's not enough bike traffic on these for vehicles to be expecting a bike, and the vehicles are often moving at higher speeds than in dense urban areas.
The photo on the right looks like where people go to get whacked.
"Yeah just go down that alley no problem, right down there. Right in there"
- Robert DeNiro
Biking in alleys. Maybe you've just given me an idea for a future video.
Bicycles, ebikes, electric cargo bicycles, robo taxis and escooters are great options for last mile, short distance travel.
Reduced transportation costs and fossil fuels free transportation.
Cities need to do more to encourage people to ride bicycles by providing SAFE, PROTECTED BIKE LANES and trails. Every adult and child should own a bicycle and ride it regularly. Bicycles are healthy exercise and fossil fuels free transportation. Electric bicycles are bringing many older adults back to cycling. Ride to work, ride to school, ride for health or ride for fun. Children should be able to ride a bicycle to school without having to dodge cars and trucks. Separated and protected bike lanes are required. It will also make the roads safer for automobile drivers. Transportation planners and elected officials need to encourage people to walk, bike and take public transportation. Healthy exercise and fossil fuels free transportation. In the future cities will be redesigned for people not cars. Crazy big parking lots will be transformed with solar canopies generating free energy from the sun.
Category minus 1 - actively dangerous roads, the best example I know of being one lane each way with a solid white line down the middle. There is room for me on a bicycle, or there is room for a car, but there is not room for the car to pass me without crossing the line, which it is forbidden by law from doing. It is also forbidden from passing me closer than 1m50cm away. The driver of the car almost invariably decides that they don't care, and they're going to pass me far too closely in a dangerous manner, sometimes around a bend or over a hill for good measure. Welcome to Portugal.
Thanks for sharing. That does sound like a new category, or at least the very bottom of the category 0, creating a very unpleasant experience for those on bikes (and perhaps for some in cars too).
*comment for the algorithm*
Cars parking on the bike lane is soooo normal. With a bike I wouldn‘t dare standing on the car lane or shared lane. Tell me what is wrong here.
Preaching to the converted, my friend. Drivers would lose their minds.
American cyclist are very scared of riding around stuff, this isn't Korea or China where a cyclist is perfectly capable of going around a parked car without making a big deal about it.
In some outer boroughs of NYC, the car is still the king and bike lanes are an afterthought. I have to plan riding tertiary roads just to get to where the decent bike lanes start. Even sharrow roads are sparse where I live. The best (most direct) streets leading to various parks and main Greenways have nothing marked for bikes. I simply have to deal with heavy car traffic and poorly maintained streets. Minority race areas get nothing for bikes. I feel bad for delivery people who use bikes for their living. Manhattan has plenty of bike lanes but outside of that borough it's a biker's challenge to find safe streets to ride on. It's unfair the way bikers are ignored in many parts of NYC. I honestly don't understand why wide streets that run for many miles have nothing for bikes, not even sharrows.😢😡
You make a lot of good points. Equal access to bike infrastructure is critical, and perhaps even more important in lower-income areas where alternative transportation options are sometimes limited.
The problem in the US is thats its cycling infrastructure is haphazard at best. They paint some lines on a high speed road and thats it. If you're lucky there will be some separation or a colored bike lane. "look at us, we are going green! We are promoting cycling!" and all of that crap. Just as you say, its an afterthought.
At the end of most cycling "friendly" roads there is no connected bicycle road to continue and you're dumped in traffic again. Cities has to stop thinking "Lets add cycling roads" and start thinking bike routes. Car roads are planned, why not do the same for bicycles? Cities still think car centric, not transportation centric. Its easy to judge if you live in that cycling heaven called The Netherlands. Cities would need to stop adding bike lanes to big, heavy traffic roads, but convert an adjacent smaller road to a one way car road, with separated bike lanes, and a low speed for cars. Amsterdam/the netherlands has been doing this for years and it works.
And for car lovers, think about this. Would it not be great in NY if half of the cars on the road converted to cyclists, even if you had to give up a car lane?
"Haphazard" is a good way to describe how bike infrastructure is built here. Rather than thinking about a network, and logically connecting key parts of a city, sometimes it feels like cities are trying to hit a "miles added" metric, with sub-par lanes tossed everywhere.
This video shows several riders extremely close to parked cars. NEVER do this! If someone opens the door of a parked car, your chances to react to this are essentially zero. Best case you run into the door at full speed and get severely injured, worse would be you somehow manage to evade the door, but get run over by a truck that was following right behind you. Worst is you crash into the door, get severely hurt, and then get thrown of the bike into traffic and *then* run over.
NEVER RIDE CLOSE TO PARKED CARS! You need at least one metre of safety distance.
Thanks for watching. The risk of dooring is exactly why it's so important to have lanes that are at least buffered, but ideally protected or grade-separated. Simply reducing speed and giving yourself some additional reaction time is another way to mitigate some of the risk.
Category rage, bike lines with cars on the curb making it useless
youtube recommend
“Plastic bollard” is an oxymoron
True. I watched one getting mowed down this afternoon. I doubt the driver would have been as careless if concrete was there instead of plastic.
The USA could should look at what Europe is doing. Multi-model transportations is the future. If we want to be one with our natural world, we must learn to get along, or mother nature has the power over man. It is past time to move to a sustainable way of living.
You're absolutely right that Europe provides a great model for how cities can be designed better. The American attachment to cars has held us back, but we're slowly making progress, at least in urban areas.
If only we had similar population density as Europe instead of our low dense cities surrounded by subdivisions.
I dont like how the main bike lanes are on the roadways with the most car traffic, i prefer to bicycle on a neighbourhood road away from car traffic, why cant a few neighbourhood roads have protected bike lanes and just leave the main roads how they were?
Thanks for the comment! I agree that the addition of bike lanes to arterial streets is somewhat misguided, unless there is enough space for the lanes to be protected. Drivers would certainly prefer your suggestion. I'm hoping we start to see more of the neighborhood greenways that provide safer bike routes on quiet residential streets. For more on neighborhood greenways, check out my Contraflow and Advisory Lane videos!
@pointtopoint-cp6hr thanks for the suggestion I will watch this video, I think in a perfect world a neighbourhood road parallel to a main road would be converted into a pedestrian/bicycle only roadway.
Imagine thinking bikes deserved to be on the road!
I know. Such a crazy thought.
You don’t mention the danger of riding in the door zone. Some people get killed that way. A bike lane designed to be in the door zone is worse than no bike lane. By not mentioning this, you endanger your viewers. You also mention that in certain types of bike lanes, you can relax. But those bike lanes meet with traffic in intersections. Are you unaware that most bike/car collisions occur in intersections?
Thanks for watching. Yes, dooring is why the unbuffered bike lanes are the worst ones, and why some streets without bike lanes are preferable. In terms of relaxation, I guess everything is relative. The best bike lanes/paths minimize the interaction with vehicle traffic, making them (generally) the safest and most relaxing.
Neither. Cars are better at respecting bike lanes than pedestrians.
Soooo better...parking in a bike lane and not noticing Antony
@@prashnaveetprasad8339 Numbers? So one car DARED to park in a bike lanes that should not have been there? I have parked In bike lanes where that curb was also signed as legal parking. And for good reason since less that 10 people use that bike lanes per day. Meanwhile, in a green lane near my work, where there are hundreds of bikes using the street per hour, experienced cyclists use the traffic lanes (illegally) because the green lanes are choked with pedestrians and scooters.