Nijmegen: The City That Tamed Cars So People Can Walk & Bike Where They Please
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- Опубликовано: 7 июн 2024
- This Streetfilm was a pure joy to make, and it really snuck up on me. Nijmegen, a small Dutch city, was never on my radar. But I found myself in town last month for the Velo-City 2017 conference, and it was a marvel.
The car-free center of Nijmegen is full of street life. Kids play and ride bikes without giving it a second thought. People just don't have to worry about cars. Nijmegen has accomplished this by devising a system where essential motor traffic, like buses and deliveries, has access to central city streets, but other vehicles do not.
In the city center, bicycling accounts for nearly 60 percent of trips, according to Sjors Van Duren, program director of Velo-City. The stories of these smaller Dutch cities "are not often told," he said, but they should be. The extent to which Nijmegen has prioritized walking, biking, and transit -- and kept car traffic at bay -- is something every city should strive for.
So I started interviewing as many people as I could -- residents and visitors -- about their experience in Nijmegen, to show what it's like to live in a city where cars have been tamed and people can walk and bike where they please.
The silence & peace of mind is something most ppl from cities across North American won’t understand
Instead, you have lunatic cyclists everywhere.
I live in st louis and my work is 1 mile from my home. So I bike to work. They recently created a separate bike lane and it's a one way lane. So I use that to go to work but there is no bike lane for coming back home. 🤣 I don't know what they were thinking
LOL -they obviously didn't expect that you'd be 'able' to return!
Haha the intention is good I guess, I see a lot of stuff like that here in Portugal too.
We need a sharing mentality on the road too . Usa roads are plenty wide.
Hope they didn't take away a lane for cars for the bike lane
@felicetanka No we don't. Cyclist have no business being on the road, they slow motorists down too much and they don't share the road.
I love being out on my bike. I live in London and have a sit-up bike and don't wear a helmet. I use the canal-paths, parks and back streets as my routes to get from place to place. These things make all the difference, because cycling becomes something very enjoyable rather than a 'marathon event' (with the Lycra, helmets, low handle bars, speed etc). London has finally begun to make some cycle-ways, but it is still in its infancy. A radical shift in thinking, putting the cyclist first, is going to be required in the face of the powerful car culture here in Britain.
Agreed. I'll pass on the full lycria and sky high seats. I dress to get to my location, to commute. I don't dress to ride a bike.
"so what you see here is children go to school on their own" Here in Canada, if children are going to school on their own like that, the ministry of children and families (The Canadian government sanctioned child kidnapping organisation) would be immediately contacted by the child's school because it is considered as neglect / irresponsible / dangerous. when i was a kid I would to travel all over the city, i would walk or bike for miles and miles away from home, i knew many kids that did the same, now a person can have their child taken from them if they give their kid that kind freedom, its ridiculous
It's beyond me why local authorities in UK keep wondering: ermm what can we do to make more people cycle. Just bloody copy and paste from the Dutch!
Same thing I tell the Norwegian road department about my city, they keep asking for advice and I keep telling them to copy-paste NL, they are extremely persistent in not wanting to listen, though.
There are a few other cities in Norway which are doing great, it's sad I only get to see it from a distance, on TV and such.:P
Don't even bother to contact the authorities. They should just give engineers and cityplanners more freedom and oppertunities to come up with mobility solutions. It jas to come boddem down. The citizens and cityplanners should come up with plans and force action. Thats how the policy changes in The Netherlands are realized.
In the Netherlands the change came by the people, not by the authorities.
It's not just about cycle paths and road design. It's about town planning generally. For example, in the Netherlands there aren't huge out-of-town megastores like in the UK, that you would have to access by car. Every neighbourhood has its own shopping centre with at least one reasonably sized (but not huge) supermarket, that can be accessed on foot or by bike. For more specialist shops there are the town centres, which are much more vibrant and enjoyable than in the UK or USA.
Puro What city do you live in?
Hopefully, my country (Germany) will follow the Dutch example and make the bicycle an integral part of everyday life. Ironically, I grew up in a town (in the former GDR) that was very bicycle-centric, albeit that was mainly because few people in East Germany had access to cars (they were expensive, and supply did not even begin to meet demand). Every morning and afternoon, the streets would be filled with thousands of people riding their bicycles to work / back home.
Nijmegen is my hometown and this little documentary warms my heart :) please come and visit this city to escape the tourism in Amsterdam and chill with the locals!
Already done that!!! And definetely recommend it!! Beautiful city to visit on a bike!
I was there in may 2016. Loved the city!
Cheers from Southamerica!
You're lucky to have such a home town...
Noud: I was in Nijmegen and really liked it! Great town!
Arnhem is better
As a foreigner living in Den Haag I do admit that Nijmegen is one of the nicest Dutch cities I've visited:)
And when it comes to that tourism, Dutchies really need to figure out a way how to divert some of that major international air traffic from Schiphol to Eindhoven airport. That would make Eastern/Southern part of the Netherlands far more accessible to tourists. Most tourists miss out on great towns such as Den Bosch, Nijmegen or Maastricht simply because these towns are too far from a major airport.
@6:10
Dog: "This is nice, the water just flows right into my mouth when Im thirsty.." lol
I wish more cities around the world will be like this, this is how we should be.
There are those cities, like Eindhoven, Groningen, Arnhem, Utrecht, Maastricht etc.
The Netherlands are covered with relatively small cities, well connected by buses, railways, and highways.
With a combination of bicycle, train, bicycle (rented in our National OV-Fiets program), you can travel wherever you want. Cities are about ten miles away from each other and ten villages in between. So you never feel like 'in the middle of nowhere'.
By showing how things can be done, we hope to export our solutions and expertise. Slowly our neighbours are picking up this way of living.
@@dutchman7623 Strange thing is the US at one point was modeled similarly. If you look at states in the northeast and New England, you'll notice that towns outside of the major metro areas are about 10 miles apart since that's the most one could've traveled and still get back home in the same day back in the 1600 or 1700s.
But then we kind of went hogwild after the car, removed our streetcars...and that brings us to now.
Absolutely agree, this is how city should look like!
Romar Patacsil you guys like to go back 17th century? Then your a fool!
You guys want to live like 17th century.
What a beautiful city
Absolutely !!!
It's a city where being 'First' isn't that important anymore.
We share the time, the roads, priority. Giving another priority is being polite.
Priority loses a lot of it's meaning when being 'first' doesn't count anymore.
When you need to be 'on time', don't use speed, just depart a little sooner.
FD2: Well said!
Depart a little sooner? What if they're working 16 hours a day and every free minute is worth gold to them? Instead, why don't you try to focus on how to make traffic more efficient instead of asking people to waste even more time in traffic
@@46Bax I feel for you. How about living in a community where you don't need to work 16 hours a day just to get by ?
Why don't you move to heaven ?
@@xFD2x That's not my point I'm just saying this cycling obsession costs us a lot more money. Trucks drivers are paid by the hour so whenever theyre in a traffic jam their company is losing money, who then charge us the lost revenue. But no instead of increasing traffic capacity these idiots here even remove a car lane to make it a dedicated (empty) cycling lane. Cars are economy, not bikes.
@@46Bax And you don't think our economy can flourish when we reserve the space for bicycle tracks in the city as well as in the country ? We do have some traffic jams, but much less than most other western countries.
Anyone who rides a bicycle isn't driving a car. So for every bicycle you see there is probably 1 car less on the road.
You are right, in the transition from car to bicycle there is probably some extra congestion. That's why it makes sense to shorten the transition period by stimulating the use of bicycles. Right ?
The dutch own 8.5 million cars (population 19 million), so it isn't like we have no cars. It's just we use the cars mostly for longer journeys.
Journeys of 5 miles or less (which are most journeys !) are often done by bicycle.
I wish our Australian Governments would wake-up and realize that one of the big answers to cutting pollution is , "Riding Bikes"!
I love how the Dutch are fighting toxic car culture
Nothing toxic about car culture.
Cyclist are the toxic ones who don't share the road and hold traffic up.
@@JS-ch1hk car dependency apologist
@messiermitchell4901 Nothing wrong with being a car enthusiast.
Who are you greenies to decide what people can enjoy.
You have all been brainwashed with the whole "global warming" and "climate change" BS.
Nothing wrong with being a car enthusiast.
Who are you greenies to decide what people can enjoy.
You have all been brainwashed with the whole "global warming" and "climate change" BS.
@messiermitchell4901 Nothing wrong with cars.
Cyclist are the problem.
I love driving my 6.0Lt V8.
Nothing better than hearing the sounds of an engine with a nice exhaust set up.
The Dutch are a backwards country and sounds like a terrible place to live.
Looks like a country full of Karens.
Wow what a well thought out plan for bicycling!
I feel so fortunate to live in a bike friendly city in the US. Things are improving but still the 'share the road' situation that exists many places is not safe. We need dedicated bike/walk trails and barriers/physical separation from cars to be truly safe.
@@tatianaschoenfield9819 me too
6:10 one lucky dog
Teringat pada tahun 70an-80an saat masih sekolah SD-SMA ke sekolah naik sepeda, jalan jalan naik sepeda, bermain naik sepeda, sekarang jalanan di Indonesia baik di desa di kota dikuasai oleh sepeda motor.
My boyfriend is from Nijmegen ♡♡♡ i cant wait to visit him n this beautiful city ♡
Well done Clarence - you really captured the vibe (and the amazement of the visitors from less enlightened parts of the world :-). People are already posting this in discussions about modal shift (which is is how I got here).
Well done! This one will be another Streetfilms classic.
Why thank you! We love CLASSIC status this early!
And a classic saying by Dutch physicians, quote: "cycling is an efficient way of walking."
Just lovely.
I appreciate that. At least all the comments at the 3000 play mark are positive, so I think I got this one right!
There are no pollution & afaird to cycling for children on the road . I like it so much👍
Wow! This is a place to live!
Im moving to nijmegen and thinking about buying a awd sports car from the 90s....then i see this clip...
Brilliant film! Terrific bicycling /walking town! Vibrant, flourishing towns and cities cater to pedestrians and cyclists. Of course, these places must also teem with memorable, enchanting architecture and amenities. The Dutch have adeptly created mesmerising town centres. I would, however, like to see light rail in many of the secondary cities as the French have done. (Ik ben Nederlander!)
Ah, I love Nijmegen! I lived there when I was doing my doctoral research and did everything by bicycle. It was nice to see a few Brompton Bicycles in the documentary. I would ride my Brompton to the station, fold my bike, go to other cities by train, and then ride at the other end of the train journey. Just perfect!
Not to be snobbish, but I think a good Dahon beats a Brompton big time.
Where I live in NC, cyclists on roads get squeezed off, yelled at, spat on and occasionally shot at. Attempts to create bike lanes are resisted by county commissioners despite studies that show benefits to the community. We are known as one of the top mountain bike destinations in the country and so cycling tourism is the future of our economy. How do we overcome the resistance to change?
Shot at? Wow that's really hostile
Contact these people : www.dutchcycling.nl/
This is the reason I moved out of South. Crazy backward people
@@gamasb8222 I now have plans to leave. The south is getting worse I think
@@arlingtonguy54south is great place and great but very small number of people are making south look bad and act crazy.
Terrific...…. I am planning to visit soon...….
In fact Nijmegen is not considered to be a small city in the Netherlands, neither is Arnhem.
Even Amsterdam is only three times the size. And that's what makes the Netherlands so unique.
City centers at short distance from each other, 20 km, which is an hour cycling. And many Dutch live in these mid-sized cities.
And there are many of them, well connected by train.
Maybe a nice subject for a study/video, high population density, but no 'big' cities of over 700,000.
17.5 million people spread out over a small country.
I watch this as I work on a proposal for our department to remove on street parking on a side street where there is already two public parking garages, and many more private garages...yet I know it will be rejected due to "economic hardship" it would cause the businesses. When will we (Americans) just bite the bullet and get over our obsession with cars, driving them downtown, and needing a free parking space 20' from our destination?
Clearly you don’t care about low income residents who will have to pay extortionate rates at the public parking.
This is what we should all be moving towards!! It's so much more logical and practical at the same time. It's better for out health, our world, and even our mental sanity. Finally, it's just fun!!
I bought an Electra Townie 7D bicycle in March 2022 as an alternative means of transportation. I don't always use the electric assist function, but I am glad it is there when I want it. My alternate is now my main. I only drive my truck if my wife and I have to go somewhere together or if the weather is not favorable. I also lost 36 pounds in four months.
6:10 that cute dog in the ditch.
Can’t wait to study abroad there!
Good luck!
Welcome to The netherlands Negra!
I like the music in this documentary.
Nearest shop to me is about a mile.
Uphill on the way back
.Nearest supermarket is 2 miles each way.
Nearest bus stop is 1/2 mile
~Marvellous...!
Looks like heaven on Earth...Nice and calm...
Awesome Awesome Awesome Awesome
We do need this in the uk
Way to go!
Here in my city, the pedestrian area keeps expanding because the shop owners demand it. One street had bus lines until last year, which has finally been rerouted. You may still cycle there, but I wouldn't recommend it on a saturday: There are now masses of pedestrians, where only six month ago, everybody has to make way for a bus every 10 minute (no, even they didn't dare it on saturdays - and on weekdays it was always late).
And now? The next street calls "we don't want the cars here any more".
Great City ❤
There’s even a cycling roundabout in Arnhem! U can’t get it more dutch
this is what we all need more of here in the USA more bikes less car's maybe some day it will happen more bike trails and bike paths to peddle on wake up USA state making more bike Paths to ride on
One of the issues I've seen (and I believe Wendover Productions made a nice video on it as well) is that the US infrastructure is lacking in terms of public transport; yes, Dutch cities and counties have incredible bicycle infrastructure, but it's also supported by a massive Public Transport system.
I'm 26 and I don't own a car.
In the Netherlands, a car is a luxury item in my opinion. Yes, I love driving and I agree that they're convenient. Occassionally I borrow my parents' car, but only for convenience sake: eg. saving a lot of time on travel when going on holiday or when I need to move things. Then it's very convenient, but it's nothing I won't be able to do when I don't have access to a car at all. (Like rental/friends willing to help)
An example of this is my regular travels to Antwerp; by car this is roughly 3 hours of travel time. By FlixBus (European tour operator) this is 5 hours. Train 4 hours.
I've travelled quite extensively and I still believe the infrastructure we have in the Netherlands is top notch, despite all of the Dutch people complaining about it. It's kind of our national sport to be honest; complaining about the NS (the provider for majority of train travel in the Netherlands)
Another issue is that good bicycle infra in the US is more reasonable in bigger urban areas as opposed to rural and suburban areas. As you pointed out a good public transportation system benefits cycling culture. As you can see in the video, Europe as a pretty robust Tram, Train, and Bus system. Additionally most cities in Europe are more close and compact. As opposed to US suburban and Rural areas where most destinations are spread out across the map. I lived in Central Georgia, US which is pretty Rural and using a bike for transportation is literally impractical as most destinations are on average 10-15 miles away and public transportation is non-existent. Compare that to urban Atlanta, which has a more robust public transportation network and most businesses and services are within walking/biking distance; not to mention horrible parking. It would make more sense to have better cycling infrastructure in the bigger and more populated cities.
As someone that's been to Njimengen, it is a far cry from Utrecht or downtown Amsterdam. So much of the city is dominated by cars that despite there being a decent amount of safe cycling lanes, it's almost impossible to escape the horrible noise from cars and constant having to cross wider roads than other cities have.
But still about 20x better than your average US city. The actual city portion is pretty damn quiet. Outside of it, sure it can be a little noise and certainly some traffic, but I'd trade NYC for that in an instant.
No one stinking SUV in sight,love it
I will be in nijmegen starting July. The first thing I want to buy is a cycle with a seat for my 3yrs old.
We lived in Nijmegen for the last two years and recently we left. These were the best two years of our life. It will be hard to find a place like that anywhere else in the world.
They should do this downtown chicago i swear
Yeah! MAKE AMERICA CYCLE AGAIN.
@@dirkjanwubbolts798 That's such a subversive, libtard, unconstitutional, gay, treehugging, communistic statement to make! 😜
What do they do when it's raining hard or during winter? The midwest USA is brutal in the winter and very few can tolerate cycling in that.
ruclips.net/video/5JQr8cm-6X4/видео.html
ruclips.net/video/5JQr8cm-6X4/видео.html
They don't give up cycling easily but some conditions are even to much for the dutch.
There are busses, trams and trains for that. Wind is the worst of factors in this country.
8:02 que surpresa legal ver a Renata Falzoni!! :D
The woman is not right: you are not presumed guilty as a car driver in an accident, but you are responsible for the damage without any need for the cyclist or pedestrian to prove anything. Cyclists and pedestrians are considered weak road users without any drivers license or insurance and therefore are protected by law. The driver of a motorized vehicle can still hold a pedestrian or cyclist responsible, but does have to prove that. So it is not a matter of guilt, it is a matter of who is going to pay for the damage.
Indeed: regardless of who is guilty, the car driver is always liable. As insurance is mandatory for car drivers, usually the insurance company pays all costs. When the car driver was not guilty (so the cyclists caused the accident) then there is no impact on the no-claim. So then is does not cost the car driver anything.
I guess what she meant is that the driver is strictly liable no matter what
You are correct, & this point is widely misunderstood by lot's of cycling advocates here in the Uk. They hold up strict liability law as the reason why the Netherlands is a mass cycling country, whereas I think it makes little difference.. It's the amazing infrastructure of course.
Even when the cyclist is clearly at fault, the driver is responsible for 50%, as he should have taken into account that cyclists make mistakes an can behave irresponsibly.
Exactly and it makes sense for the most dangerous vehicle to be that. If a bike hits another bike or pedestrian or a car the most that happens usually, is a little tumble, fall, bruise, dent maybe? Or scratch. Cars on the other hand are heavy and fast machinery. They kill people. A car can kill a cyclist and cyclist can't kill a car
We need this in Miami, Florida. Our drivers are dumb and we're ranked the worst city to bike!
@tubetardism 20/20 that sounds like something a morbidly obese person with Halitosis would say.
it saves lives.
Nijmegen de oudste stad? Weet je dat zeker? Maastricht, Heerlen, Voorburg?
did somebody mention that all those busses in this docu run on natural gas ?
silent and no diesel fumes ;)
one more thing ,,,,, just look at the shapes of those people and then look at the shapes of lets say the car loving amerikans
bit strange to call the cycling part of this world outdated communists?
@tubetardism 20/20 Americans wil also never have universal healthcare, free education or common sense gun control ... what's your point?
That looks so fantastic!
Electric bikes could now enable hilly cities to do the same.
Now I really want to move to Nijmegen …
Kadano Every dutch City is Like this
@@Gijs558 yeah, I was there for the first time half a year ago. It's glorious
I live in Arnhem and the cycling infrastrure is just like Every dutch City there but there’s lost more greenspace
6:01 yay to soundscape sanity, reducing noise pollution! Somewhat surprised that they seem to have a heck of a lot of hard (sound-reflecting) surfaces (pavement, brick/cobblestone) and not a whole lot of softer - and greener, natural - areas. IMHO more greenery/nature would be more appealing.
I agree, Doug.
5:33 The guy is like "DAYUM!"
"🎶 We've got to install microwave ovens, cause we're kitchen deliverers 🎶"...
I think that country should be given huge bonuses from the E.U!
Instead we are one of the countries who pay more then they get from the EU ...yet have little say cause we are a small country. Go figure.
@@maaiker2977 ok well I personally don't believe in money, well its not real!
only resources are real, money is just numbers.
@@maaiker2977 for the size of our country we have quite a big say in Europe
@@koenkrabbenborg4823 For the size of our country we pay a hell of a lot.
@@maaiker2977 When you pay a lot, you earn a lot.
How to trigger people from Maastricht: say that Nijmegen is the oldest city.
Henk Janssen how to trigger people from Nijmegen and Maastricht, say Heerlen is the oldest city ;)
No Utrecht is the oldest 😁
the oldest is meppel
Dordrecht
Good content - technical note on the video: you are discussing silence, peace of mind, pleasant background noises and lack of traffic hum for an extended portion of the video. That portion of the video (like the rest) is fully covered by distracting background music - misses the point a bit? Meaning, why not make it possible to hear the original sound track of the place to make the point?
Bicycles make life and cities better for people and the planet. No emissions transportation.
Plus boosting local businesses.
1:41 where is that location in Nijmegen?
ImCohenHD I think it's in lindenholt/ near dukkenburg, looks the land near my old high school Maas Waal collega.
@@theflagbearer9196 Sign on the left indicates the entrance to the municipality of Overbetuwe, which is between Nijmegen and Arnhem, sun is coming from ahead and to the left, so we're probably on a southbound road into the municipality, so we're probably leaving Arnhem and not Nijmegen, pattern of trees, cycle paths and road seem consistent with Rijksweg Noord between Arnhem and Elst with the Rijkerswoerdse Plassen to our left.
netherlands is paradise.. agreed
Streetfilms would you consider coming to Poland ?
Unfortunately it doesn't look good for travel until 2021 at the earliest to venture anywhere!
Very interesting, but still less than 10K views...
Trabant at 2.32 :-)
1:26 Arnhem, bij het 'gaybrapad'/oude bioscoop/hotel rembrandt.
Yep......that's how we roll !!
When it will be possible in india
Because we don’t do that in a residential area. I love it.
I can't believe they got hank green in the video
What about those who can't ride a bike due to hip fusions, etc?
There are still plenty of cars and mass transit all over the place.
The Netherlands has one of the best public transportation in the world.
Please help us in the Philippines!
In Zagreb you have people driving car 100m from house to buy cigarettes
8:05 - You are not presumed guilty as motorized vehicle driver. Nobody is presumed guilty, that would be tyranny. There is a hierarchy of responsibility dependant on the size of the vehicles involved.
😢
Where Eddy van Halen was born lol
This is how Beijing, China was in 1980’s. Everyone had bicycles. Now all vehicles.
lmtada
Kapitalism
And how is that working out for your city? Seem to remember when the Olympic games were held there, traffic was halted near the venues because of pollution.
They'll probably return to bicycles again
NO. Beijing wasn't anything like the Netherlands. Ever. The Netherlands are amongst the freest, most liberal, happiest and healthiest nations on earth. Don't compare us to some 3rd rate totalitarian hell-hole.
@@roanhielkema5714 I lived in Beijing in 1988 and I must say it was great for cycling, went many places by bike.
Indian cities need this type of thinking.
Philadelphian here: I want to move to Nijmegen!!!
many coffeeshops. Coffee is for free.
I find i very funny that always when people show these kinds of movies about cycling the weather is very nice. As if there is no such thing as autumn or winter. These are the seasons where due to the rain, wind and low temps cycling can quickly become a nightmare. 😁😁
Naah, you just need to dress appropriately and have the right kind of tires on your bike. You see a lot of cyclists even in towns of northern Finland where it's snowy and cold more than half of the year.
Are you a man or a wimp? I have cycled all my life, through rain, wind, snow and big storms. It's not always pleasant but I would not call it a nightmare. Man up!
Good for you, but the 2 smiles at the end kinda means i dont really mean it. And then theres the fact you totally missed my point.
@@MadMarcus66 failed sarcasm
@@milly-sy4bc Not sarcasm, just an observation. (i am dutch and know something about cycling) :)
Notice the electric busses running on electric lines suspended over them; thats no more diesel fumes in yor city!
we have no electric busses
@@crisvanhoogstraten4160 The reference is to the footage of trollybusses in Arnhem, 9:43 for instance.
i am the only one that bicycle commutes in my town in Alabama no bike lanes no crosswalks very few sidewalks and people stare and look at me like is he crazy they need to wake up and stop wasting money on cars since gas is about $4.00 a gallon now plus its faster lots more fun than sitting in gridlock
5:26 Waberer :)
Isn't this the same area that does hydrogen and are causing aftershocks because of pumping water into fishers to create hydrogen?
No this is the country thats working towards going off of gas completely. And more and more homes are getting solar panels on their roofs as we speak. They are also stimulating driving electronic cars....they wanna get rid of oil using cars all together as well. Its gonna take some time to get there but thats where the netherlands is going. While countries like the USA are working their way back to the stone age wanting more use of coal.🙄 And trying to protect his fuel industrie buddy's profits. 😤 Oil, coal and gas is the past. You can create your own clean energy nowadays and try and help the earth instead of harming it. Clean energy no one has to die for or get sick for to get. But than they first need to acknowledge there is such a thing as climate change to begin with. Again they aren't dumb just protecting their profits at any costs...even if that means causing others to die. "Lovely".
You mean the area of Groningen. It is in the north of Netherlands.
This is east Netherlands.
Show us a video of a stormy day or heavy rain and snow. See if they are still smiling.
Maybe less smiling, but as we say:"you're not made of sugar!"
Are you a man/woman or a wimp? You don't die if you get wet.
Here you go:
ruclips.net/video/cVyOk9MEtgY/видео.html
ruclips.net/video/5JQr8cm-6X4/видео.html
Smiling is not required. A bike is just a tool, it gets us home in time for dinner. That's all.
Do you smile about your vacuum cleaner?
WHY is it that ALL the bloody RAIN in Holland falls just ON ME in Emsterdem ???????
Karma? 😎
It just rains a bit that much in the Netherlands. You'll get used to it...
This is something I wish we had here in Phoenix, Arizona, but I don't think it will happen because of our very hot and dry summers where the temperature gets over 100 degrees Fahrenheit on a regular basis.
Well, they did it in Sevilla, Spain. Not much different...
The Netherlands have evolved to use their surface effective. Canada and the USA who have evolved on the principle of unlimited space could in the past afford this, but with growing population pressure and pressure on the environment much can be gained from looking to countries already dealing with this for longer. This is not a matter of how great the Netherlands are, because the Netherlands has its own problems, but more a matter of the difficulty of political progressive thinking. Unfortunately history has learned that democracies typically are quite primitive in their capability to think progressively. The masses tend to respond to simple short term personal interests. This is why democracies must be weary of populists all the time, this is why education and empowerment is important, this is why social respect is important, it's also why i'm what you would call left or even communistic. I'm a democrat in the sense that i think problems should be solved democratically, but at the same time i don't have the typical unwaivering confidence that our democracies are as they should be, constitutions and fundaments lack, everywhere, humanity isn't where it should be yet. Especially religion and unbridled capitalism, and accompanied ignorance, naivity, and cynicism remain grave threaths to the very survival of humanity. The difficulty with gaining positive changes for a democracy can be compared to gaining positive features in evolution. For instance wings could be very handy for is, but unless we achieve a revolutionary unnatural advance in (bio)technology, evolution simply decided we have to do without wings. The same consideration can be made about canada or the USA about their infrastructure. Evolution de cided otherwise and creating political will for something not to clear and simple, especially if people think about money and stuff all the time, is close to impossible. Here also is a revolutionar advance needed: constitutional change towards a fundation more advanced then the current one, but this is literally still science fiction. Regarding dutch infrastructure and enviromental policies it should be understood this is not just about 1 or 2 things like sefety amd livability, just like natural selection isn't about 1 or 2 things, it's about every issue accompanying population pressure, like for instance climate change etc. Wars have to be fought, revolutions to take place, before some powerstughle will set up a more advanced structure, and such a structure might well be a dictatorship, nature doesn't require advanced things to be morally acceptable, or conflict may lead to human extinction or degradation. The future will tell.
Anyone ask how long the average distance the average dutch person travels on his bike? I think you will understand countries pl like in America, distances are far greater. Traveling 9miles to a major mall which is about 23km. that is major trip in Holland, where as in Holland you might have gone through 3 towns already....The only biking is good for in the states is that if you live in the town it itself. Note all these people you see don't necessarily live in Nymegen but live in the suburbs which is soooo close near by....
And why do you think that is?
Malls are far away because you rely on cars, and now you need a car because the malls are far away.
Sorry, you've been screwed over by the car lobby.
@@peter1062 We have space in the VS that you don't have in Holland where you live like sardines. If you fart in A'dam you'll hear it in Tilburg. Living in a small country like Holland has it advantages and DISADVANTAGES. That is why I enjoy fietsen in Holland but not living there, and besides Holland is nice and flat not hilly . I don't enjoy fietsen in the eastern part of Holland. I prefer the Western side where there is more life and more diversity, more towns and other things which the eastern part does not give you. I don't enjoy fietsen where it is mostly all open land with a dorpje here and there which is mostly found in the east.
As far as the car lobby goes ,that reflects the nature of how big the country is...you need a car there, not a bike. I enjoy riding a car across and enjoy the natural beauty and diversity of nature the VS offers which you can only experience on video in Holland.....
Nijmegen doesn't have suburbs like US cities, there is a quite abrupt change from the city to the countryside and from the countryside to the next town. People also don't need to travel into and out of the city or even the inner city regularly. It's not a matter of having space, it's a matter of making space accessible.
@@Quintinohthree Amsterdam, Rotterdam ,Den Hague, etc., does have suburbs like in the US. Yes, I live in the suburbs but I don't have to go to the city to shop, the suburbs have much better selections and shops and great shopping centers. And because we have so much more space in the suburbs, we therefore have much better shopping selection, restuaurants and other places to enjoy....You can have the cities....
@@Pelerincha It took me about 5 minutes to find a place in Atlanta that is about 30 minutes walking from the nearest grocery store and still completely surrounded by other homes. If you can find me any place in a Dutch city that is within the built-up area of that city where people live more than 15 minutes walking away from a grocery store, I will concede.
Dutch cities do indeed usually have a dense city center with less dense surrounding neighbourhoods, however the extreme low density and distance to vital utilities characteristic of US suburbs is not there.
Be honest, how close to you are those great shops in the suburbs? Could you walk or cycle to them? Would they be any further if you lived in the city center? Do you often want to go to shops in suburbs outside your rough quadrant?
See, the nice thing is, the Netherlands has better suburbs, with more options more accessibly.
big amount of $ saved not being obligated to purchase a car
The law of presumed guilty is a sick law
It's a good law, it protects the weakest one in traffic but I guess you don't cycle so you don't care about your fellow citizens.
@@brozius it doesnt protect the weak. The last years there are more accidents instead of less cause young people on bikes are aware of their protected position and act like nothing van happen to them. There are more deaths in traffic now
@@damarmar1001 Are you from the Netherlands?
@@brozius yes i live here. Had an accident with my car with a child driving on the wrong side of the road. The boy apoligezed and his fathet wss good insured and said he would gladly tell his insurance to pay the dsmage. Then i called my insurance and he said that my insurance had to pay because of that sick law. It did cost me lots of money because of my no claim which was lowered and did cost me money every year its sick
@@damarmar1001 Go anywhere else in the world and drivers will run you over and not even get charged.
I still don’t get used to busses being allowed to pass through in the shopping streets, Arnhem is better.
smurfiennes blue i totally agree
Nijmegen should have a statue of Van HALEN !! rip Eddie VH
True that!
In deutschland würde der gammel mercedes durch die fahrradstraße brettern und jeden fahrradfahrer anhupen oder eng vorbei fahren nur um 100meter später mitten auf der fahrradstraße zu parken. Die polizei würde ihm den daumen nach oben zeigen weil die fahrradfahrer ja drumherum fahren können
Let the pro-motoring backlash begin!!!
Pedestrians should come first in the city centre though while allowing reasonable car access along with good rail connections.
Why walk if you can ride a bicycle everywhere ??!
@@martijnvv8031 Because walking is better!!!
Red Knight 2014 17 million Dutchies disagree...
@@Wielie0305 THE PEDESTRIAN COMES FIRST!
Red Knight 2014 I get it. Ik ben ook niet boos hoor :-)