Almere interests me, so I've updated a bit of my knowledge and put in a few links. Most of the links are Dutch, but the illustrations and Google Translate will certainly be a great help in getting the general idea. I'm from Limburg, so I'm not up to date with the latest developments. == Subsidence == Ages ago these lands were huge tracts of peatland. Then the North Sea grinded out the Southern Sea and deposited clay. After the 1916 flooding disaster, the sea was transformed into a lake by construction of the Afsluitdijk, and in 1967/68 the Southern part of the Flevopolder was pumped dry. Thanks to the deep layers of organic material, It was expected that in 100 years the ground would subside 1 meter (40"), but that took only 25-30 years, and they expect it will drop an extra 30 cm (12"). That's the main reason why surfaces look old 4:01 especially at connections of paths of different ages. If you drive a car on Cinemadreef you will (or used to) jump at every cycling tunnel, because the tunnel's foundations are fixed, but the road still sinks and makes a growing dent in the underground. edepot.wur.nl/356947 geo.flevoland.nl/DOC_bodematlas/Bodemdalingskaart_Flevoland.pdf == Design Lelystad 2.0 == Lelystad was an earlier creation by the same group of designers as Almere, and they improved their design. The backbones of Lelystad are park ways, 2x2 car drives; Almere has the railroad and the bus network, its wijken/districts are like pearls on a string, embedded in green. In Lelystad cyclists cross above the dreven ("Drives" were "broad" rural roads along which cattle was driven) while in Almere they underpass them. In Lelystad loads of cyclists dismount their bike up the bridge, while in Almere they gain enough momentum downwards to get back up again with ease. Tunnels are expensive, so the dimensions of underpasses are fixed in time when the infrastructure is designed. In those days, the underpasses were well above standard. Nowadays they look too narrow. 4:09 We're spoiled... digitaalerfgoed.almere.nl/Files/10/D51114.pdf Ontwerp/Design Almere-Haven english.almere.nl/the-city-of-almere/history (I can't find the book I have in mind...) == Sleep City == Almere was build to solve the shortage of houses in the Amsterdam-Utrecht area. Municipalities on the main land were glad to have a "new suburb", but they didn't like the id€a of any company making the same jump into the polder. That's basically why most inhabitants of Almere still work on the main land (now decreased to 60%), and commute back and forth every workday. It explains the high percentage of car owners; and low modal split of cycling in Almere, which did increase to 28% inside town and 22% overall. When you consider the relatively low amount of cyclists and the density of the network, Almere's paths didn't need to be wide. 4:14 But growing numbers of cyclists ask for widening of the paths, and the cycling network is (being) upgraded. The fast bus network is great at taking you to central station and it results in a high public transport use, 9% inside and 13% overall. To an outsider, the level crossings might feel new and unsafe 0:56 but they are well marked, even with train crossing bells when busses approach, so you get used to them very soon. The separated modes of transport make the town very safe. docplayer.nl/14186085-Almere-bike-city-de-duurzame-stad-is-een-fietsstad.html Beware! Don't click on ads; there's a share/ html/ download option below. ingesprek.almere.nl/fileadmin/user_upload/Almere_Mobiliteitsvisie_2020_-_2030-gecomprimeerd.pdf == Work in Progress == Complaints about headwind and vast empty areas, while riding through a lake side fringe park and on a building site are downright silly. 2:43 You can blame the 2008 economic downfall for the fact that Almere Poort (Gate) wasn't build up yet. Not impressed by a construction road? 3:48 Of course not, it's temporary and not the final version... goo.gl/maps/8rTf37wmdNBz1e8E8 If you'd build the final version straight away, you'll end up with expensive damages due to heavy trucks with sand and soil, cranes, pile-drivers, ... A sports hall in the middle of nowhere? 2:54 Wait a few years, and it's on a much more densely populated spot than the hockeyfields. It's closer to a railstation, already has its own busstop and more direct cyclelinks to Haven and Muziekwijk/Stad are in place or in progress. This is the top sports location, which already hosted international matches, national championships and trade shows. It has a regional function, so it's ideally situated here. And it's a great landmark to announce, envision and experience the new to be developed district. The national speed skating center was planned here too, but policies, investors, plans and schedules change. The higher density of Poort serves the need for diversification, for a higher percentage of urban dwellings (not because of safety reasons 3:15 ); Overgooi has the opposite function: more space for larger villas. landgoedovergooi.nl/ www.aviewfromthecyclepath.com/search/label/almere == Real Problems == 4:30 The sign of dismounting is at Almere's busiest stretch of pedestrian shopping street, and it gets busier than on scene. You can easily ride a street further up to always speed ahead, but a subsign which restricts the dismounting to busy hours would be an improvement. Other cities have a much larger pedestrian area, with restrictions for cyclists. 4:09 Dirty, scary tunnels: yes, check! I don't mind a few fringe city spots, as long as the main routes are safe. And that's not the case in too many green areas in between the town districts, which have no "eyes on the road" at all. The municipality acknowledges this as one of the reasons of the low amount of cyclists. At 2:36 you see the only stretch of 250 meters backside (2%) in a path of 12,000 m (Poort not included). This mistake is just a sign of bad design, which probably wasn't yet seen as such when they drew the plans. To solve urban problems, you often need to have a big purse. A lot of budgets are financed by the national government. They ¿used to? look back 3 years to calculate the money each city needs. This meant that Almere got structurally underpaid, because of a steady growth of 20,000 inhabitants per 3 years, for at least 25 years. I hope they've fixed this. The economic downfall of 2008 meant that the investments in Poort's infrastructure, didn't get the expected return. That's another blow to the cities finances. Almere now has 215 k inhabitants, but it was asked to at least double that. That puts a strain on the old A6 development axis, and calls for new rail connections to the main land towards Amsterdam IJburg and Utrecht/Gooi. If that possible development interests you, you might like: www.bol.com/nl/p/de-almere-principles/1001004006216441/ and www.adriduivesteijn.nl/wp-content/uploads/Het-verhaal-Almere-2.0.pdf
This city is often mentioned in urban planning circles as a total failure in the idea of strict use-segregation in both transport and zoning. The city layout is a sprawling mess, and the transport segregation is clearly there to make driving fast rather than walking and cycling pleasant. The fact that they are desperately going back to more traditional urban planning and infrastructure speaks volumes. It was a nice experiment but it has resulted in not a very pleasant city, specially compared with so many amazing dutch cities. But something happened in the collective consciousness of urban planners after the 50's and they decided to make terrible cities. I think the main problem is that the top priority in post-war urban planning was given over to traffic engineers who only want to move cars quickly. The feel of the city, safe spaces, intimate spaces, social spaces, are not even considered. It's all automobile flow, speed, and safety.
Try cycling/living in Dublin, Ireland as compared to Almere, you would have a nervous breakdown with the non-existent cycle infra and maniac fast drivers in the city..
Moet je eens Lelystad bezoeken. Hier zijn de fietsers ook gescheiden maar dan d.m.v. bruggen. Ook is er een hoofdfietspad netwerk aangegeven met blauwe stippen (als je ze nog kan zien) en haast geen stoplichten. Ik denk voor jou de moeite waard om te bezoeken
How do handicapped folk get around when there are no cars in city centres there. I live near Vancouver BC Canada, I use a walker, and then drive to any store that has parking. In pre covid days I could use the bus to go occasionally to downtown Vancouver, but now during Covid, I won’t go on the bus/train.
Almere is kind of like American cities. The one I live in in California has huge empty fields between neighborhoods and the houses are separated from the stores (big box stores, that is). Every half mile, there is a four lane road and most don't have cycling infrastructure. The ones that do mostly have 3 ft bike lanes half in the gutter, next to the curb (90 degree angle curb)
Almere will never win as best cycling city, and this video has clearly shown why. The cycling path at 00:16 is considered to be too dangerous to travel at night, even the mayor adviced people to avoid that path. Because people often get robbed there and police can't do anything about it. The whole city is just a failed social experiment, the people are bitter and alienated from eachother. If it wants to be nominee it should be a more pleasant town to begin with, as it is now it should not even qualify as nominee.
That's no big deal. On most spots, these busses are not that frequent. They can ride with a high speed, which makes the bus system very efficient. It's only logical that the other trafic has to stop when busses pass. And the crossings are well marked + railway bells tell you that a buss is approaching.
A bus will often have 40-50 people it makes sense that instead of making 50 people wait you make a couple of cyclists wait. This will also encourage people to use bus (when not cycling) over a car.
Thanks Mark, For this bright and honest opinion in this video. We recognize the points your mentioned. Nice film with many happy smiling cyclists.
Damn. Even your bad cities are great.
he is big troll
It would be great if my city was only 50% of what Almere looks like!
considering with what we have here in Australia ,I'd be more than happy to suffer with those conditions ..
Interesting view on Almere
The Netherlands in General is the best cycling country in the world. In many countries you can't even dare to cycle.
can someone please go into even more detail as to why certain aspects of the city arent very good, im curious!
Almere interests me, so I've updated a bit of my knowledge and put in a few links. Most of the links are Dutch, but the illustrations and Google Translate will certainly be a great help in getting the general idea. I'm from Limburg, so I'm not up to date with the latest developments.
== Subsidence == Ages ago these lands were huge tracts of peatland. Then the North Sea grinded out the Southern Sea and deposited clay. After the 1916 flooding disaster, the sea was transformed into a lake by construction of the Afsluitdijk, and in 1967/68 the Southern part of the Flevopolder was pumped dry. Thanks to the deep layers of organic material, It was expected that in 100 years the ground would subside 1 meter (40"), but that took only 25-30 years, and they expect it will drop an extra 30 cm (12"). That's the main reason why surfaces look old 4:01 especially at connections of paths of different ages. If you drive a car on Cinemadreef you will (or used to) jump at every cycling tunnel, because the tunnel's foundations are fixed, but the road still sinks and makes a growing dent in the underground. edepot.wur.nl/356947 geo.flevoland.nl/DOC_bodematlas/Bodemdalingskaart_Flevoland.pdf
== Design Lelystad 2.0 == Lelystad was an earlier creation by the same group of designers as Almere, and they improved their design. The backbones of Lelystad are park ways, 2x2 car drives; Almere has the railroad and the bus network, its wijken/districts are like pearls on a string, embedded in green. In Lelystad cyclists cross above the dreven ("Drives" were "broad" rural roads along which cattle was driven) while in Almere they underpass them. In Lelystad loads of cyclists dismount their bike up the bridge, while in Almere they gain enough momentum downwards to get back up again with ease. Tunnels are expensive, so the dimensions of underpasses are fixed in time when the infrastructure is designed. In those days, the underpasses were well above standard. Nowadays they look too narrow. 4:09 We're spoiled... digitaalerfgoed.almere.nl/Files/10/D51114.pdf Ontwerp/Design Almere-Haven english.almere.nl/the-city-of-almere/history (I can't find the book I have in mind...)
== Sleep City == Almere was build to solve the shortage of houses in the Amsterdam-Utrecht area. Municipalities on the main land were glad to have a "new suburb", but they didn't like the id€a of any company making the same jump into the polder. That's basically why most inhabitants of Almere still work on the main land (now decreased to 60%), and commute back and forth every workday. It explains the high percentage of car owners; and low modal split of cycling in Almere, which did increase to 28% inside town and 22% overall. When you consider the relatively low amount of cyclists and the density of the network, Almere's paths didn't need to be wide. 4:14 But growing numbers of cyclists ask for widening of the paths, and the cycling network is (being) upgraded. The fast bus network is great at taking you to central station and it results in a high public transport use, 9% inside and 13% overall. To an outsider, the level crossings might feel new and unsafe 0:56 but they are well marked, even with train crossing bells when busses approach, so you get used to them very soon. The separated modes of transport make the town very safe. docplayer.nl/14186085-Almere-bike-city-de-duurzame-stad-is-een-fietsstad.html Beware! Don't click on ads; there's a share/ html/ download option below. ingesprek.almere.nl/fileadmin/user_upload/Almere_Mobiliteitsvisie_2020_-_2030-gecomprimeerd.pdf
== Work in Progress == Complaints about headwind and vast empty areas, while riding through a lake side fringe park and on a building site are downright silly. 2:43 You can blame the 2008 economic downfall for the fact that Almere Poort (Gate) wasn't build up yet. Not impressed by a construction road? 3:48 Of course not, it's temporary and not the final version... goo.gl/maps/8rTf37wmdNBz1e8E8 If you'd build the final version straight away, you'll end up with expensive damages due to heavy trucks with sand and soil, cranes, pile-drivers, ... A sports hall in the middle of nowhere? 2:54 Wait a few years, and it's on a much more densely populated spot than the hockeyfields. It's closer to a railstation, already has its own busstop and more direct cyclelinks to Haven and Muziekwijk/Stad are in place or in progress. This is the top sports location, which already hosted international matches, national championships and trade shows. It has a regional function, so it's ideally situated here. And it's a great landmark to announce, envision and experience the new to be developed district. The national speed skating center was planned here too, but policies, investors, plans and schedules change. The higher density of Poort serves the need for diversification, for a higher percentage of urban dwellings (not because of safety reasons 3:15 ); Overgooi has the opposite function: more space for larger villas. landgoedovergooi.nl/ www.aviewfromthecyclepath.com/search/label/almere
== Real Problems == 4:30 The sign of dismounting is at Almere's busiest stretch of pedestrian shopping street, and it gets busier than on scene. You can easily ride a street further up to always speed ahead, but a subsign which restricts the dismounting to busy hours would be an improvement. Other cities have a much larger pedestrian area, with restrictions for cyclists. 4:09 Dirty, scary tunnels: yes, check! I don't mind a few fringe city spots, as long as the main routes are safe. And that's not the case in too many green areas in between the town districts, which have no "eyes on the road" at all. The municipality acknowledges this as one of the reasons of the low amount of cyclists. At 2:36 you see the only stretch of 250 meters backside (2%) in a path of 12,000 m (Poort not included). This mistake is just a sign of bad design, which probably wasn't yet seen as such when they drew the plans. To solve urban problems, you often need to have a big purse. A lot of budgets are financed by the national government. They ¿used to? look back 3 years to calculate the money each city needs. This meant that Almere got structurally underpaid, because of a steady growth of 20,000 inhabitants per 3 years, for at least 25 years. I hope they've fixed this. The economic downfall of 2008 meant that the investments in Poort's infrastructure, didn't get the expected return. That's another blow to the cities finances. Almere now has 215 k inhabitants, but it was asked to at least double that. That puts a strain on the old A6 development axis, and calls for new rail connections to the main land towards Amsterdam IJburg and Utrecht/Gooi. If that possible development interests you, you might like: www.bol.com/nl/p/de-almere-principles/1001004006216441/ and www.adriduivesteijn.nl/wp-content/uploads/Het-verhaal-Almere-2.0.pdf
Again, another great review of the 'Best Cycling City..."!
This city is often mentioned in urban planning circles as a total failure in the idea of strict use-segregation in both transport and zoning. The city layout is a sprawling mess, and the transport segregation is clearly there to make driving fast rather than walking and cycling pleasant. The fact that they are desperately going back to more traditional urban planning and infrastructure speaks volumes. It was a nice experiment but it has resulted in not a very pleasant city, specially compared with so many amazing dutch cities. But something happened in the collective consciousness of urban planners after the 50's and they decided to make terrible cities. I think the main problem is that the top priority in post-war urban planning was given over to traffic engineers who only want to move cars quickly. The feel of the city, safe spaces, intimate spaces, social spaces, are not even considered. It's all automobile flow, speed, and safety.
I don't mind the part where the bus does not have to mingle with cars.
Try cycling/living in Dublin, Ireland as compared to Almere, you would have a nervous breakdown with the non-existent cycle infra and maniac fast drivers in the city..
Is Lelystad ok in de running voor fietsstad NL 2014?
What are the parking problems of Amsterdam city center wich were mirrored in the neighborhood portrayed?
Another great Cycling infrastructure video. Thank-you.
Great post. I'd give at a try, beats the hell out of anything we have.
Moet je eens Lelystad bezoeken. Hier zijn de fietsers ook gescheiden maar dan d.m.v. bruggen. Ook is er een hoofdfietspad netwerk aangegeven met blauwe stippen (als je ze nog kan zien) en haast geen stoplichten. Ik denk voor jou de moeite waard om te bezoeken
How do handicapped folk get around when there are no cars in city centres there. I live near Vancouver BC Canada, I use a walker, and then drive to any store that has parking. In pre covid days I could use the bus to go occasionally to downtown Vancouver, but now during Covid, I won’t go on the bus/train.
like this th-cam.com/video/xSGx3HSjKDo/w-d-xo.html
This reminds me of Milton Keynes and Stevenage in the UK, which both have cycleways, built in the 20th century, look rather grim and dated.
Yup, all three are members of the European New Town Platform.
Almere is kind of like American cities. The one I live in in California has huge empty fields between neighborhoods and the houses are separated from the stores (big box stores, that is). Every half mile, there is a four lane road and most don't have cycling infrastructure. The ones that do mostly have 3 ft bike lanes half in the gutter, next to the curb (90 degree angle curb)
Did you mean to say "The Elderly" when you said people of high age?
Yes.
That sign of bicycles dismount is not meant to the bikers going straigt on but for the bikers that will visit the shops!
Almere has too many surveillance cameras for my comfort.
👍 👍. ♥ from 🇵🇰
En als ze je omkopen?
What does that mean, that Dutch cities have “no neighborhoods”
"new neighborhoods" not "no neighborhoods"
Almere will never win as best cycling city, and this video has clearly shown why. The cycling path at 00:16 is considered to be too dangerous to travel at night, even the mayor adviced people to avoid that path. Because people often get robbed there and police can't do anything about it. The whole city is just a failed social experiment, the people are bitter and alienated from eachother. If it wants to be nominee it should be a more pleasant town to begin with, as it is now it should not even qualify as nominee.
I hope it got better in these last 7 years. Both cycling wise and about safety in general.
Oh Snap, Almere got his thumbs down, hehehe, just kidding, still milles away from the best we have here in Portugal. Great vídeo :)
speaking about cyclist Dismounting. If you cannot see the image, please, let me know. LOL www.copenhagenize.com/2013/02/motorists-dismount.html
Enschede is the best cycling city in the Netherlands
Gast, je denkt zeker dat je er verstand van hebt of niet! De bussen rijden te snel?!
Je spoort niet!
Te snel voor sommige fietsers en voetgangers om veilig de weg over te steken
have to wait for the bus to pass
That's no big deal. On most spots, these busses are not that frequent. They can ride with a high speed, which makes the bus system very efficient. It's only logical that the other trafic has to stop when busses pass. And the crossings are well marked + railway bells tell you that a buss is approaching.
A bus will often have 40-50 people it makes sense that instead of making 50 people wait you make a couple of cyclists wait. This will also encourage people to use bus (when not cycling) over a car.
That is one ugly city. I can't believe someone actually planned that from scratch.
I live there 😐
@@HiHello-ow9mm sterkte
There's always Utrecht to worship as Netherlands #1 and Rotterdam as Netherlands worst city
A soulless city. It looks like it was designed by a team from East Germany in the Cold War period.
Beurk, on dirait Evry Courcouronnes...
Almere is clearly a city that shouldn't have been. Not like this. Maybe it takes time.
To be honest it does not look very well designed , and a bit run down.
Very odd city. It has no real center. Nearly any city you look at, you can clearly make out the center. Not a good sign.