The Most Dangerous Places to Cycle in Amsterdam
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 17 พ.ค. 2024
- Watch this video on Nebula: nebula.tv/videos/not-just-bik...
Amsterdam is famous for being one of the best places to cycle in the world, but there are still many places where the infrastructure is out of date. This video explores some of the most uncomfortable and dangerous places for cycling in the city, as well as a brief look of the history of why.
My video on hoofdnetten / plusnetted ("Invisible Infrastructure") is herer:
• The Bike Lanes You Can...
Sign up to Nebula and watch ad-free and sponsor-free: go.nebula.tv/notjustbikes
Patreon: / notjustbikes
Twitter: / notjustbikes
Reddit: / notjustbikes
---
Fietsersbond Knelpunten in Amsterdam:
amsterdam.fietsersbond.nl/voo...
Haarlemmerdijk
Straatbeeld, detailhandel en mensen in verkeer (1977)
archief.amsterdam/beeldbank/d...
Northfield Drive West, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada
Brian Doucet, @bmdoucet (Twitter)
/ 1108844967508746240
More details about this (shitty) bicycle lane in Waterloo:
Waterloo bike lane causes cyclists concern
kitchener.ctvnews.ca/waterloo...
Hobbemakade 93-92-91 enz
Op de voorgrond links de Gerard Terborgstraat. Achteraan is de Roelof Hartstraat.
Roël, Ino (maart 1991)
archief.amsterdam/beeldbank/d...
Het nieuwe fietspad op de Berlagebrug. Op de achtergrond de Vrijheidslaan en de Wolkenkrabber op het Victorieplein
Busselman, Frans (25 april 1982)
archief.amsterdam/beeldbank/d...
Actie "Echte Nederlandse Fietsers Bond" (ENFB) op Berlagebrug in Amsterdam voor behoud fietsstrook op de rijweg
Rob Croes / Anefo (12 januari 1984)
www.nationaalarchief.nl/onder...
www.nationaalarchief.nl/onder...
---
Chapters:
0:00 Intro
0:05 The Set-up
1:08 The Suburbs
1:47 Uncomfortable Cycling
4:13 Dangerous Cycling
4:24 Javastraat
5:32 Stadhouderskade/s100
6:12 Nassaukade
7:01 Rozengracht
7:25 Raadhuisstraat
8:10 Churchill-laan
8:30 Van Woustraat
9:33 Zeilstraat
10:17 Summary
10:49 History
12:05 Conclusion
12:30 Patreon Shout-Out
12:40 Outro
As a Brit, the biggest annoyance for me when I lived in Amsterdam were other Brits... walking in the cycle lane.
Not really sure about just the Brits and I don't live in Amsterdam, I often see foreign tourists walking on the bike lanes. I guess they don't have much of a bike culture where they come from. 🙂
Walking on the cycle lanes is sometimes a unavoidable thing. The thing that annoys me about tha5 is that ppl don’t know the rules to it. You’re supposed to walk at the left side so cycles can easily pass. That and ppl that walk broad or each on a side annoys me to no end.
Not just Brits but all tourists in general who are unaware and jaywalk into the lanes.... Lost count of the times I have had to make out like a native and yell out at them in Dutch and sound the bell, for being such idiots. When in Amsterdam, Haarlem, etc, I simply adopt the local native's 'attitude' and behave accordingly, just because I can (lol) !
In some circumstances it's unavoidable. It's not just tourists that do it, but they do it more haphazardly due to not being used to it. As anyone living here long enough can tell you, if you want to walk in the bike lane without being annoying (and be safer off to boot), walk in the opposite lane. This way both you and the bike will see eachother coming and you can make sure there's room for both of you. Nobody minds if you bend the rules a little, as long as you don't obnoxiously get in other people's way.
I don't mind having a shared walking and cycling path if one it's big enough and two people know to get out of your way if you're on a bike
A Canadian looking for terrible cycling areas in Amsterdam is like a starving kid looking for the worst kaviar.
Are you kidding? Where do you live?
In Ottawa, most (>90%) of our infrastructure is better than the worst showed in this video (the second half the video).
Although, we have areas that are very similar to the worst showed here. Rideau street is a good example (of an uncomfortable place to bike).
@@alan5506 Did they build all that infrastructure in 1 year? I just went on street view in downtown Ottawa and there is literally nothing in terms of bike infrastructure, pictures were captured in may 2019.
@@FirstName69 part of the infrastructure isn't on street view. there are many cyclist paths far from the streets.
residential streets are also very comfortable to ride.
there are some roads where there is a physical separation between the road for cars and cyclist lane. you can find some downtown.
most streets simply have a cyclist land painted.
a large part of being a cyclist is simply knowing the area well enough to take the bike paths and residential roads when you can (without adding a detour). When you do, you generally only find yourself in busy roads for a maximum of 10% of your trip.
if you bike for leisure, there are more than enough bike paths for you
Hilarious analogy xD
@@alan5506 very useful. I’ll take a look, thanks
I remember my visit to Amsterdam 15 years ago, cyclists kept ringing their bells at me, I was like "what the hell is their problem?" The someone had to explain the concept of a bike lane to me. "A whole lane for bikes only??" I said. I was standing right in the middle of the bike lane and had no idea such things existed.
Yeah, I remember you standing there.That was me ringing.
I still wake up in cold sweat sometimes... 😁
yeah, I saw you too.
Those damn tourists. It still happens even to this day.
@@jorisessen8410 I am so sorry, we should have to watch a video before we arrive to learn what these magical lanes are!
@@TheGreatAtariomaybe we could call them traffic signs or something.
My guilty pleasure is ringing my bell and scaring tourist when they walk on the cycling lane.
i usually never ring my bell, i just slow down and annoy them when they realise themselves
@@stueyphone I've got a nice bike here in France. I taped an air horn to the handlebars. Good fun.
On sand/gravel roads (in Vendée) I do like you, I go on, brake just in time, creating a nice sound with my tires, and sending up some dust. Works well.
But I'll be back in the Netherlands, where I will have a bike (or two) and no horn.
I usually pass the tourists with high speed, very close to where they walk. Of course I make sure not to hit them. But the scare will hopefully keep them out of the way for the rest of their trip :)
I have rim brakes on my bike, and because of the sea breeze and the sand where I ride, they always get dirty and make an awful whirring noise when I pull on them a bit hard.
Needless to say, I've not used my bell in ages. That's far more effective at getting annoying tourists off the cycle lane.
Lmao here in brazil pedestrians are crazy, they ignore you
People in US/Canada: We want bike lanes!
Local Gov't's: Okay we will build some bike lanes
*paints some lines on the road next to 45mph traffic*
Local Gov'ts: See! Nobody is using them! No more bike lanes!
Yes. That is exactly how it works. "Why do we spend all this money on bike lanes when nobody uses them?!" 🤦♂️
@@NotJustBikes they spend money for that, i,m sure its not more then 100 bucks for the paint
@@hobohobo6518 you're overestimating the intelligence of our local governments. I'm guessing that bike "lane" cost tens of thousands of dollars if not more.
Also happens in the Netherlands.
Narrow roads permitting 60 kmh (37 mph) traffic. Since most of these roads are outside built-up zones, drivers tend gun down the roads. More often than not, oncoming traffic (not only bicycles) are forced to take the verge (and be on the verge of getting injured of killed).
@@Hunters61you are right they are still politicians so most likely it hundred thousand or so, they all need to eat.
Even the bad areas are amazing compared to downtown Detroit where you just ride in the lane with cars.
So "motor city" isn't so great for bicycles? 🤔
Is Detroit building much bike infrastructure these days?
DC is absolute trash too. There's 3 trails that are just for pedestrian and bikes in the whole metro area and they're always packed with joggers. In addition to that, 99% of the roads don't have bike lanes, and if they do the lane is almost certainly just a painted line next to a busy road. I can't remember the last time I took my bike for commuting or for running errands. It's just not worth the stress, danger, and frustration.
@@johnr2724I disagree, DC proper has plenty of protected bike lanes and really low speed limits, to the point where biking there is not uncomfortable. I mean sure it's not amsterdam but you can get around fairly safely by bike.
Also, In the suburbs (at least the inner NoVA ones), biking isn't that bad either. Practically all the major roads have wide, asphalt sidepaths for pedestrians and cyclists that are usually not too crowded and fairly comfortable to bike on, and the roads that don't have that are either not too busy, and you can bike on the road, or they have a bike lane instead. Also, there's a pretty good number of trails. I don't know where in the area you're from, but at least in Arlington County, Alexandria, and DC, I don't think biking is that bad, especially compared to most other US cities.
Finally, saying there's only 3 trails is completely wrong. I can name at least 10 major trails in the DC area for pedestrians and cyclists:
W&OD(45 miles), C&O canal trail(184 miles), Mt. Vernon Trail (17 miles), Capital Crescent Trail(8 mi), Custis Trail(5 miles), Bluemont Junction Trail (1.5 mi), Nationall Mall(3mi), Anacostia Riverwalk Trail (30 mi including all branches), Four Mile Run Trail (4mi) Rock Creek Park Trail(23 mi), Reston Trail System (55mi), Cross County Trail (ffx county, 40 mi)
Biggest problem with the cycling areas in amsterdam are the tourists ):
There is some kind of mutual understanding of where to go between cyclists, but tourists can't manage to enter the hive mind
@@lexbos4370 from the cofeeshop back to the hotel cycling with one hand trying to film the canels with the other.......those are the hardest to keep alive ;-)
As an American, I find it absolutely amazing when I see cities that you can completely navigate without a car. The best you can expect here is a bike gutter, and those don't exist outside of large cities. I remember growing up, when we went to the state capital, cyclists were expected to just use the sidewalks, and it was terrifying as a kid, walking down the sidewalk, and a cyclist just coming out of nowhere.
IK in the UK it's actually illegal to cycle on the pavement so you just have to join traffic like normal and don't you dare cut down the middle or ppl will be arseholes
@@md-vq8sp I'm pretty sure it's allowed as long as you are not endangering anyone on the sidewalk.
I find it incredible that this guy was actually cycling on the canadian 'cycle path'. I would never do that. It made me realize i have a lot of respect for people cycling in an unsafe infrastructure and really be the first ones to change the car centered system
You need to be total aware of all vehicles that share the road, and let everybody know your are there.
scream if you don't trust them, lol, as load as needed....
"... my supporters on Patreon, who pay me to complain about Amsterdam"
You have the best job in the world! :-)
If you put it this way it souds like most of them live in Rotterdam
I'd do that for free!
God that Ontario bike lane scares me
I think it scares everybody. Except maybe the ignorant traffic engineer that built it.
@@NotJustBikes The large truck shown crossing the lane probably wasn't scared of it.
Why would someone even make a bike lane in the middle of the road??
@@kosinusify The traffic in the outside lane is turning right. I think that the point of this is to get cyclists outside of crossing traffic early so that traffic entering the right turn lane yields to cyclists already in the lane. The idea is that cyclists continuing should cross the right turning lane early so that they're more visible to drivers entering the lane.
This is a somewhat extreme version of the 'mixing zone' that's fairly common in North American bicycle infrastructure. The big safety concern with this design is that drivers may underestimate the speed of a cyclist, overtake them while approaching the 'mixing zone' then cut them off while entering the the right turn lane. Since drivers generally don't check their right hand mirrors when entering a right turn lane, it's easy to merge into a cyclist who's moving faster than the driver expects if they didn't think to remember passing the cyclist a few moments before.
@@NotJustBikes The traffic engineer doesn't ride a bike. Probably sees them as a target, which is why they built these Murder Lanes.
The worst place that you didn't mentioned was the passage under Rijksmuseum, a lot of tourists (at least before the pandemic) in the middle of the cycle lanetrying to take photos and looking at you like you were the one going the wrong way, now without tourist is peaceful :)
I just rode through there the other day on a livestream and it's so nice. No tourists at all. Just about a dozen people cycling properly. I'm not looking forward to the tourists coming back and taking selfies in the middle of the fietspad. 😔
As a NYC regular cyclist, when I spent a month in Amsterdam in 2019, it was indeed like going 50 years into the future. The entire country is just so consistently high quality no matter where you go. I would smile literally every minute I rode around Amsterdam (and on 10 mile trips outside the city). EVen the worst Amsterdam roads don’t even have parking, or extremely high speeds and 5 lanes like much of NYC. Awesome video!!!
A thing to understand, even in the worst of the worst in the Netherlands is that road-users are extremely used to bicycles. So e similar situation in another town would probably feel worse because everyone is wondering why there is a bike there.
Maybe except Den Haag...
@@lourdesmontenegro395 Why not in Den Haag? Please be more specific
Cycled through Schilderswijk @Ivo ... felt unwelcome but of course nowhere near as bad as in other countries
@@lourdesmontenegro395 I knew it! It had to be that neighbourhood! I recall friends hating cycling there. I'm pretty indifferent about it though, I must be one of those reckless cyclists
The worst roads in Amsterdam are better than the best roads in my city in New Zealand lol. I don’t think we have any bicycle lanes (maybe some random ones scattered about but they are just the painted lanes on the road), if you’re lucky you’ll get a mixed pedestrian and bike bath but most of the time you’re expected to bike on the road. I own a bike but I never bike anywhere because I’m too scared to bike on the road. If you’re over 13 years old you’re not allowed to bike on pedestrian paths. I think that rule is stupid because there will be plenty of people over the age of 13 who aren’t confident at biking so if they’re on the road they might end up getting hit by a car.
We have painted lanes across most of my city (Dublin) but we are now fighting for proper segregated lanes.
I hope you get them; it makes such a difference. I remember in Toronto, my heart rate would noticeably drop as soon as I got to the protected lanes.
@@NotJustBikes totally relate to this when I use the few segregated ones we have 😃
@@NotJustBikes in Rotterdam most streets just have a painted line and I don't get why most people are scared of riding there
It's the same down in Cork. The best is putting some bollards to protect the lanes next to a school. In reality, this is done to prevent parking on the main road and to make life easier for cars.
@@Arjan_dv It's because in most countries most drivers don't ride a bike at all, ever. All they ever do in traffic is drive a car and they usually have a really bad attitude towards cyclists. Most Dutch drivers know what it's like to be unprotected cyclists and generally are a lot more careful when cyclists are around.
I love how even the "major streets for cars" in the hofnet auto are narrow by American standards
Yes, there are very very few streets in Amsterdam that are more than one lane in each direction for cars, and that's on purpose. They have narrowed streets a lot in the past 30 years.
You say that like it's a bad thing
@@RaizanMedia You mean pro-flow. They are designed to transport as many people as possible
When I had driving lessons we would regularly go to Javastraat to learn to deal with chaos.
Hah! That's a great idea!
I live in the street right next to the javastraat, and i think its okay to deal with, just keep your finger on your fietsbel (bikebell)
I don't think anything can be more dangerous than trying to cross near Bathurst and Wellington in Toronto. Everything here looks like a dream in comparison. I do see the similarity in Van Woustraat though lol
Hah. Yes, absolutely!
You haven't biked in Rio de Janeiro. Biking in Toronto is not the 'easiest', but when I was there, it was piece of cake compared to what I do for my daily commute.
New jersey,USA is most dangerous place to bike and walk that I have ever seen
One advantage of the Van Woustraat is still that cars go relatively slowly, and are fully aware of the cyclists. In a place with no bicycle infrastructure at all, that still helps.
North America: Proper bicycle lane at the side of a busy street.
The Netherlands: I dont want to bike there, it's just a painted bicycle gutter!
Ignore them. I like my gutters as long as they aren't filled with leaves and parked cars.
@@elijaha773 I like my gutters as long as they don't suddenly merge with the car-street and force you to cycle in front of the coming cars, all the way to the left.
@@elijaha773 All of my bike gutters are filled with leaves and parked cars.
@@collinoneill9838 Most of my gutters have neither, but I have had a nasty experience where I was turning (and I was taught to signal using my hands when turning) and I skid on some leafs and broke the velcro strap on my mirror.
I'm impressed with the term 'bicycle gutter' itself, actually. It's nicely evocative of 'unwanted on the road' as opposed to 'bicycle lane' which implies that there's clear space for bikes to the exclusion of others.
Some of those problem spots really remind me of the standard in Toronto. And what you mentioned about the suburbs, there was a protected bike lane here that was recently removed 4 months after it was installed. The most angering part was that it was announced during an event called "improving Toronto's cycling network."
Oh man that sucks. 😔
No suprises here as a german. Almost every example of worst cycle places resembles a concept implementeted in my hometown within the last 5 yeas and praised as great advancements towards a cycle friendly city. Im not a cyclist and go everywhere either by food or by car, but i hate how our politics try to mix bikes and cars in the same space most of the time, and those narrow cycleways between road and paerikng lots are just death traps. The concept of designating seperate space for the different needs of those modes of transportation is rejected, and there is no ionsight that rules and restrictions wont prevent human mistakes and good infrastucture should affort as little attention and dutifullness as possible to be save still.
Not trying to mean … but I love the idea of going everywhere ‘by food’ 🤣
@@03timdol Technically not wrong since walking burns calories :D
The most dangerous place to cycle in Amsterdam: the A10
seriously i cycle there every day
Kaagbaan - Schiphol ;)
🤔 That is technically correct.
Het IJ (especially in the middle, where the depth is at its maximum).
i would recommend cycling on the A2 to Utrecht
I really respect the effort you put in your videos
Thanks!
As an Amsterdammer, I really enjoy learning about infrastructure and the ideas behind it through your videos!
I recently moved away from Amsterdam after living there for years. Your videos make me feel so nostalgic. 😫
I used to live there too, 2 of my children are born there now I'm living in Jokkmokk, It's a little bit quieter here th-cam.com/video/LXZmX9byG5g/w-d-xo.html It ain't my video but it gives a good view of how busy the streets are ;-)
I applaud you in your attempt to pronounce the hard 'G' sound. Can't imagine how difficult that must be as a native English speaker. Great video as always!
Do what the Brabanders do would be my advise. Simply do not use the hard g, make it softer and less pronounced. You really don't to hurt your throat too much, the constant use of all manner of diphthongs is a pain. And I only learned that during the last ten years. Learning to pronounce my own language again after a stroke.
It's not really a problem for those of us who use an uvular 'r' in French, since if you make a French 'r' sound without voicing it, you end up somewhere on the harder end of a zachte 'g'.
The trick my Italian wife learned is to put a bit of saliva in the back of the throat. It gives her a better G if she tries that.
it's nowhere near as difficult as trilling/rolling an 'r', at the very least; which is to say that it's not impossible
@@OntarioTrafficMan yep, still mourning the loss of french too, and german, italian. Started learned it again but that will even take more time than English and Dutch because I need to remember all the learned words all over again. Not an easy task at the best of times and that stroke destroyed my speach centre and an aphasia did even more damage. So probably becoming fluent in French again will take more than I have left on this earth. Ah well, it is what it is.
your video always make me realise how spoiled we are. Because that atrocious death lane in canada gives me anxiety just looking at it. I can't imagine someone actually would wanna rids that.
That literally looks like a death trap. Anyone who makes the conscious decision to use that lane on a daily basis is accepting the idea that it might kill them.
It's a textbook example of city planners putting in awful cycle lanes either because they have a quota to fill and no understanding of cycling, or maybe car companies have put a few cash-stuffed envelopes into the right pockets to ensure that they are implemented so badly that they won't be used and will eventually be removed again, helping to maintain car dependence.
That lane in Canada was nothing short of terrifying. Have you seen The Green Mile? 😂
It's better than nothing
-An American who's cycled in traffic a lot
I'd vote for the intersection of Kinkerstraat and Nassaukade. Complicated place with trams, buses, cars and pedestrians crossing in every direction. All that without traffic lights. You really have to practice to get through it when it's busy (which most of the time it is).
A belgian car honked at me while I was on a 'fietsstraat', where it explicitly states 'auto's te gast' (cars are guests)
You pretty much nailed the street names!
This is why I like releasing videos early to Patrons, because then the first comments are too nice. 😂 Thanks!
@@NotJustBikes Indeed! Only "Haarlemmerdijk" has the emphasis on "dijk" instead of "lemmer".
@@NotJustBikes Your English is deteriorating though, according to the subtitles. See just after 3:06. I can't not hear that. 😅
most of the englisch i know stoped trying to pronounce "gracht" properly becauce it makes there troat hurt :-)
@@mysterion9686 No, he's fine. The subtitles are just a bit confused.
Amsterdam, or any Dutch city for that matter, might not be perfect for cycling, but us Dutchmen should be happy our cycling "infrastructure" doesn't look like 10:25
Yeah I'm definitely never going to cycle on that road!
Amen to that.
Yes though complaining is your obligation. Not just yours, all 17.2 something million people have to complain :)
Well, there are cities in the Netherlands that still have this kind of infrastructure. Zwolle really likes those lanes.
Sweet ****, that's the latest regulations!? It is clear that whoever made those regulations, does not know how to bike...
I definitely employ the "next street over" strategy. What I've found in Winnipeg is, sticking to parallel side streets pretty much eliminates the need for any specific infrastructure for cycling. It's so much more pleasant to ride on the less travelled streets, that I even do this on streets that do have separated cycle paths -- so that I can avoid not just cars, but other cyclists too. Finding the least travelled routes trimmed almost 10 minutes off my commute to work.
I did this all the time when I was cycling for transportation as well. Just memorize the residential streets that follow a relatively linear route and you're set in smaller cities.
I find this as well in Wales, but my whole city is based on a grid due to it all being terraced. The only downside is when you realise you've got to cut across a massive hill because you forgot it wasn't one of those parallel streets despite everything saying it should be.
In my city, I have basically made it a rule to only cycle on actual proper bike lanes (in the very few places they exist), trails, shared use paths, and residential areas.
I moved to Amsterdam last July amidst the pandemic, and while part of me is excited to be able to go out to bars and museums again at the end of this, the other part of me dreads the reappearance of tourists. I visited a year before and it was shoulder-to-shoulder in some places, and I think I've been taking for granted how easy it is to bike in the center now...
Nice videos, hope they reach more audiences in North American cities!
Also, I lived and biked in Miami before, where it was common to hear that a friend got hit by a car. I can't believe I biked on some of those roads, it makes me retroactively scared for my life.
Ironically, that’s how some of us in the city feel about expats…
On my commute in Denmark there used to be this place where the bike lane transitioned from being on street level to up on the sidewalk, but with a slight kerb that could flip you over...
Ouch! 😬
This is nasty shit.
That is fact that i hate about elevated cycle lanes.
Curbs and small stone curbs between cycle lans and the sidewalk
As someone who doesn't cycle in Amsterdam often, the tracks of the tramlines scare me. They expect you to turn 'over' them, but I'm always afraid my wheel catches in the tracks :).
have those everywhere in my city. you're sdupposed to take them at a straight 90% angle, but of course the lane merges at a 30-ish degree angle which basically guarantees you're slipping on the edge if youre trying to follow the paint properly.
@@jorismak I don't usually cycle in cities with trams luckily, but I did when visiting Antwerpen (pretty terrible city to cycle overall).
And well guess what, got caught in the tram tracks. It's a miracle I didn't go flat on my face
Maybe an idea for a next video to have a miniature streetmap where the streets you are talking about are mapped?
I tried doing that for this video but it was taking too much time. There's no fast way to do this.
@@NotJustBikes I'd happily animate something like that
@@NotJustBikes You probably already saw this video, but this was in my feed a few days ago, I found it pretty useful. th-cam.com/video/GsojLuJpe_0/w-d-xo.html
@@NotJustBikes Are you familiar with _One Cyclist in Lisbon_ ? Miguel's animation style is pretty simple. I like the fact that he shows where he's been and where we're going to. th-cam.com/video/X_W0MYTR63o/w-d-xo.html You could take a map of Amsterdam and simply fade out + in, an Andreas cross (from the cities heraldic weapon) to show where you're at.
@@MatthijsVDS If you're good at something, make sure you get paid too! :)
"Painted bicycle gutter" - also known as "the only bicycle infrastructure most cities around the world have" :'(
I love that the little detail that you have. All the footage have some sound, it isn't just completely void of sound. It's nicer than generic music.
For an Anglophone, you did very well on "gracht"
My two cents on 'the most dangerous cycling streets in Amsterdam': Everywhere you'll find those red and yellow mcbike-like things. those things carry utterly clueless tourists in large groups without competent supervision.
Would love to see one of these about Utrecht, but with a focus on the overload of cyclists. Even with the pandemic some bicycle lanes near the main train station get so busy it can become scary to merge, especially if you're used to a less busy city (Gouda in my case). I think it highlights another part of Dutch cycling culture - if it fits a cyclist can and will go through.
(And I'm definitely guilty of this myself as well, it only becomes scary if you're not familiar with the street in question)
I uesd to be part of that mess every day for the last four years. It was so much fun. This is one of those wierd little things I look forward to when this pandamic is over
yea big 00f
I think only in Utrecht you need to account for extra time due to bicycle traffic jams. Especially if you cycle to and from central station during rush hour or from the station to the Uithof (university campus) right before a new round of classes starts. I need to leave minutes earlier at those times because I can't go as fast as I would usually go
@@rvdb7363 I think any city with a lot of students has this problem. I used to study in Delft and there as well, there were bicycle traffic jams. One bicycle only street in particular was worse than anything I've seen in Utrecht and sometimes you would be cycling at less than walking speed.
@@heddevanheerde don’t worry it’s still a party in Delft. They had tot install traffic lights at the junctions near the uni because cyclist have priority and it would be so busy that you couldn’t pass with your car for about 5 minutes
I laughed out loud when I saw your Waterloo, ON example. And imagined what a beautiful city Toronto would be if filled with good bike infrastructure. We can only dream. You're doing an amazing job with this channel, very informative! Thank you :)
I used to bike every single day exactly at that part of the Kinkerstraat. And it's always so crowded haha.
The northfield drive west road looks so scary to me. The person who designed that road probably has never riden a bike in their life!
Yes, I completely agree. The news did an article about it, and the planner they interviewed really doesn't seem to care at all. He said they haven't heard of any problems with it (yeah, because nobody is stupid enough to try to actually *use* it)!
kitchener.ctvnews.ca/waterloo-bike-lane-causes-cyclists-concern-1.4347837
It looks like a death trap
It looks dodger than a dodgy thing with dodgy fluid on it.
The person could be a traffic infrastructure designer in Germany then! "Have you ever ridden a bicycle?" "No!" "Welcome aboard!"
@@chriszichriszable at least the regions near the Dutch border attempt to expand our network into their country. It's basic, and two bikes can just about pass eachother, and almost exclusively follow the 100km/h roads between towns, but at least they're separated and safe to cycle on. They're often in a better state than said main road, because those roads end up as a patchwork anyway. For German cycling infrastructure, it's as good as it gets.
4:00 tourists missing signs, both litrual (the bicycle sign) and subconcious (the parked bikes) is common everywhere.
I find that some mutual understanding and tolerance for honest mistakes brings you a long way. I do carry a screeching sounding whistle though for when the pedestrian light crossing at the mouth of the Kalverstraat to Dam square turns red and the (mostly not tourist) people keep on crossing en masse while the light for the road has long turned green.
Tbh I confused those paths for sidewalks a couple of times myself. Even though I rode through them by bike too. It's not very well designed - signage is poor and the path isn't colored.
What strikes me most is that the infrastructure may deteriorate into some of the less good implementations you’ve shown here but it still continues! In my (English)?town there’s a off road cycle path built as part of a housing development, but at the end of the developers responsibility, the council literally drop a kerb and say “yep, time to join that dual carriageway with 60mph traffic that’s just pulled off the motorway. GLHF” instead of widening a pavement and continuing the cycle path another 300 meters (at least).
Wow how dangerous a line of green paint can be! I feel for the cyclists of Ontario, and I wonder how rarely that lane is used, adding fuel that ‘cyclists don’t use it anyway’ ? Glad to see evidence that Amsterdam isn’t a magical utopia, it’s a real city like many others around the world, that have improved things by intelligent vision, excellent planning and hard work in progress 👍
YAY! As someone from somewhere else in the Netherlands this is the video I've been waiting for. :P
hahah. Yeah, I knew Dutch people from other cities would enjoy the "shit on Amsterdam" video.
@@NotJustBikes Well, when foreigners watch your video’s, they will get the impression that Amsterdam is good for cyclists. That might be true compared to other countries, but it is not compared to other Dutch cities. The smaller a town is, the safer it is
@@NotJustBikes Well, you're not wrong ;)
@@maxvanamstel1821 I think there's a balance tho, if you have a very small town chances are it's so far away from a main route it's connected to the outer world using 50km/h back roads with no cycling lane (or maybe they're actually 30 roads which no-one cares about, idk, speed limits are just a suggestion to some people)
@@maxvanamstel1821 In www.fietsersbond.nl/fietsstad2020/ the two worst cycle municipalities have 10k inhabitants. Ironically Alphen-Chaam is one of them, famous for the _Acht van Chaam_ , a famous traditional criterium held after the Tour de France. The other, Oostzaan (although too few questionaires were filled in to count their score as legit), borders Amsterdam.
1:18 managed to stock up just in time for lockdown
That was filmed in March, right when the first lockdown was announced. :)
@@NotJustBikes I'm sure he hasn't run out yet...
Rozengracht/Marnixstraat was the absolute first place that popped into my head when I saw this title. When I was little I passed this area daily to go to school and I remember one time there were so many flowers placed there because some kid got killed there and the intersection is still the same.. It is a dangerous intersection all around as well, I once saw a motorist hit a car and fly a couple of meters through the air. At least the firemen were right there to help ...
I mean... Even the worst places to cycle in The Netherlands (or increasingly the rest of Europe) are still better than anything America has come up with.
I moved almost a year ago from amsterdam, this gives me so much nostalgia! I loved cycling in amsterdam, but its way worse than other dutch cities. I lived at the Oudezijds achterburgwal, on the border of the red light district, and always had to avoid hitting tourists.
I still think Den Haag is worse, but yeah, Amsterdam can be really bad when there are a lot of tourists around.
@@NotJustBikes I’ve never cycled in Den Haag, so I’ll believe you! Right now I live in Brabant, and it’s really bike friendly. It feels like traffic is a lot less “aggressive” compared to the randstad
@@IJoeAceJRI Amsterdam is horrible xD. Awful city. But depends on what you are used to i guess. Amsterdam is way too full with people. Way too crowded. And the people in the western parts of the Netherlands are just arrogant, only focused on themselves.
@@IJoeAceJRI Compared to the USA probably any, even Amsterdam. All Dutch cities are good for cycling and not car dependant. But to have a really great time (also outside biking) you will want to look away from the Western provinces (North and South-Holland.
@@IJoeAceJRI And east. But yes. Those areas are less populated so you can freely walk and bike around. People are way more relaxed and friendly. There is a lote more nature. But to settle in from abroad it might be a bit hard and completely different tho.
1:17 What a BOSS!
It's so common to see electric wheelchairs on the bicycle infrastructure here. It frustrates me to see wheelchair users used as an excuse *not* to build proper bicycle infrastructure in other cities.
@@NotJustBikes Riding a recumbent, (I own both trikes and bikes) I noted that most infrastructure allows for wheelchairs and other 'special' bikes which will find it hard to use the bike infrastructure in the UK (and I have never tried to ride outside NL and UK.) I got stuck in England several times on my 'bent trike.
I like the way the subtitles converted "cyclepath" as "psychopath". Are they trying to tell you something?
Narrow, unstable and liable to fling you into oncoming traffic?
I went to amsterdam just the other week and rented a bike for a day. When going south down the Amstel river, I ended up deviated into the heart of de pijp by road construction. I remember checking the map on my phone, being about to turn into the next street I had to take, and seeing a hell of a street. Turns out it was Van Woustraat, even if I didn't know it then. Thankfully my instinct made me go another way, which I am now very grateful for
Generally any Dutch city has dangerous points. Locals learn to avoid them.
what dangerous Parts I don't see any. LOL when you're done your lockdown or whatever come to Canada come to my s*** hole Province Ontario we have Toronto and Ottawa which fails in comparison to your awesome City when it comes to cycling stuff.
@@ThePonycat The maker of the video is Canadian, he has told he originated from London and has worked in Toronto before travelling all over the world and deciding to stay in Amsterdam. He cycled Toronto traffic in rush hour. The video isn't named the most dangerous parts in the world, it's called the most dangerous parts in Amsterdam.
Locals learn to avoid them, or fail miserably 😉
@@BartSliggers when I was a teenager we knew when to cross the streets because we knew when cars had red rights and would ignore our own red lights...
@@MrWiggenhammer yes I know I'm aware of that but he makes it sound so deadly in Amsterdam. When the roads and the cycle pathways are next to perfection. God tier level. Dank meme level over 9000
This brought a smile to my face! Seeing you bike through the neighbourhood I grew up in, pass my house and even bike the exact same route I just did to get to the university library. I dont consider most of these dangerous, but that might be because I grew up with them.
One crossing that still stands out to me personally though is the Marnixplein, it used to be quite a disaster that resulted in a 12 year old boy from my primary school getting killed by a truck in 2007. After that they quickly remodeled it but it is still one of the most annoying/complicated intersections I frequently bike across.
I've never been privileged to cycle in the Netherlands. The worst cycle routes in your cities are the best in mine.
You want to see bicycle pandemonium, visit Utrecht xD . I still think it's nicer than Amsterdam to cycle though; there are a lot fewer streets shared with cars, and no trams.
Damn, I've rode my bicyle from the train station to the Uithof SO many times. Some places are just... wow. But not because of the cars, but because of the HUNDREDS of cyclists waiting for the same red traffic light. :P I actually like cycling in Rotterdam a lot, the infrastructure is great, and very independant from where the cars ride.
CHYROS!
Not managed to cycle in beautiful Utrecht as yet - mainly Amstelveen, Haarlem, Amsterdam (and Amsterdam Noord), but that is my next adventure because I know how the city is more bike friendly than even the capital and has the largest underground central bike parking facility of them all (in the entire NL)....and it looks amazing.
Clickety clack
Utrecht is more fun in general... For me, Amsterdam turned into a tourist themepark..... Utrecht not :)
I'm from Assen, and i'm used to the traffic there.
However whenever i get into Amsterdam, either in a Caddy or on foot, i always think i already hit like 5 cars, 2 bikes and pissed off over 1058 people within a second. I find it horrible to be there
I can assure you that once you have been living in my "town" for some months, the traffic in Assen scares the shit out of you, Welcome to Jokkmokk th-cam.com/video/KvosqORn8Xs/w-d-xo.html It ain't my video but it gives a view of the town and the most important shop in town at 15.27 the liquor store. Or this one th-cam.com/video/LXZmX9byG5g/w-d-xo.html
I haven’t cycled in Amsterdam much but for me the worst thing about cycling in the Netherlands generally is the bonkers rule that even when on a main road you always have to give way to traffic joining from the right………except for when you don’t. It’s so unclear to me having grown up in the UK where main road traffic always has priority, an awful lot of Dutch people don’t seem particularly clear about it either. Perhaps this is why a certain percentage of Dutch cyclists seem to never, ever look to their left when joining from a side street or just moving off.
Great explanation! The main artery of Leiden, where I go to uni, is the car-free but bus/bike-crowded Breestraat. Twice a day this turns into a dangerous bus-bike-highway where pedestrians somehow collectively decided to always act blind while crossing (DIAGONALLY). It's quite the party! The buses do have an upside as I often abuse them as windshields.
My son is a student in The Hague. He has been in two bike accidents in the same intersection. He stopped riding a bike and started walking/riding the tram.
Earlier this year I rode in that lane in Waterloo on Northfield - never again. One of the things that is so frustrating about cycling here, in stark contrast with driving, is that spontaneous routes get punished hard on two wheels. Get behind the wheel and you can take any which way you want to your destination. On the saddle, if you aren't already seasoned in your city, you're going to have a bad time. Until you learn. And then you will complain about all the dangerously inadequate spots (and be ignored). Going on and on about all of the technically illegal but body preserving maneuvers you need to do to get places by bike. My friends and family are tired of me. But this is both urgent and important, so stop standing around. Let's get this done.
The s100 looks like a regular street in Copenhagen
Yeah, I kinda thought the same!
Having lived in Amsterdam all my life, none of those bikeways threaten me. You get more than used to it. I actually prefer simple markings to a raised cyclelane. Just today in the Centuurbaan (which you featured in this video) I needed to be on the other side of the street. Knowing that the light was red for the trafic, I simply crossed the tramline and got to the other side instead of having to hop off my bike or risking restructuring my rear leaving a raised cyclelane. It does go on a case by case basis, but most of those streets work fine imo.
I used to ride my bike along those streets 75 years ago to school in the Da Costa straat !!! No trouble at all but you forgot the Leidse Straat !! I slipped on my motorbike on the tram line whilst taking my driving test !! Bert Melbourne Australia
Three of my friends got scooped up from the road by some jerks at the Van Wou - Ceintuurbaan intersection. One of the most dangerous ones, I'd say.
3:41 My favorite gracht in Amsterdam. I love cycling from the Nieuwe spiegelstraat onto the Spiegelgracht going to the Rijksmuseum. Beautiful! (and fun to ride during bike rush hour)
Have to say, you learned to pronounce gracht making this video
At first it was great foreign and ended with dutch like pronouncing
9/10, wouldn't be afraid to say gracht anymore
haha! I guess I got a lot of practise while recording this script! 😄
Great video, what this channel has showed me is one of the reasons I'm going to the Netherlands as an exchange student in january. Thanks!
In 2018 i drove on a bike in Fortaleza Brazil during carnaval. I was going to the supermarket to buy beer and ice and had my bike loaded with bags on my steering wheel. It took al my dutch bicycle skills but i survived the insane traffic. And without a helmet going dutch all the way.
That Javastraat reminds of the Meent in Rotterdam which is hands down the worst place ever. It's a shopping street that is so insanely busy that you pretty much have to queue up in the traffic jam behind the cars for the entire length of the street or risk your life trying to slalom the cars and on-coming traffic.
You should try biking in the same lane as 50mph traffic 😂😭 the American way....
My wife was JUST talking about how dangerous the Kinkerstraat fietspad is (on the southside), for the reasons you mention. Add in people on the big electric bakfietsen that go too fast and well, it can get kinda hairy. I don't find Overtoom that bad, but it is lockdown. Maybe I'll agree when traffic returns to full throttle. That said, cycling here is pure joy. Yes, you gotta keep your head on a swivel to keep from getting blasted, but it's still incredible to cycle through the beauty of Amsterdam on a daily basis.
After watching your videos I went looking for any kind of bike lane plan for my town in northern Ontario, and I was pleasantly surprised to find they do have one. They're starting construction on a section of new bicycle lane, removing curbside parking to do it, and even implementing the first "bike box" at traffic lights. It'll be interesting to see how that goes. It's still not perfect, but it's a start.
I am always so excited when I see that you post another video! Love the content!
Thanks! I think you increased your patreon pledge this month, right? Your name is in the "Tram" Patrons in this video. :)
@@NotJustBikes That's the only reason why I increased my pledge. I'm an American so I need that recognition! I'm totally joking of course :P Keep up the great work!
7:18 that delivery driver is a real legend
I know, right?
Try to park on a busy bike path in Amsterdam and you'll get yelled at, many slams on your roof/sides, and potentially some really close encounters between your mirrors and some handlebars or your doors and some bike pedals. Dutch cyclists can be quite agressive, especially in groups.
Until the passenger opens his door
When cycling through the churchill-laan, there are some intersections with traffic lights that do not provide a clear way for cyclists to turn left. Current solution is to go and awkwardly wait in front of the cars waiting to go from right to left without being able to see their traffic light. Since i cycle here often, this frustrates me the most.
In Milwaukee we mostly just don't have bike lanes. Where we do they're informally referred to as "high speed passing lanes"
Marnixstraat and Nassaukade, as they curve southeasterly from Harlemmerweg, are a total clusterfuck at every intersection. The lights are some of the longest in the city, and the amount of auto traffic one needs to duck in a bicycle is stunning. Jordaan is trapped in its medieval planning heritage, without enough room to dedicate to either auto or bike, so both forms of transit lose.
I moved to Amsterdam 25 years ago, and I still love cycling here. It keeps getting better. I particularly like the new all red cycle roads where cars are seen as guests, like the Sarphatistraat. One that I hate is the Sumatrakade. Not particularly high volume, but people drive quite fast there, and there's absolutely no cycle infrastructure. I wish they had built a lovely big two way cycle lane on the waters edge there.
Oh wow, Sumatrakade looks terrible! I've never cycled there, because there's the fietspad in the middle of the island. I have cycled on Javakade though, and the cobblestones are terrible.
@@NotJustBikes Yeah the fietspad through the tuinen is lovely, but sometimes I visit people living on the Sumatrakade itself and have to use it. The Javakade is indeed incredible. Those are the cobliest cobblestones in the world! Pro tip is to cycle along the waters edge on the sort of pavement bit, although then you risk annoying the dog walkers :) The Jan Schaeffer bridge is pretty awesome though, specially at night.
so glad to see my favourite Waterloo bike lane made this video!
Additions:
- Frederiksplein (same problem as Marnixstraat / Rozengracht)
- Utrechtsestraat (too narrow)
- De Ruijterkade (scooters overtaking bikes with 50 km/h)
Didn't realize that even Amsterdam had a problem with delivery vans parking on the bicycle lane rather than the car lane
People are people everywhere, the environment largely determines behaviour.
Wouldn't have imagined that in years. Parking on cycle lanes and honking at cyclists was painful to watch by Dutch standards.
@@bramvanduijn8086 i thought maybe enforcement was stricter in the Netherlands than in other countries where less thought is given to cyclist safety
Well, the police can't be everywhere, and it really does come down to infrastructure ... even in the Netherlands.
@@NotJustBikes police patrols do help, though. Since Brussels got a bike patrol team of police officers on a bike, the number of double parked cars and (delivery) vans has dropped considerably in the city centre. They aren't all gone, but not 10 years ago, I'd be constantly slaloming around those vans, 20 vans on the central lanes was not an exception. Now, they are still there, but perhaps 1 or 2, definitely an improvement.
Konginneweg/willemparksweg is the worst... i always get squeezed by the trams
It was on a street similar to Rozengracht that I had my only major bicycle accident in Amsterdam, fortunately no one else was involved, it was just me and the tram tracks.
Great video about minor problems in Amsterdam. As a Canadian, living in North Carolina, who also grew up in Toronto and went to UofW EE80, I can relate to this very much. You made good points, thank you. Envy your new home cycling opportunities.
Nice footage!
I m biking my whole Life in Amsterdam, in generally it safe to do, but the bikelanes. are still terrorized by scooters which is dangerous and still forbidden in the centre.
And you can avoid the narrow bikelane in the Kinkerstraat by taking the Jacob van Lennepkade.
I really really enjoy the style of your presentation, humor and videos. And the more I watch them, the more I wonder why I ever moved to Canada. But then again if I hadn't, we wouldn't have met ;-) Happy Holidays to you and the family.
Great list. I used about 2/3 of the listed streets today on my commute to work, sportschool and home.
The Spaarndammerstraat is pretty bad aswell, but it might fall more into the annoying category, the supermarket there has been blocking part of the cycling path, which can be very dangerous, especially if there's a bus currently stopped at the bus stop, luckily after the crossing it changes into a very nice cycling path.
The money counter still @ zero?
I think you did a good job at the street names, not being familiar with Amsterdam I understood most of them correct while having the bottom left covered up until the name was said to check. And if I was familiar with the street names prior to hearing them I would have recognised more.
Great video as always, really highlights how over time a messy city can be improved a lot. Personally just about any street with trams still make me uncomfortable but that's because I've never lived in cities with trams and remember spending time in some cities with trams as a not always sober visiting student on a borrowed bicycle (unfamiliar brakes, gears, etc). I'm sure it would be a different experience today by daylight or even later in the evening without alcohol, an OV fiets while basic is usually in a better state of repair than the rejected student bicycle the guest gets to use.
Bedankt! Amazing videos you makes. it makes me appreciate Amsterdam more and more.
Thanks so much!
its great because I live in Lawrence KS, a mid size collage town, called one of the best towns to not own a car in and #7 best cycling towns in the US. Javastraat reminds me of my downtown that I cycle too often, and I always think its not that bad.
Wow, kudos for Lawrence! I went to school there in early 1980s, and at the time the only relatively safe place to bike was just the campus itself.
Always important to remember that cities are a work in progress, even Amsterdam, and that there will always be issues, emergent or otherwise, to be addressed at the street level to make it even better. Having said that, I'd still take Amsterdam over my hometown any day of the week!!!
Going west on Javastraat toward Oosterpark is another mess right now, Eerste van Swindenstraat, which fortunately I believe the city plans to turn into a one-way street which should help. And fietsers trying to get into Oosterpark at the Linnaeusstraat - also a total mess! It’s like the city wants to discourage cycling in the park, but you can’t really stop us... the alternatives to get west are up on Mauritskade (too many cars) or down on the street south of Oosterpark (somewhat “bad” fietspad conditions). Plus the park is too pleasant!
Has anyone else run out of content from Not Just Bikes, and so is just re-watching all of them? Love the content!
Me too.
Oh god that bike lane in the MIDDLE of the road in Waterloo. I saw so many of those just 10 years ago across Kitchener. Sometimes they build something nice though. On my home street, they just put in a two way curb protected lane. It considerably reduced how wide the street is and also removed some parking.
My biggest issue with cycling in Amsterdam is that lots of tourists don't know the traffic rules in the Netherlands
In Culemborg (a city underneath Utrecht.) we have a neighbour hood called: eva lanxmeer. It is made to support the environment as much as possible. No cars allowed and very kid friendly. Also a lot of very interesting architecture. I hope you will check it out once.
As someone from the centre of Amsterdam I am very against making places car free if people actually live there. It can be a logistic nightmare when cars can’t get near your house. It’s nice for those cycling through, but for the “bewoners”, it’s awful.
I (USA) live in an apartment complex which has access to biking infrastructure which is excellent- EXCEPT: it stops 1/4 mile from the grocery store. Very nice bike path, albeit next to a high speed road and thus noisy- but it stops in sight of the grocery store (if a hill wasn't in the way) AND there isn't even a bike gutter on the aforementioned road. To sweeten (sour) the deal, it continues West toward a couple more complexes and could potentially serve thousands of people. Here's the kicker: The grocery store is attached to a separated bike path that runs through all of downtown, which itself connects to some other paths to access a university campus and parks. 1/4 mile of bike path would allow me to get just about anywhere in town with minimal car interaction in at most 20 minutes.
Naturally, it's used by very few people and I worry it's used as a poster child for "Look we built it but noone is using it" while leaving out the *crucial* detail that it is UNFINISHED.
It baffles me that this city will spend gobs of money widening roads whose traffic would be significantly reduced by finishing... 1/4 mile of bike path. They've demonstrated a willingness to beef up parks downtown. A recent project in my estimation cost maybe 20 or 30 times as much as one itty bitty strip of bike pavement. I just don't get it.
Or I guess it's OK to dump cyclists on a 40mph (65kph) road.
Great video! An addition is that some carroads became roads where cars are guest vehicles and bikes are the priority users of the road. Sarphatistraat and Weteringschans are good examples of those :)
7:20 It is illegal to park or load on a fietspad with a white bicycle on it. Passing cars can use the tram line.
That doesn't stop delivery drivers from doing it all the time though.
@@NotJustBikes yeah. Its taught in driving school tho. CBR
@@tristand3928 People tend to forget such things when it's inconvenient though.