In an age of climate change warming the planet, having readily available shade is all the more important. A further benefit to the de-car-ification that we already need to do to reduce climate change.
@@Bluecho4 we dont need to reduce cars and trees are good for climate, but it’s also just trees. It’s crazy that something as normal, simple, pretty and useful as a tree is seen as a stranger along a US road.
@@codex4046 right? every time I hit a tree: insurence write off and 2 broken legs. every time I hit a pedestrian: all I need to do is spend $2 at the coin op to wash the brains off.
What's crazy is William Penn's reason for street width was to prevent the spread of fires, something that plagued his birthplace in London. In the 1600s, the streets of Philadelphia were absurdly wide compared to other European cities. It really speaks volumes to his genius that the design is still an exemplary one, even after 300 years and an industrial revolution.
I'm surprised you didn't mention that narrow streets take less space. Those narrow streets also allow for very dense developments. The more dense and compact a city, the shorter the distance you will need to travel to get to your destination. As good as efforts to rebuild wide stroads into narrow streets for traffic calming reasons are, doing so cannot fix the fact that many cities were built with an unreasonable amount of space between every building.
Omg this. My city has culs-de-sac of single family homes and the streets are sooo large it’s like they were leaving place for a stroad. In a cul-de-sac. Like you could fit another whole house between each street if they where more narrow.
Former Philly gal here! It's great to see how Philly streets have become increasingly biker-friendly in the 20 years since I moved away. In the 90's, I was able to live there for over a decade without owning a car. As someone else mentioned, there are a lot of trees lining Philly streets, roads and avenues. Shout out to TreePhilly and the Philadelphia Horticultural Society for sustaining Penn's vision of a "greene country towne". The grid pattern of the streets, with alternating one-ways also makes car traffic more predictable, easier to navigate and safer for bikers and pedestrians.
I was in Philadelphia last fall, expecting a rundown city with a few beautiful historic areas, and I was just astounded at how welcoming the city feels. It's not just a walkable city, but a city where you want to walk, with luscious parks, cozy streets, and a generally inviting atmosphere that values the lives and interactions of people standing around and existing in the city spaces instead of passing through in a car as quickly as possible. Philly might be the best US city to live in, especially considering the cost.
Philly, as long as you stay north of Wharton, east of 48th (with exceptions), & south of ridge until its intersection with Girard and then south of girard is quite pleasant and nice. The issue is once you leave that area (except for parts of Northwest Philly), it gets quite dangerous and run-down, unfortunately. But moving here is great! As long as you stay within that area, you won't have to worry about getting shot any more than you would in any other American city (although if you live near the edge of those borders, get used to the sound of gunshots every week or so) This btw is coming from a longtime Philly resident who lives within those boundaries.
@@MichaelShingo I live here, and they don't describe my experience. I think that's the experience of lower middle class and working class Philadelphians, but certainly not everyone here. Also, the experience of lower middle class and working class people in other cities isn't any better.
I live just north of downtown Baltimore and I swear Baltimore is like a mini Philly. Of course our bike infrastructure is nowhere near as advanced and intuitive as Philly's but there are so many street layout parallels that would make it extremely easy to copy and paste Philly's model.
"Narrow roads make people drive slower" *Laughs in Lincoln Drive* Seriously though, I moved to Philly (Mt. Airy) myself a couple years ago and really like it. I hope the city continues to be good to you.
Living in a smallish city in Japan its very similar. Next to 0 bike infrastructure but the narrow streets and mixed use zoning creates an environment where cars are very aware of pedestrians and cyclists, making it rather safe and comfortable to cycle and walk.
Awesome video! Philly's narrow streets are one of its best assets. They make things safer and more pleasant on so many levels. I absolutely love the network of smaller streets that are barely one cars width that extend through center city and parts of south and north Philly. (Eg at 2:15) These often feel like defacto pedestrian/ bike only streets. You almost never see cars on them due to the width and when you do they're doing 5mph max. These streets are awesome public spaces. Neighbors hang out and chat, kids can play out on the street without having to worry about cars. It's great.
This is why I like a lot Chicago's neighborhoods better than the Loop. The Loop has wide streets whereas a lot of neighborhoods only have narrow 2 lane streets for much of the area. Halsted Street, Belmont Avenue, and Broadway are great examples. The neighborhoods do have some wide arterial roads like Ashland Avenue, but a lot of the streets are narrow.
Also, I will be looking forward to more videos on electric bikes. I have one, and I think they could be absolute game changers for cities. Even for small cities.
Oh my god this. Back of the Yards is still unfortunately in a bad spot economically but the design is incredibly easy to follow and surprisingly walkable. Biggest road there is LaSalle or Halsted(?) and they mostly stay away from the urban core and are mainly meant to be collectors and frontage off I90. Harwood Heights is also a great example, albeit fairly small in actual size.
Same for the inner-ring suburbs. I grew up in one of those and went back to visit recently and thought “damn, these streets are really narrow (for a supposed two way street with parking on both sides). Then I realized I’ve just been living in more recently-developed areas that are car-dependent over the past several years
You're not supposed to be on the streets in The Loop. You're underneath in the L or in the alleys or up above with the old L. Honestly, there should be pedestrian maps that just don't show the car streets at all for The Loop.
As a Dutchy, what I find most remarkable about Delaware av. that you showed, are the trees, streetlights and other things put between the bike path and the road. Maybe you're used to it in Philadelphia, but it's completely different from anything I've seen in other videos. I think it was something like leeway for a driver that loses control or something? Nothing next to the road that could cause damage to a car! But it slows traffic and gives cyclists a sense of protection, especially when the trees grow a bit. It looks nicer too
Alan, you need to come down to Savannah, GA sometime! It's a small city but a hidden gem with a beautiful urban environment that has few cars, narrow streets, beautiful old architecture, and LOTS of public squares. It's also incredibly quiet for a city of it's size. The only thing we are missing is some kind of rail transit.
As a philadelphian, savanna is gorgeous. Philly is a big(populous) city. It will never be as pretty as savannah, it may become more inviting than it is now.
Alan: Here in Philadelphia, we're known for a few things Me: expecting a Rocky II joke Alan: It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, Liberty Bell, Cheesesteaks, and our sports fans/mascots Me: *Why are we still here...just to suffer?* For a vid about Philly's streets, I was expecting at least one Rocky II quote or joke as a transition to the topic but the bit with the Benjamin Franklin Parkway flags at 6:04 will do
PHILLYBABY!!! I feel like Philly gets a bad rap, especially from people (like my father) who grew up near there in 70s-80s. Your videos are one of the only things interesting me in visiting again (haven't been outside of the airport since was a kid)! I think Philly and Boston also both share many common attributes/suffered similarly in the mid-century. So many good places now were 'preserved through poverty. Wish I'd discussed that a bit in my video.
@@alanthefisher I just came here from the philly subreddit and am excited to check out your other videos. Doesn't look like you've done one yet on the history of urban planning in Philly, right? I'd love to learn how we got where we are today and what the biggest changes currently being undertaken are.
Interesting how you say that many of the good places were preserved through poverty because I remember that in The Wire there were some areas in the ghettos of Baltimore that where lots of old buildings were preserved (probably because nobody wanted to invest in those neighborhoods).
Recently moved to Philly and agree with a lot of these points. Throughout my walks I always stumble upon an unexpectedly cozy city street/corner and beautiful architecture. This city is really slept on and has a lot of potential. They just need to fix some of their systemic issues like violence, poverty, and SEPTA and it would be one of the best city's in America.
Great catch of that private car at 0:46! Always nice to see that whatever topic you cover, you always find a way to include trains one way or another. And yes, most stroads should be converted into streetcar/LRT lines since Philly used to have multiple streetcar lines, but only a few of them still exist to this day.
I live near a strode in philly that had those lines but they fixed the road thankfully to a better looking street with trees and grass in the middle and more safe to walk to the other side 🤗
Man Philly does so much right; I can't believe it's not focused on as much as cities like New York or Chicago. Good to see a video covering its strengths.
I think some people outside of the northeast need to be open minded when looking at philly and shake off some of the bad perceptions that they may have about the city when assessing the urban form of its streets. Sure there are streets in philly with very bad opioid problems that don’t look very…”nice” to walk through but it would be a mistake to make a causal link between Philadelphia’s urban form and those problems especially because there are some streets in Philadelphia that are nationally unmatched in their livability. It’s the same problem with public transit debates in that sort of way with some people protesting a station coming to their neighborhood and dubbing it the “crime train.” Those societal problems that they describe can and should be treated but it’s not caused by the train station itself and claiming otherwise is disingenuous
In France, they build small medians in certain parts of streets that forces the two way traffic to become a single lane (special signs tell you which side has the right of way). This is a useful tool for slowing down traffic in residential areas
In Belgium they completely go off the charts with these. I have seen planters, lined with 50cm high concrete walls in the middle of the street, one after the other forcing you to slalom through. Every new residential area you drive through, you discover a new way of putting shit in the middle of the road, adding a red and a white arrow and letting people deal with it.
Narrow streets, row houses, decent bike infrastructure, and famous for potholes... Are you sure you didn't end up in Montreal?! This might just be the American city to visit.
@@WakandaleezaRazz Montréal is one of the safest North American big city with a crime rate of 1.11 per 100 000 inhabitants against 8.1 for Philadelphia. The second most actif Subway in North America and one of the most actif Bike lane. Always improve to gets larger and safer.
*Looks at street trees, cycling infrastructure, traffic calming, row houses (terraces here), and famous for harbour views "Wow! This must be an amazing city with amazing infrastructure and affordable housing, like Montreal!" *walks five streets in awe *walks out of the forest "Oh." (View of endless grey sprawl, 2nd most unaffordable city) "Duh, it's Sydney." At least it has trains and ferries though. *looks back at the formerly disparaged neighbourhood for poor people, now the most desired location in the Tokyo-sized city "It's not like people prejudiced against density because it used to be where the poor and desperate lay on the crooked streets, right?" -note, could apply this to Melbourne
I love biking in this city. it's an order of magnitude faster and more convenient than any other form of transit, especially during busy hours. you can go anywhere anytime, park anywhere, and you can generally skip any and all traffic. I think the only downsides to biking here are how aggressive motorists are towards us (just Tuesday I was sideswiped and heavily injured my wrist... still hurts) and how terrible some of the roads still are. I've had to avoid potholes that I swear were knee-deep
This is the first video I’ve seen of my city which captures how pedestrian and bike friendly it really is! The fact that you can walk from the schulykill to the Delaware in 40ish minutes is fantastic
Another thing that makes Philly great for non-car travel is that it was built largely between the invention of indoor plumbing and electricity, but before the invention of the car. This means that when it was a being built they thought about travel in terms of walking, horses, and trolleys. That makes the layout so that there is a good mix of residential, retail, commercial, and industrial. I have long said that Philly will evolve into one of the best cities in America for those who want to get away from the suburban lifestyle.
Uh are you from Philly? All these kids are bad as hell they just wanna shoot everything loot everything car jacking is up a lot right now too. This city is going to be a shithole for a while unfortunately We do have some very good hardworking people here in Philly
I’m currently working on my own video about what qualifies as “good bike infrastructure” and my number one point is: Safety! I think your video is emphasizing this. Wider streets give Philly a chance to provide safety for bike riders and they deliver on it! Except when they’re narrow…man this stuff is kinda weird isn’t it?
I went to Philadelphia on a field trip in 5th grade, seen historical museums and such, but I vividly remember the streets actually having space for vehicles to travel, and trees everywhere down every street. 5th grade me wanted to move there lol it just looked so nice to me. I love Philly
@@misanthrope8803 Please don't take this as indicative for Philadelphia. The city should be praised for having bouts of good design like this, and if we're lucky it'll continue spreading, but this is an extremely small section of the city following these designs and most of the city remains incredibly neglected both in its design and its actual upkeep.
I live in the Netherlands and what you've shown of Philly really looks promising. Better than some European cities. Plus it's gorgeous. Also, the usefulness of narrow streets really needs more attention. A lot of streets in the Netherlands have wide (1.5-2m) bike lanes on either side that force car traffic into a single lane unless two cars are passing each other. This ensures that people drive slowly (to avoid a collision) while giving cyclists plenty of space to navigate safely
The first time I ever flew was to philly from Texas, was able to rent a bike and felt very safe along the roads compared to what it was in any Texas city
I started working in Philadelphia and commute to the city via rail and I walk to the office. I feel safe walking in Philly so much more than I do on my walk to my home in the burbs from the regional rail station. The main reasons being the narrow streets and the one ways make crossing so much easier and safer then the 4 lane road I have to cross or at worse an interception on the same road to walk home.
Its also safer bc in the city, where pedestrians are a normal part of life, drivers are used to seeing them and treat them as a regular part of being on the road. In places where its not common, pedestrians are seen as an inconvenience, "in your way", and theres the added stigma that you probably dont have a car so you must be poor and therefore deserve disrespect and to be run off the road.
@@Pomagranite167 Eh the pedestrians habits of walking into the larger streets when they don't have the right, in particularly on streets like Market and Broad, is one habit i wish all pedestrians in Philly would quit...it slows down traffic too much and I get stuck hearing a shitload of horns blowing due to it, and provides a safety risk if someone in a car either gets impatient or a rescue vehicle needs to get through but pedestrians are in the way/caused a backup moments before due to their stupid habit of walking in the streets when they don't have the right of way. Oh and let me be clear: I've only been in Philly as a pedestrian (fuck trying to drive into that congested mess, I'm taking the train if I have to go to Center City Philly for some reason) so this is coming from another pedestrian's point of view, not a driver's.
It's also so much easier to get around Philly without a car. I live in Souderton, which isn't bad as far as suburbs go because I can walk to most places in town very safely. However, if I need to go to the doctor that's difficult to do because we've built most of our area's hospitals on 4 lane "stroads" without back road connections, trail connections, sidewalks, or public transportation stops nearby. My mom is in the hospital, and I don't own a car. So to visit her I have to bike on route 309 or one of 2 4 lane, 45mph+ roads.
Alan: Please go anywhere besides Pat's or Geno's Tourists who don't know any better: *I'm gonna pretend I didn't hear that* My grandpa rebuilt Pyongyang from the ground up after it was destroyed by US forces, with my father further perfecting its design as an architect. It became a transit-oriented city with a beautiful subway system, unique style, and trams. It is clear which cities are done and ruled with care and which aren't.
Loved this video. I live right on N 3rd in Old City as well and recently discovered your channel via your video about the California high speed rail without realizing you were local! I’ve actually seen you in the neighborhood I believe, as I think I recognize that bike lol. I’ll say hi if I ever see you around. Looking forward to more content! Regarding your general thoughts on Philly I couldn’t agree more. I’m originally from the Philly area but I’ve lived in this neighborhood for 4 years now and it’s awesome. It’s just a great place to live and get around and it’s only getting better. The bones are incredible. Center of Delaware Ave already has a freight rail line in it from the South Philly ports thru Race St. (as I’m sure you know). It’s begging for electrified light rail service and 1 lane less of traffic each way north of the 95 ramps to start, but once the I95 capping project is completed I think there’s even more reason to cut down Delaware Ave traffic and introduce rail service. Needs to expand north then too to Aramingo at least. Link it to MFL at Market street or something with a free interchange. Think of all those apartment towers and complexes popping up along the river in Northern Liberties and Fishtown. When it hits South Philly send it straight down Pattison Ave to the stadiums with a free interchange with the BSL. Anyways I could talk Philly master planning and development for hours so I’ll stop now lol.
Totally agree!! I love walking here in Philly cause I feel confident I won't get doinked at 35 mph. Only thing I don't like (which is a problem in all us cities) is that street signs are still meant for cars. If you're walking against the flow of traffic it can be hard to get a street name sometimes, it's a minor issue but I don't hear it talked about very often :/
I live in Washington State and street signs typically display the name on both sides so you can see it in either direction, even though we’re very much car centric.
6:00 - You're talking about the light placement here, but I also love that there is no separate crosswalk signal. The green light means go for that lady just as much for the car next to her!
I am one of those evil New Yorkers who left Manhattan for Philly five years ago. Philly is an undiscovered gem of a city. It offers the benefits and perks of big city living at a comparatively lower cost. It has culture out the wazoo, and the arts scene is among the best in the country. Yes it has problems like any big city, and there are certainly areas I don't tread, but there is much to love. As for the comments about it being dirty and run down. I will agree that while there are indeed beautiful neighborhoods, it is not aesthetically the prettiest of cites... But hang around for a while and you will discover endless charm.
I feel like Baltimore has a lot of similar streets to this, particularly in some of the older neighborhoods like Fed Hill and Fells. Unfortunately, a lot of the north/south streets and east/west streets through downtown are basically multi lane highways. 😢
I really like Pittsburgh too. So much of it is human scale and fairly dense, but the lack of bike infrastructure and hills make it less favorable for biking at the moment.
That's the downside of not building the actual highway through the city. If people are to come into the city from the outside, they have to be put somewhere. They gave up on streetcars belatedly and thus weren't at the point in financing cycles to get back to that. Rail to downtown is spotty, and the chance to get more was messed up by plans to dig a super expensive tunnel rather than taking out a surface street. Also the people who set the traffic light timing have the IQ of a snail.
I'm so glad someone made a video about this. When i was watching all the videos with Armchair Urbanists and Not Just Bikes, I would always think of one city that reminded me of what they were constantly stressing for: Philadelphia. I only spent 6 months here but its set up was unlike any other city I've been in. Sure other cities have small areas similar to what Philly has. But I can't think of any other city who comes close to the amount of 'narrow street' that Philly boast. And I've been around the US quite a bit (that van life yo). And like the OP in the video, these narrow streets made bicycling safer, since people not only had to pay attention but many times, there was only 1 direction to pay attention in. I hope Philly is able to keep up that good work and eventually becomes the one city we can point to and be like "Ok. Its not Japan or Amsterdam but atleast you can get around without a car pretty efficiently and safely."
Amazing video with keen observations. Such as the placement of streetlights at above pedestrian head level, and speaking about the traffic engineer study of road width and driving speed. I really appreciate your effort in providing such valuable free education here on TH-cam.
acoustic bikes...nice. yeah, man. when you grown up in/near Philly, you kinda take it granted and don't notice everything unique and good about it. I never thought about the traffic light placements before. Also, you don't realize that the super tight streets and alleyways in the colonial core are really unusual for NA cities, even New York (outside the village). Philly's kinda become the darling city of the 2020's because it's the last affordable city on the east coast (in the country?). It's actually cheaper to rent in the city than in the suburbs around it. Hell, it's cheaper than Camden...yes, Camden. Next time you trip over a dirty diaper on Spring Garden, don't be mad, know that this garnish is keeping the New Yorkers out and the rent low. That...and all the murdering. Oh, and I caught the Phillies cap on Billy Pen. Though, I feel like he'd be an A's fan.
One thing I noticed is that if a taxi wants to stop, wait and pick up a fare on these streets it's gridlock. Are shared transportation (Taxis) not part of the solution? I rarely see any accommodation for them on streets with bike paths.
I am a New Yorker who has visited Philly several times (four of those times by riding there and back). And I absolutely love riding my bike in that wonderful city. An important safety feature of Philly streets that you didn't mention is the daylighting of corners, which we unfortunately do not have in New York. This removes the excuse that drivers often use for stopping well ahead of the stopping line, and usually within the crosswalk. The result is an overall much greater respect for stop signs in your city than in mine. When I was riding around, I was shocked to see drivers actually stopping at stop signs, even if no pedestrians were present. This definitely does not happen in New York, where the depraved practice of rolling through stop signs is the norm. Also, Philadelphia seems to have figured out that shorter red-light periods are preferable. I haven't taken a stopwatch to the lights, but my perception is that the period of the red light in Philly is about half what it is in New York. This seems to have virtually eliminated drivers' practice of speeding up to make the light, and also the practice of just blowing through a red light, both of which are distressingly commonplace on New York's streets. Another thing that Philadelphia does well is the distribution of bike lanes. New York has many more total miles of bike lanes, but in Philly these lanes can be found in all parts of town. When I go down there, I stay in Northeast Philly; and even in that remote area, which is like the Queens of Philadelphia, bike lanes abound. Meanwhile, in the Queens of New York City, bike lanes are very scarce. May Philly keep up the good work. I hope to get down there again soon.
@@redman6790 - It takes me about 12 hours. But I think I go a bit slower than most cyclists. And I stop at all red lights. It's a fun full-day ride each way, especially the long stretch on NJ 27. Alas, I don't think I will be able to do that trip this year.
Born and raised in Boston and attended college in NYC. My sister is living in Philly and the street grid/set up reminds me of both cities but in the best ways. Boston is starting to adapt this addition of bike lanes and extended sidewalks in areas that have had lots of major accidents. But the one thing all 3 cities have in common is that the parking sucks 😅
Hi Alan. Chicago is definitely an interesting case study of public transit and walkability / bike ability. Chicago is about 150 years younger than Philly (officially, though it was settled much earlier unofficially), but was still built up in the early 1800s. As a result of it's pre-automobile construction it features LOTS of more human centric design. Narrow streets, one ways, roundabouts, elevated rail lines, and a large network of dedicated bike trails. Sidewalks prevail (for the most part, but some formerly industrial parts of the city go neglected and are totally hostile to humans). And recently, the city government has been on a bike lane installation tear. Of course, much of this is kinda low effort and poorly enforced, but more and more protected and fully separated bike lanes are starting to come online. This is due in part as a result of the MASSIVE increase of scooters and gig economy bike delivery riders, as well as city sanctioned bike rentals (Divvy, though it's now owned by Lyft). On the other hand Chicago has always been a city with a high cyclist rate. You see people riding here even in the winter. I think it'd be cool if you reviewed Chicago's infrastructure, as well as New York City's, and then compare it to three newer (in terms of infrastructure) American cities that are headed in the wrong direction. Looking at YOU Tampa. Literally sucks to be there even in a car. Couldn't imagine having to be a pedestrian trying to take the abysmal public transit or try cycling. My suggestions for comparison cities: -Tampa -Houston -Los Angeles Things to check out in Chicago if you are to ever review our infrastructure: -The 606 -The Lakefront Trail -Chicago Park System
Been here 18 months and don't have the same love for the city as you. I find cycling here wild, drivers, and delivery scooters guys in particular. Love Delaware Ave, SRT, obsessed with Forbidden Drive and The Wis, reminded me of home.
You show a lot of the Spruce St bike lane. I just wish the bollards weren't only at the corners, because there are always cars parked in the bike lane during my commute.
2:28 What also helps alot when biking are those many One- Way- Streets: Drivers can focus much more on observing others if they dont encounter head- on traffic. That also allows for a bike- path on one side, street- parking on the other side, room for additional sidewalks and many trees :)
Great point about the proximity of traffic lights to pedestrians waiting to cross - not something I'd thought about. Since you also mentioned cost, one observation that I did have about driving in Europe, compared to where I live, is that traffic lights are generally only on the close side of the intersection, versus both sides here. It struck me when I drove there that in addition to halving the number of traffic lights, it forces people not to overrun the stop line and obstruct crossings, since you then can't see when the light turns green.
I experienced this as a visiting driver in Philly visiting from the suburban West. I definitely felt involved and the streets were demanding 100% of my attention. We borrowed some bikes at one point and got to see the streets from the other side too. Hopefully other cities can learn from the things Philly did right!
The placement of the traffic lights reminded me of the way how they're placed in Europe because in NA, traffic lights at cross sections are put in the middle or at the other side of the street while in Europe, it's on the same side as the waiting cars. As such, traffic lights in Europe must be put to the sides of the street because the front drivers aren't able to see them otherwise, making this design safety a natural thing.
I really wish Tokyo had big/shady trees like in this video. Tokyo is very hot when summer comes even hotter than my hometown which is located in the equator
As someone who lives in Massachusetts while you were taking about speed limits I started wondering how it is in other states because being a Massachusetts resident my entire life I have learned that people get pissed off at you if you aren't going 20 miles over the speed limit. Gotta love Massholes.
Both of my sisters went to college in Philly so I've spent a ton of time there, the only cities I've spent more time in are NYC and Buenos Aires. For a city with 1.5 million people it feels very cozy and approachable. I really love Philly outside of their sports teams (Flyers are cool but the Eagles and Phillies can go to hell)
Hopefully the whole of the Northeast, at least the cities can catch up to their European counterparts in the not too distant future. These are some of the best cites, American culture is slowly changing but it still needs a lot of extra push
I know this video is old but I am literally a delivery biker for Insomnia Cookies in Philadelphia right now. It's so cool to see my practical experiences as a delivery biker on the streets of Philly expressed from the perspective of analyzing the system as a whole. Awesome video!
I originally rode a Trek FX 7.3 and then used an aftermarket kit to convert it to an eBike. The potholes killed two front rims and I suffered from numerous flats. I then bought a Rad Powerbikes RadCity 4 which shrugs off Philly Streets. County Line, which splits Montgomery County from Bucks County, was reduced from five to three lanes from Buck Road to Bustleton and has drastically reduced the accident rate along this section.
Having used to live at 22nd and Market, one thing I do miss about Philly is how walkable and bikeable it is. I don't miss the steam pipes or sports fans, but I'm glad to see them trying (and succeeding) in being a cycle-friendly city.
I love living at 22nd and Walnut, just in the last few years they built another grocery store to the trader Joe's, added a bike lane on 22nd, finished the bike lanes down walnut and chestnut into west Philly, it's slow but it's progress.
I'm a Philadelphian and bike around the city. While I agree that Philly has great bones to build on, I disagree that it is an accessible bike city. Driving culture in Philly is out of control and extremely dangerous. Drivers tend not to stop at stop signs and blast through red lights. Drivers also give very little space to cyclists on those narrower roads. Wide roads like Broad, Washington, and Girard - the primary auto arterials - are terrifying to bike on (I try to avoid it) and even dangerous to cross. While I think we should celebrate the bones of Philadelphia and the potential it has, we need to be more critical of the current car-centric state of the city and the snails-paced change (i.e. Washington Ave rebuild). I love your content, but I would like to see some more focus on the change that is needed in Philadelphia's infrastructure, especially outside of Center City where biking is exceptionally dangerous and inaccessible.
The car culture in Philly is definitely dangerous and unsustainable, but things have improved a lot over the past couple of decades and continue to improve. But you're right, there definitely are a fair share of dangerous streets. As someone who often bikes around the city with my family (including a kid), I feel like the narrow roads and bike infrastructure make it pretty safe for large chunks of the city though. If you avoid big roads like Broad, Market, The Parkway, etc. It's usually a nice experience. But more needs to be done to combat dangerous driving on larger arterial roads and they really need to start ticketing and enforcing the no parking in the bike lanes (the little plastic divider things are a start at least).
@@sebastien3411 totally. Unfortunately they’ve improved more slowly than the other major EC cities (Boston, NY, DC). I believe Philly is the “poorest” of the four so it makes sense that the progress would be slower.
@@williamfay2725 I hear you, and I definitely wish that things would progress more quickly. Part of it may be down to lack of money like you imply. I think part of the issue is also political will. There have been some city council members who have pushed back against better bike infrastructure. But I've definitely noticed a marked improvement from when I first moved here about 20 years ago. And I think the bike culture here is pretty solid too. We actually have a pretty high bike commute rate and the Bicycle Coalition has done a lot to bring biking into the public consciousness as a positive thing.
Hey Alan just a heads up, I notice you use Sony Vegas for editing and a lot of your shots are interlaced. If you right click on your clips, go to switches, and click disable resample, it'll make your videos deinterlaced and they'll look way better for fast shots.
It took St. Petersburg, Russia about 10 years to destroy that narrow streets we had. You see, there are some trees on some of the streets on your video. Our city planner would've chopped them down to add more lanes. Or make sideways to as narrow as possible. Also they'd removed trams. Ah, also they would've rise speed limits to about 50 mph around whole city and refuse to differentiate those on a premise of traffic jams. Also they'd make bike lanes as unusable as humanly possible (like using them to park tourist buses or maintenance vehicles, or dumping snow and dirt at them, or making routes useless, or not issuing fines for parking or driving at those lanes) only to make a point that those lanes are unpopular and should be removed "to improve traffic"
Sounds like Nashville TN lol. Narrow or nonexistent sidewalks, wide roads that are 3 to 6 lanes in a normal community and drivers that constantly kill and injure pedestrians and people on bicycles while the city council, mayor and state pretend that they are doing something about it (they aren't).
@@knosis late USSR and Russia in 90s-early 00s had fascination with US everything. Since we lost cold war it looked like we had so much to learn from victors, and welp, it seems we cherrypicked the wrong lessons:)
WOOHOO PHILLY! Totally agree on Philly having great “bones”! It also has pretty rail infrastructure, but it’s just not utilized properly or to it’s full potential. Agree that the parkway is ugly as well, I hope the planned revamp of it goes all in on walkability and biking.
The money shot of the cycle displayed with the railway as a background is classic. A visual testament to the synergy with cycling, walking, and mass transit.
I've been living in Philly for 18 years and have never owned a car. Riding a bike is the way to go. Not only does it take up less space (freeing up parking for those that need to drive), it's completely autonomous, and it's good exercise. Even though I've seen the bike infrastructure get better over the years, it definitely has much room for improvement. I'm hoping that things continue to get better, and knowing people like you share the city with me makes me happy :)
As a human giraffe who doesn’t drive a convertible, I would really appreciate those not so high up street lights, when you sit far enough back with your head curled up into the roof of the car you tend to not be able to see that high outside of the vehicle
Wonderful! I ride a road bike on the streets of Philly. You are correct. The cycling is fun, but I've got to be careful at all the railroad crossings, cobblestone streets, uneven pavement, potholes, and curb transitions.
Ah the former capital of our former colony.... Ngl i feel like even us brits can learn.... We have for some reason been going down the american route but a majority of town and city streets are still grid in design....
NYC should take notes. Bike lanes here are a disaster in many places. We also have similarly narrow streets but the traffic and painful parking procedure is a true disaster. Also drivers are always DRIVING or parking on the bike lane… gotta love that
As a former New Yorker, I've always loved Philadelphia - it has a lot of the same type of charm that Brooklyn has but much less chaotic. Hands down my favorite city in the Northeast.
![Stroads are Ugly, Expensive, and Dangerous (and they're everywhere) [ST05]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/ORzNZUeUHAM/mqdefault.jpg)
Also can we take a moment to admire the sheer number of street trees that actually shade the roadway in this video? Wowza.
In an age of climate change warming the planet, having readily available shade is all the more important. A further benefit to the de-car-ification that we already need to do to reduce climate change.
@@Bluecho4 we dont need to reduce cars and trees are good for climate, but it’s also just trees. It’s crazy that something as normal, simple, pretty and useful as a tree is seen as a stranger along a US road.
@@blanco7726 trees are a danger to drivers though. Pedestrians are squishier and protects the driver better.
@@codex4046 Don't forget about other cars, they are extremely dangerous for our drivers. Hence why we must remove cars to further protect them
@@codex4046 right? every time I hit a tree: insurence write off and 2 broken legs. every time I hit a pedestrian: all I need to do is spend $2 at the coin op to wash the brains off.
What's crazy is William Penn's reason for street width was to prevent the spread of fires, something that plagued his birthplace in London. In the 1600s, the streets of Philadelphia were absurdly wide compared to other European cities. It really speaks volumes to his genius that the design is still an exemplary one, even after 300 years and an industrial revolution.
I'm surprised you didn't mention that narrow streets take less space. Those narrow streets also allow for very dense developments. The more dense and compact a city, the shorter the distance you will need to travel to get to your destination.
As good as efforts to rebuild wide stroads into narrow streets for traffic calming reasons are, doing so cannot fix the fact that many cities were built with an unreasonable amount of space between every building.
Build a row of buildings in the middle of the road and split the stroad into two smaller streets.
that might be the topic of another future video!
Omg this. My city has culs-de-sac of single family homes and the streets are sooo large it’s like they were leaving place for a stroad. In a cul-de-sac. Like you could fit another whole house between each street if they where more narrow.
@@thetimelapseguy8 that's actually extremely smart
@@alanthefisher yes please do a video on suburban infil!
Casual reminders to cities: Paint. Is. Not. Infrastructure.
Also flexi-posts are not infrastructure...
When I wake to an Armchair Urbanist video I know the day will be productive and truly fulfilling.
Great to see you here!
@@nah_144 Ditto
Thats my boy right there, look at him go
Hey RM nice to see you here lol
Ebike with Acela in the background at 4:22 is urbanist porn
Former Philly gal here! It's great to see how Philly streets have become increasingly biker-friendly in the 20 years since I moved away. In the 90's, I was able to live there for over a decade without owning a car. As someone else mentioned, there are a lot of trees lining Philly streets, roads and avenues. Shout out to TreePhilly and the Philadelphia Horticultural Society for sustaining Penn's vision of a "greene country towne".
The grid pattern of the streets, with alternating one-ways also makes car traffic more predictable, easier to navigate and safer for bikers and pedestrians.
I think there have been studies that trees inside a city street grid vastly increase health. Both in breathing and mental.
I was in Philadelphia last fall, expecting a rundown city with a few beautiful historic areas, and I was just astounded at how welcoming the city feels. It's not just a walkable city, but a city where you want to walk, with luscious parks, cozy streets, and a generally inviting atmosphere that values the lives and interactions of people standing around and existing in the city spaces instead of passing through in a car as quickly as possible. Philly might be the best US city to live in, especially considering the cost.
Philly, as long as you stay north of Wharton, east of 48th (with exceptions), & south of ridge until its intersection with Girard and then south of girard is quite pleasant and nice. The issue is once you leave that area (except for parts of Northwest Philly), it gets quite dangerous and run-down, unfortunately. But moving here is great! As long as you stay within that area, you won't have to worry about getting shot any more than you would in any other American city (although if you live near the edge of those borders, get used to the sound of gunshots every week or so)
This btw is coming from a longtime Philly resident who lives within those boundaries.
Dont try to sugar coat it. Philly is a shithole outside of a couple of places
LOL.
Do.Not.Go.To.Kensington.
Your idea of Philly will change. Forever.
For people living here, your expectations 100% describe the experience
@@MichaelShingo I live here, and they don't describe my experience. I think that's the experience of lower middle class and working class Philadelphians, but certainly not everyone here. Also, the experience of lower middle class and working class people in other cities isn't any better.
I live just north of downtown Baltimore and I swear Baltimore is like a mini Philly. Of course our bike infrastructure is nowhere near as advanced and intuitive as Philly's but there are so many street layout parallels that would make it extremely easy to copy and paste Philly's model.
I always felt that Baltimore was like the little sibling of Philly. Very similar !
"Narrow roads make people drive slower"
*Laughs in Lincoln Drive*
Seriously though, I moved to Philly (Mt. Airy) myself a couple years ago and really like it. I hope the city continues to be good to you.
Lincoln Drive is like the Autobahn but in America. Brakes don’t exist and neither does any attention to the speed limit.
LOL ... No man ... Roosevelt Blvd ... second most dangerous street in the USA
Miami?
Love driving down Lincoln Drive... just don't try driving next to another person on it.
Lincoln Drives speed “limit” is 25 but unless you count traffic I don’t think anyone drives slower than 40 on it lmao
Living in a smallish city in Japan its very similar. Next to 0 bike infrastructure but the narrow streets and mixed use zoning creates an environment where cars are very aware of pedestrians and cyclists, making it rather safe and comfortable to cycle and walk.
Safe and philly do not go together
Awesome video! Philly's narrow streets are one of its best assets. They make things safer and more pleasant on so many levels. I absolutely love the network of smaller streets that are barely one cars width that extend through center city and parts of south and north Philly. (Eg at 2:15) These often feel like defacto pedestrian/ bike only streets. You almost never see cars on them due to the width and when you do they're doing 5mph max. These streets are awesome public spaces. Neighbors hang out and chat, kids can play out on the street without having to worry about cars. It's great.
Those streets look so incredibly similar to European ones! It’s lovely!
This is why I like a lot Chicago's neighborhoods better than the Loop. The Loop has wide streets whereas a lot of neighborhoods only have narrow 2 lane streets for much of the area. Halsted Street, Belmont Avenue, and Broadway are great examples.
The neighborhoods do have some wide arterial roads like Ashland Avenue, but a lot of the streets are narrow.
Also, I will be looking forward to more videos on electric bikes. I have one, and I think they could be absolute game changers for cities. Even for small cities.
Oh my god this. Back of the Yards is still unfortunately in a bad spot economically but the design is incredibly easy to follow and surprisingly walkable. Biggest road there is LaSalle or Halsted(?) and they mostly stay away from the urban core and are mainly meant to be collectors and frontage off I90. Harwood Heights is also a great example, albeit fairly small in actual size.
Same for the inner-ring suburbs. I grew up in one of those and went back to visit recently and thought “damn, these streets are really narrow (for a supposed two way street with parking on both sides). Then I realized I’ve just been living in more recently-developed areas that are car-dependent over the past several years
You're not supposed to be on the streets in The Loop. You're underneath in the L or in the alleys or up above with the old L. Honestly, there should be pedestrian maps that just don't show the car streets at all for The Loop.
@Elijah Kaiss I've never been to Philly, but this comment (and the video) make me want to visit.
I hate wide streets.
As a Dutchy, what I find most remarkable about Delaware av. that you showed, are the trees, streetlights and other things put between the bike path and the road. Maybe you're used to it in Philadelphia, but it's completely different from anything I've seen in other videos. I think it was something like leeway for a driver that loses control or something? Nothing next to the road that could cause damage to a car! But it slows traffic and gives cyclists a sense of protection, especially when the trees grow a bit. It looks nicer too
Alan, you need to come down to Savannah, GA sometime! It's a small city but a hidden gem with a beautiful urban environment that has few cars, narrow streets, beautiful old architecture, and LOTS of public squares. It's also incredibly quiet for a city of it's size. The only thing we are missing is some kind of rail transit.
As a philadelphian, savanna is gorgeous. Philly is a big(populous) city. It will never be as pretty as savannah, it may become more inviting than it is now.
I love Savannah! I am originally from Philly. I visited Savannah in Feb 2019. I hope to return!
Savannah is for sure one of my favorite cities in NA, especially since its one of the rare majority black cities
Walking around central Savannah definitely reminded me of Philly, which is wild considering the huge differences in size.
Don't forget to mention the bar on every corner.
I just moved to Philly last week and as soon as I saw those narrow streets I went "hmmm, this is promising".
I love how you managed to get trains in the background when you were doing beauty shots of your bike.
Alan: Here in Philadelphia, we're known for a few things
Me: expecting a Rocky II joke
Alan: It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, Liberty Bell, Cheesesteaks, and our sports fans/mascots
Me: *Why are we still here...just to suffer?*
For a vid about Philly's streets, I was expecting at least one Rocky II quote or joke as a transition to the topic but the bit with the Benjamin Franklin Parkway flags at 6:04 will do
Glad to see Philly getting some love.
I'm a native of the Camden suburbs, and I gotta say Philly has great public transit. it keeps car demand low enough to make such narrow roads viable
PHILLYBABY!!! I feel like Philly gets a bad rap, especially from people (like my father) who grew up near there in 70s-80s. Your videos are one of the only things interesting me in visiting again (haven't been outside of the airport since was a kid)! I think Philly and Boston also both share many common attributes/suffered similarly in the mid-century. So many good places now were 'preserved through poverty. Wish I'd discussed that a bit in my video.
I mean it does only have 1 bridge 😂
might be a topic for a future video :)
@@alanthefisher I just came here from the philly subreddit and am excited to check out your other videos. Doesn't look like you've done one yet on the history of urban planning in Philly, right? I'd love to learn how we got where we are today and what the biggest changes currently being undertaken are.
Interesting how you say that many of the good places were preserved through poverty because I remember that in The Wire there were some areas in the ghettos of Baltimore that where lots of old buildings were preserved (probably because nobody wanted to invest in those neighborhoods).
i was thinking of the fresh prince of bel air
Recently moved to Philly and agree with a lot of these points. Throughout my walks I always stumble upon an unexpectedly cozy city street/corner and beautiful architecture. This city is really slept on and has a lot of potential. They just need to fix some of their systemic issues like violence, poverty, and SEPTA and it would be one of the best city's in America.
I would give a massive rant about septa, but the train still isn't here
The historical area is beautiful. Don't hold your breath on the crime though. Not if Philly doesn't change its politics.
Keep it slept on, best to have it as a secret lol
@@sevensicilies LOL!
Lol imagine living in Philly
Great catch of that private car at 0:46! Always nice to see that whatever topic you cover, you always find a way to include trains one way or another. And yes, most stroads should be converted into streetcar/LRT lines since Philly used to have multiple streetcar lines, but only a few of them still exist to this day.
Yup, especially the buried streetcar tracks.
I knew that clip would be foamer bait haha
@@dunbrine47 but not totally buried so I have to be careful riding around on skinny bike tires, those tracks will grab your tire and mess you up
I live near a strode in philly that had those lines but they fixed the road thankfully to a better looking street with trees and grass in the middle and more safe to walk to the other side 🤗
Man Philly does so much right; I can't believe it's not focused on as much as cities like New York or Chicago. Good to see a video covering its strengths.
The crime rates are about the same.
@@Living4YHWH no they’re not…
I think some people outside of the northeast need to be open minded when looking at philly and shake off some of the bad perceptions that they may have about the city when assessing the urban form of its streets.
Sure there are streets in philly with very bad opioid problems that don’t look very…”nice” to walk through but it would be a mistake to make a causal link between Philadelphia’s urban form and those problems especially because there are some streets in Philadelphia that are nationally unmatched in their livability.
It’s the same problem with public transit debates in that sort of way with some people protesting a station coming to their neighborhood and dubbing it the “crime train.” Those societal problems that they describe can and should be treated but it’s not caused by the train station itself and claiming otherwise is disingenuous
The infamous problem of "But Sometimes!"
If trains were the cause of crime, then Japan would be a much more dangerous country than the US lol
@@35mm21 So you would rather kill any sort of improvement to your neighborhood just to keep your rents down? Disgusting.
I live in the center city, trust me it's not rosy here either. There's some crime happening all the time
Kensington Ave is the last thing I think about when it comes to Philly being the garbage can of Pennsylvania
1:00 That truck is oh so slowly merging into that "protected" bike lane smh
In France, they build small medians in certain parts of streets that forces the two way traffic to become a single lane (special signs tell you which side has the right of way). This is a useful tool for slowing down traffic in residential areas
In Belgium they completely go off the charts with these. I have seen planters, lined with 50cm high concrete walls in the middle of the street, one after the other forcing you to slalom through. Every new residential area you drive through, you discover a new way of putting shit in the middle of the road, adding a red and a white arrow and letting people deal with it.
How pretentious
@@blanco7726 ya it can be very annoying but when used judiciously, it can be effectively used to slow down traffic
@@scottanno8861 What do you mean by that ?
@@lhemnenn4713 I guarantee that the rich neighborhoods in France don't have this, it is only imposed on the common man to force compliance.
Narrow streets, row houses, decent bike infrastructure, and famous for potholes... Are you sure you didn't end up in Montreal?! This might just be the American city to visit.
Doesn't have that famous cone, though
*hears gun shots and blm lootn* oh nah not Montréal, this Lagos
@@WakandaleezaRazz Montréal is one of the safest North American big city with a crime rate of 1.11 per 100 000 inhabitants against 8.1 for Philadelphia.
The second most actif Subway in North America and one of the most actif Bike lane. Always improve to gets larger and safer.
Other US cities: "Our roads are wide and built only for cars".
Philadelphia: "Our roads are narrow and turning slowly into a European-style city"
*Looks at street trees, cycling infrastructure, traffic calming, row houses (terraces here), and famous for harbour views
"Wow! This must be an amazing city with amazing infrastructure and affordable housing, like Montreal!"
*walks five streets in awe
*walks out of the forest
"Oh."
(View of endless grey sprawl, 2nd most unaffordable city)
"Duh, it's Sydney."
At least it has trains and ferries though.
*looks back at the formerly disparaged neighbourhood for poor people, now the most desired location in the Tokyo-sized city
"It's not like people prejudiced against density because it used to be where the poor and desperate lay on the crooked streets, right?"
-note, could apply this to Melbourne
A light rail line along 22->Snyder->5 would be a great way to cover areas not served by the Broad St Line
“Width is important” is what my ex told me before breaking up 😔
I love biking in this city. it's an order of magnitude faster and more convenient than any other form of transit, especially during busy hours.
you can go anywhere anytime, park anywhere, and you can generally skip any and all traffic.
I think the only downsides to biking here are how aggressive motorists are towards us (just Tuesday I was sideswiped and heavily injured my wrist... still hurts) and how terrible some of the roads still are. I've had to avoid potholes that I swear were knee-deep
Man that sucks but it's a step in the right direction atleast
It is true, drivers out here are out for blood!!!!
This is the first video I’ve seen of my city which captures how pedestrian and bike friendly it really is! The fact that you can walk from the schulykill to the Delaware in 40ish minutes is fantastic
Moved to Seattle from the Philly area almost 3 years ago but damn these videos are making me homesick. Philly is amazing
Don't fall for it! Go back and visit and you will likely be thankful to now live in Seattle.
Do you like living in Seattle
Another thing that makes Philly great for non-car travel is that it was built largely between the invention of indoor plumbing and electricity, but before the invention of the car. This means that when it was a being built they thought about travel in terms of walking, horses, and trolleys. That makes the layout so that there is a good mix of residential, retail, commercial, and industrial. I have long said that Philly will evolve into one of the best cities in America for those who want to get away from the suburban lifestyle.
Many other cities in america were built like that, and then rebuilt to accomodate cars.
Uh are you from Philly? All these kids are bad as hell they just wanna shoot everything loot everything car jacking is up a lot right now too. This city is going to be a shithole for a while unfortunately
We do have some very good hardworking people here in Philly
I’m currently working on my own video about what qualifies as “good bike infrastructure” and my number one point is: Safety!
I think your video is emphasizing this. Wider streets give Philly a chance to provide safety for bike riders and they deliver on it! Except when they’re narrow…man this stuff is kinda weird isn’t it?
I went to Philadelphia on a field trip in 5th grade, seen historical museums and such, but I vividly remember the streets actually having space for vehicles to travel, and trees everywhere down every street. 5th grade me wanted to move there lol it just looked so nice to me. I love Philly
Wow, these streets do look great. This is probably the first footage of a north american city that makes me wanna live there
Same! I was pleasantly surprised by how nice Philadelphia looks compared to pretty much every other major city in the US.
@@misanthrope8803 Please don't take this as indicative for Philadelphia. The city should be praised for having bouts of good design like this, and if we're lucky it'll continue spreading, but this is an extremely small section of the city following these designs and most of the city remains incredibly neglected both in its design and its actual upkeep.
@@LonelyKnightess Well said Panzer.
Philadelphia: *Has narrow roads*
People in the USA *"Our cities are supposed to be wide for our massive pickups, damn you Europeans!"*
@@LonelyKnightess I am completely aware of that but I just loved the first impressions of the good side of Philadelphia
I live in the Netherlands and what you've shown of Philly really looks promising. Better than some European cities. Plus it's gorgeous.
Also, the usefulness of narrow streets really needs more attention. A lot of streets in the Netherlands have wide (1.5-2m) bike lanes on either side that force car traffic into a single lane unless two cars are passing each other. This ensures that people drive slowly (to avoid a collision) while giving cyclists plenty of space to navigate safely
The first time I ever flew was to philly from Texas, was able to rent a bike and felt very safe along the roads compared to what it was in any Texas city
texas is so dismal in every architecture aspect
Didn't expect some Vulf Fearless Flyers on a video about Philadelphia's streets. Great video!
I started working in Philadelphia and commute to the city via rail and I walk to the office. I feel safe walking in Philly so much more than I do on my walk to my home in the burbs from the regional rail station. The main reasons being the narrow streets and the one ways make crossing so much easier and safer then the 4 lane road I have to cross or at worse an interception on the same road to walk home.
I reverse commute into the suburbs and agree the city side is the far safer walk
Its also safer bc in the city, where pedestrians are a normal part of life, drivers are used to seeing them and treat them as a regular part of being on the road. In places where its not common, pedestrians are seen as an inconvenience, "in your way", and theres the added stigma that you probably dont have a car so you must be poor and therefore deserve disrespect and to be run off the road.
@@Pomagranite167 Eh the pedestrians habits of walking into the larger streets when they don't have the right, in particularly on streets like Market and Broad, is one habit i wish all pedestrians in Philly would quit...it slows down traffic too much and I get stuck hearing a shitload of horns blowing due to it, and provides a safety risk if someone in a car either gets impatient or a rescue vehicle needs to get through but pedestrians are in the way/caused a backup moments before due to their stupid habit of walking in the streets when they don't have the right of way. Oh and let me be clear: I've only been in Philly as a pedestrian (fuck trying to drive into that congested mess, I'm taking the train if I have to go to Center City Philly for some reason) so this is coming from another pedestrian's point of view, not a driver's.
It's also so much easier to get around Philly without a car. I live in Souderton, which isn't bad as far as suburbs go because I can walk to most places in town very safely. However, if I need to go to the doctor that's difficult to do because we've built most of our area's hospitals on 4 lane "stroads" without back road connections, trail connections, sidewalks, or public transportation stops nearby. My mom is in the hospital, and I don't own a car. So to visit her I have to bike on route 309 or one of 2 4 lane, 45mph+ roads.
Alan: Please go anywhere besides Pat's or Geno's
Tourists who don't know any better: *I'm gonna pretend I didn't hear that*
My grandpa rebuilt Pyongyang from the ground up after it was destroyed by US forces, with my father further perfecting its design as an architect. It became a transit-oriented city with a beautiful subway system, unique style, and trams. It is clear which cities are done and ruled with care and which aren't.
Did your pops like genos or pats? Don’t care what he built.
*seeing the Acela go by during the Bike video*
HAHAHA YES
Loved this video. I live right on N 3rd in Old City as well and recently discovered your channel via your video about the California high speed rail without realizing you were local! I’ve actually seen you in the neighborhood I believe, as I think I recognize that bike lol. I’ll say hi if I ever see you around. Looking forward to more content!
Regarding your general thoughts on Philly I couldn’t agree more. I’m originally from the Philly area but I’ve lived in this neighborhood for 4 years now and it’s awesome. It’s just a great place to live and get around and it’s only getting better. The bones are incredible. Center of Delaware Ave already has a freight rail line in it from the South Philly ports thru Race St. (as I’m sure you know). It’s begging for electrified light rail service and 1 lane less of traffic each way north of the 95 ramps to start, but once the I95 capping project is completed I think there’s even more reason to cut down Delaware Ave traffic and introduce rail service. Needs to expand north then too to Aramingo at least. Link it to MFL at Market street or something with a free interchange. Think of all those apartment towers and complexes popping up along the river in Northern Liberties and Fishtown. When it hits South Philly send it straight down Pattison Ave to the stadiums with a free interchange with the BSL. Anyways I could talk Philly master planning and development for hours so I’ll stop now lol.
Totally agree!! I love walking here in Philly cause I feel confident I won't get doinked at 35 mph. Only thing I don't like (which is a problem in all us cities) is that street signs are still meant for cars. If you're walking against the flow of traffic it can be hard to get a street name sometimes, it's a minor issue but I don't hear it talked about very often :/
I live in Washington State and street signs typically display the name on both sides so you can see it in either direction, even though we’re very much car centric.
6:00 - You're talking about the light placement here, but I also love that there is no separate crosswalk signal. The green light means go for that lady just as much for the car next to her!
Narrow streets are why I love Boston, Philly, and Montreal so much.
I am one of those evil New Yorkers who left Manhattan for Philly five years ago. Philly is an undiscovered gem of a city. It offers the benefits and perks of big city living at a comparatively lower cost. It has culture out the wazoo, and the arts scene is among the best in the country.
Yes it has problems like any big city, and there are certainly areas I don't tread, but there is much to love.
As for the comments about it being dirty and run down. I will agree that while there are indeed beautiful neighborhoods, it is not aesthetically the prettiest of cites... But hang around for a while and you will discover endless charm.
I feel like Baltimore has a lot of similar streets to this, particularly in some of the older neighborhoods like Fed Hill and Fells. Unfortunately, a lot of the north/south streets and east/west streets through downtown are basically multi lane highways. 😢
I really like Pittsburgh too. So much of it is human scale and fairly dense, but the lack of bike infrastructure and hills make it less favorable for biking at the moment.
That's the downside of not building the actual highway through the city. If people are to come into the city from the outside, they have to be put somewhere. They gave up on streetcars belatedly and thus weren't at the point in financing cycles to get back to that. Rail to downtown is spotty, and the chance to get more was messed up by plans to dig a super expensive tunnel rather than taking out a surface street.
Also the people who set the traffic light timing have the IQ of a snail.
Very cool! The tip about traffic lights being placed over pedestrians it's so interesting. Simple and intuitive.
Thank you! Philly is underrated and I can't wait to move there.
Had a good chuckle at 'acoustic bikes', love it!
I'm so glad someone made a video about this. When i was watching all the videos with Armchair Urbanists and Not Just Bikes, I would always think of one city that reminded me of what they were constantly stressing for: Philadelphia. I only spent 6 months here but its set up was unlike any other city I've been in.
Sure other cities have small areas similar to what Philly has. But I can't think of any other city who comes close to the amount of 'narrow street' that Philly boast. And I've been around the US quite a bit (that van life yo). And like the OP in the video, these narrow streets made bicycling safer, since people not only had to pay attention but many times, there was only 1 direction to pay attention in.
I hope Philly is able to keep up that good work and eventually becomes the one city we can point to and be like "Ok. Its not Japan or Amsterdam but atleast you can get around without a car pretty efficiently and safely."
Literally every single urbanist youtuber feels that way
Are you new here?
Amazing video with keen observations. Such as the placement of streetlights at above pedestrian head level, and speaking about the traffic engineer study of road width and driving speed. I really appreciate your effort in providing such valuable free education here on TH-cam.
acoustic bikes...nice.
yeah, man. when you grown up in/near Philly, you kinda take it granted and don't notice everything unique and good about it. I never thought about the traffic light placements before. Also, you don't realize that the super tight streets and alleyways in the colonial core are really unusual for NA cities, even New York (outside the village). Philly's kinda become the darling city of the 2020's because it's the last affordable city on the east coast (in the country?). It's actually cheaper to rent in the city than in the suburbs around it. Hell, it's cheaper than Camden...yes, Camden. Next time you trip over a dirty diaper on Spring Garden, don't be mad, know that this garnish is keeping the New Yorkers out and the rent low. That...and all the murdering.
Oh, and I caught the Phillies cap on Billy Pen. Though, I feel like he'd be an A's fan.
One thing I noticed is that if a taxi wants to stop, wait and pick up a fare on these streets it's gridlock. Are shared transportation (Taxis) not part of the solution? I rarely see any accommodation for them on streets with bike paths.
How about delivery trucks
I am a New Yorker who has visited Philly several times (four of those times by riding there and back). And I absolutely love riding my bike in that wonderful city.
An important safety feature of Philly streets that you didn't mention is the daylighting of corners, which we unfortunately do not have in New York. This removes the excuse that drivers often use for stopping well ahead of the stopping line, and usually within the crosswalk.
The result is an overall much greater respect for stop signs in your city than in mine. When I was riding around, I was shocked to see drivers actually stopping at stop signs, even if no pedestrians were present. This definitely does not happen in New York, where the depraved practice of rolling through stop signs is the norm.
Also, Philadelphia seems to have figured out that shorter red-light periods are preferable. I haven't taken a stopwatch to the lights, but my perception is that the period of the red light in Philly is about half what it is in New York. This seems to have virtually eliminated drivers' practice of speeding up to make the light, and also the practice of just blowing through a red light, both of which are distressingly commonplace on New York's streets.
Another thing that Philadelphia does well is the distribution of bike lanes. New York has many more total miles of bike lanes, but in Philly these lanes can be found in all parts of town. When I go down there, I stay in Northeast Philly; and even in that remote area, which is like the Queens of Philadelphia, bike lanes abound. Meanwhile, in the Queens of New York City, bike lanes are very scarce.
May Philly keep up the good work. I hope to get down there again soon.
The Queens of Philadelphia could not be more apt a description.
Come back any time! Glad you enjoy. This makes me happy to read.
Interesting read. How long does it take to cycle from NY to PHI? I may just embark on this next time I am around.
@@redman6790 - It takes me about 12 hours. But I think I go a bit slower than most cyclists. And I stop at all red lights.
It's a fun full-day ride each way, especially the long stretch on NJ 27. Alas, I don't think I will be able to do that trip this year.
That Vulfpeck fill at 0:36 was an unexpected beauty.
Born and raised in Boston and attended college in NYC. My sister is living in Philly and the street grid/set up reminds me of both cities but in the best ways. Boston is starting to adapt this addition of bike lanes and extended sidewalks in areas that have had lots of major accidents. But the one thing all 3 cities have in common is that the parking sucks 😅
Hi Alan. Chicago is definitely an interesting case study of public transit and walkability / bike ability. Chicago is about 150 years younger than Philly (officially, though it was settled much earlier unofficially), but was still built up in the early 1800s. As a result of it's pre-automobile construction it features LOTS of more human centric design. Narrow streets, one ways, roundabouts, elevated rail lines, and a large network of dedicated bike trails. Sidewalks prevail (for the most part, but some formerly industrial parts of the city go neglected and are totally hostile to humans). And recently, the city government has been on a bike lane installation tear. Of course, much of this is kinda low effort and poorly enforced, but more and more protected and fully separated bike lanes are starting to come online. This is due in part as a result of the MASSIVE increase of scooters and gig economy bike delivery riders, as well as city sanctioned bike rentals (Divvy, though it's now owned by Lyft). On the other hand Chicago has always been a city with a high cyclist rate. You see people riding here even in the winter.
I think it'd be cool if you reviewed Chicago's infrastructure, as well as New York City's, and then compare it to three newer (in terms of infrastructure) American cities that are headed in the wrong direction. Looking at YOU Tampa. Literally sucks to be there even in a car. Couldn't imagine having to be a pedestrian trying to take the abysmal public transit or try cycling.
My suggestions for comparison cities:
-Tampa
-Houston
-Los Angeles
Things to check out in Chicago if you are to ever review our infrastructure:
-The 606
-The Lakefront Trail
-Chicago Park System
Wonderful video. Makes me want to move to Philly, except that I hate snow!
In that type of climate, any given winter day might be too warm for snow. It only happens a few times per year.
Honestly we don’t even get that much anymore, which is a sad but true reality of this changing world. But you might be able to handle it nowadays!
Been here 18 months and don't have the same love for the city as you. I find cycling here wild, drivers, and delivery scooters guys in particular. Love Delaware Ave, SRT, obsessed with Forbidden Drive and The Wis, reminded me of home.
Even the "bad" Philly streets don't look too bad
The idea of putting street lights on the corners is new to me. Such a simple concept, but a wonderful one.
You show a lot of the Spruce St bike lane. I just wish the bollards weren't only at the corners, because there are always cars parked in the bike lane during my commute.
2:28 What also helps alot when biking are those many One- Way- Streets: Drivers can focus much more on observing others if they dont encounter head- on traffic. That also allows for a bike- path on one side, street- parking on the other side, room for additional sidewalks and many trees :)
Great point about the proximity of traffic lights to pedestrians waiting to cross - not something I'd thought about. Since you also mentioned cost, one observation that I did have about driving in Europe, compared to where I live, is that traffic lights are generally only on the close side of the intersection, versus both sides here. It struck me when I drove there that in addition to halving the number of traffic lights, it forces people not to overrun the stop line and obstruct crossings, since you then can't see when the light turns green.
Fantastic video as always. You made me as a New Yorker humble with your narrow streets.
I experienced this as a visiting driver in Philly visiting from the suburban West. I definitely felt involved and the streets were demanding 100% of my attention. We borrowed some bikes at one point and got to see the streets from the other side too. Hopefully other cities can learn from the things Philly did right!
The placement of the traffic lights reminded me of the way how they're placed in Europe because in NA, traffic lights at cross sections are put in the middle or at the other side of the street while in Europe, it's on the same side as the waiting cars. As such, traffic lights in Europe must be put to the sides of the street because the front drivers aren't able to see them otherwise, making this design safety a natural thing.
Visited a few days ago and it was a very enjoyable city. Some areas are a little rough but where I have been didn’t feel too dangerous.
"Acoustic Bikes." FFS the day I can play Wonderwall on one is the day I'll call it an acoustic bicycle.
I really wish Tokyo had big/shady trees like in this video.
Tokyo is very hot when summer comes even hotter than my hometown which is located in the equator
Trust me you REALLY wouldn’t wanna leave tokyo for philadelphia or any east american city
As someone who lives in Massachusetts while you were taking about speed limits I started wondering how it is in other states because being a Massachusetts resident my entire life I have learned that people get pissed off at you if you aren't going 20 miles over the speed limit. Gotta love Massholes.
Both of my sisters went to college in Philly so I've spent a ton of time there, the only cities I've spent more time in are NYC and Buenos Aires. For a city with 1.5 million people it feels very cozy and approachable. I really love Philly outside of their sports teams (Flyers are cool but the Eagles and Phillies can go to hell)
The trick with the traffic lights at pedestrian corners is really clever. I wish more places did that.
Hopefully the whole of the Northeast, at least the cities can catch up to their European counterparts in the not too distant future. These are some of the best cites, American culture is slowly changing but it still needs a lot of extra push
Hopefully.
I know this video is old but I am literally a delivery biker for Insomnia Cookies in Philadelphia right now. It's so cool to see my practical experiences as a delivery biker on the streets of Philly expressed from the perspective of analyzing the system as a whole. Awesome video!
Great video! I was looking exactly for this!
Are there any other North American cities that are pedestrian friendly in a similar way??
I originally rode a Trek FX 7.3 and then used an aftermarket kit to convert it to an eBike. The potholes killed two front rims and I suffered from numerous flats. I then bought a Rad Powerbikes RadCity 4 which shrugs off Philly Streets. County Line, which splits Montgomery County from Bucks County, was reduced from five to three lanes from Buck Road to Bustleton and has drastically reduced the accident rate along this section.
Having used to live at 22nd and Market, one thing I do miss about Philly is how walkable and bikeable it is. I don't miss the steam pipes or sports fans, but I'm glad to see them trying (and succeeding) in being a cycle-friendly city.
I love living at 22nd and Walnut, just in the last few years they built another grocery store to the trader Joe's, added a bike lane on 22nd, finished the bike lanes down walnut and chestnut into west Philly, it's slow but it's progress.
I moved to Philly recently, and I absolutely love it here. Great video! Spot on!
I'm a Philadelphian and bike around the city. While I agree that Philly has great bones to build on, I disagree that it is an accessible bike city. Driving culture in Philly is out of control and extremely dangerous. Drivers tend not to stop at stop signs and blast through red lights. Drivers also give very little space to cyclists on those narrower roads. Wide roads like Broad, Washington, and Girard - the primary auto arterials - are terrifying to bike on (I try to avoid it) and even dangerous to cross. While I think we should celebrate the bones of Philadelphia and the potential it has, we need to be more critical of the current car-centric state of the city and the snails-paced change (i.e. Washington Ave rebuild). I love your content, but I would like to see some more focus on the change that is needed in Philadelphia's infrastructure, especially outside of Center City where biking is exceptionally dangerous and inaccessible.
The car culture in Philly is definitely dangerous and unsustainable, but things have improved a lot over the past couple of decades and continue to improve. But you're right, there definitely are a fair share of dangerous streets. As someone who often bikes around the city with my family (including a kid), I feel like the narrow roads and bike infrastructure make it pretty safe for large chunks of the city though. If you avoid big roads like Broad, Market, The Parkway, etc. It's usually a nice experience. But more needs to be done to combat dangerous driving on larger arterial roads and they really need to start ticketing and enforcing the no parking in the bike lanes (the little plastic divider things are a start at least).
You can see someone go through a red right at 3:08
@@sebastien3411 totally. Unfortunately they’ve improved more slowly than the other major EC cities (Boston, NY, DC). I believe Philly is the “poorest” of the four so it makes sense that the progress would be slower.
@@williamfay2725 Tbh I would love if you came to visit Pittsburgh, then you could see how amazing Philly is.
@@williamfay2725 I hear you, and I definitely wish that things would progress more quickly. Part of it may be down to lack of money like you imply. I think part of the issue is also political will. There have been some city council members who have pushed back against better bike infrastructure. But I've definitely noticed a marked improvement from when I first moved here about 20 years ago. And I think the bike culture here is pretty solid too. We actually have a pretty high bike commute rate and the Bicycle Coalition has done a lot to bring biking into the public consciousness as a positive thing.
Hey Alan just a heads up, I notice you use Sony Vegas for editing and a lot of your shots are interlaced. If you right click on your clips, go to switches, and click disable resample, it'll make your videos deinterlaced and they'll look way better for fast shots.
It took St. Petersburg, Russia about 10 years to destroy that narrow streets we had. You see, there are some trees on some of the streets on your video. Our city planner would've chopped them down to add more lanes. Or make sideways to as narrow as possible. Also they'd removed trams. Ah, also they would've rise speed limits to about 50 mph around whole city and refuse to differentiate those on a premise of traffic jams. Also they'd make bike lanes as unusable as humanly possible (like using them to park tourist buses or maintenance vehicles, or dumping snow and dirt at them, or making routes useless, or not issuing fines for parking or driving at those lanes) only to make a point that those lanes are unpopular and should be removed "to improve traffic"
Sounds like Nashville TN lol. Narrow or nonexistent sidewalks, wide roads that are 3 to 6 lanes in a normal community and drivers that constantly kill and injure pedestrians and people on bicycles while the city council, mayor and state pretend that they are doing something about it (they aren't).
@@knosis late USSR and Russia in 90s-early 00s had fascination with US everything. Since we lost cold war it looked like we had so much to learn from victors, and welp, it seems we cherrypicked the wrong lessons:)
I dont think it is obvious you are talking about the Not In My BackYard behavior at 6:14, I barely recognized the acronym myself.
WOOHOO PHILLY!
Totally agree on Philly having great “bones”! It also has pretty rail infrastructure, but it’s just not utilized properly or to it’s full potential.
Agree that the parkway is ugly as well, I hope the planned revamp of it goes all in on walkability and biking.
I'm so glad your channel exist. There are so many TH-cam channels putting out so many bad, incorrect info. Thanks for your work!
The money shot of the cycle displayed with the railway as a background is classic. A visual testament to the synergy with cycling, walking, and mass transit.
And driving too. Those automobiles on the bridge
Fascinating. I was always anxious and annoyed by Philly's narrow streets, but I didn't realize there was a psychological purpose behind it.
I've been living in Philly for 18 years and have never owned a car. Riding a bike is the way to go. Not only does it take up less space (freeing up parking for those that need to drive), it's completely autonomous, and it's good exercise.
Even though I've seen the bike infrastructure get better over the years, it definitely has much room for improvement.
I'm hoping that things continue to get better, and knowing people like you share the city with me makes me happy :)
As a human giraffe who doesn’t drive a convertible, I would really appreciate those not so high up street lights, when you sit far enough back with your head curled up into the roof of the car you tend to not be able to see that high outside of the vehicle
Wonderful! I ride a road bike on the streets of Philly. You are correct. The cycling is fun, but I've got to be careful at all the railroad crossings, cobblestone streets, uneven pavement, potholes, and curb transitions.
1:10 I’d like to imagine that the whistle song always played in the olds
Ah the former capital of our former colony....
Ngl i feel like even us brits can learn....
We have for some reason been going down the american route but a majority of town and city streets are still grid in design....
NYC should take notes. Bike lanes here are a disaster in many places. We also have similarly narrow streets but the traffic and painful parking procedure is a true disaster. Also drivers are always DRIVING or parking on the bike lane… gotta love that
Wow, Philadelphia looks pretty cool! Looks like it could be a model city for the US!
We dipped goin to Philly for DC in 2019 now i wanna go again. Congrats on 69k subs!
The part about traffic light placement is so interesting! I never would have thought of that, but it makes sense.
As a former New Yorker, I've always loved Philadelphia - it has a lot of the same type of charm that Brooklyn has but much less chaotic. Hands down my favorite city in the Northeast.
Much less chaotic 💀💀 mfs are getting lit up all the time!?😭