Yes, the Dutch being' fascinated by North Americans being fascinated with them ' is great observation . It's as if some explorers have landed and are describing our day to day existence as something alien and exotic . 😉

@ActiveTowns

Жыл бұрын

I have had several Dutch people describe the phenomenon as being like fish in water... they are vaguely aware that the water is there, and they are super grateful for its presence once they are removed from their environment or when it's pointed out to them. I'm not sure how much fish ponder anything, but I think you probably get the point. Hehe 😂 Thank you so much for watching. I really appreciate it, and I hope you enjoy the Channel. Cheers! John

@spiritualanarchist8162

Жыл бұрын

@@ActiveTowns I guess our bikes are a bit like those huge SUV's I kept seeing on when i traveled trough the U.S. Americans didn't understand why i was rather overwhelmed by the seeing them everywhere.

@ActiveTowns

Жыл бұрын

@@spiritualanarchist8162 Yeah, as humans, we adjust to what we know, and then that seems normal. The good thing is that we adjust to change rather quickly and then soon forget or only vaguely remember how it was. 🙂

@spiritualanarchist8162

Жыл бұрын

@@ActiveTowns I like your ( American ? ;) optimism ! I truly hope it's justified . It's obvious by now that the ever growing U.S highways & suburbs can't go on like this without bankrupting the country. Anyway, i enjoy your channel. Good luck spreading the 'good news '

@Deckzwabber

Жыл бұрын

I am one of these Dutch people. And I believe this trend can greatly benefit our country. More and more people learn about the value of our cycling culture and appreciation for it grows. Here too cars are getting taller and heavier, motorways are widened and the percentage of the country that gets paved over creeps up. I hope the international attention will get a wider audience to learn more about cycling infrastructure and public transport.

I think we're fascinated also because we're equally fascinated how this caught on in America. Growing up, I've seen a ton of American movies by now and I have seen so many kids on bikes. Especially those nostalgic movies love to show kids on their bikes, riding to school. So I was kind of baffled to learn this is not the norm (at least not anymore) in many places, and parents just drive their kids now. Having learned how great our infrastructure is, I am forever grateful to live here and grow up here. I had the ability to bike to school alone since I was 6 years old. As I got older (12yo) the trips got a little longer, about 45 minutes but I never felt unsafe. Later I could go by bike-train-bike when I went to my first college and bike-train-on foot to my second college. I didn't own a car until I was 32 years old. And I still don't need my car, I just could and I wanted one. This kind of freedom has always been normal for me but to be aware of what's taken for granted, to be actually something unique, is quite strange. You feel a sense of pride but it's not like I built this. But of all places in the world, this small piece of land is an example, that's special. I am mostly saddened to learn how children in the US grow up basically in house-arrest until they are old enough to drive. I hope it can be turned around and those kids get that youth back. And it warms my heart to see the effort put into it. Sorry for the long bit of text, but I'm really happy to see the enthusiasm of everyone and we're happy to share it. I wanted to express that for a moment.

@ActiveTowns

Жыл бұрын

No worries about the "long" text. I dig it. Yes, I, too, am saddened that so many children in North American and other global car-dependent communities miss out on the empowerment of having access to safe and inviting active mobility networks. Thanks again for watching and for this contribution to the conversation. Cheers! John

I never imagined, when I first rode in Nederland 30 years go, and started to argue for the Dutch cycling model in the UK, that I would find myself watching four North Americans reflecting on a video of their experience of riding in Amsterdam. Wonderful!

@ActiveTowns

Жыл бұрын

We're just 30 years behind you... that seems about right. hehe 🤣

As a dutch woman I used to take cycling for granted. Now seeing it through foreign eyes it puts it in perspective. I think the cycling infrastructure in the Netherlands is a unifying thing. It makes the elderly and lesser-abled mobile as well. Rich and poor, able-bodied and lesser-abled, old and young, male and female,all races and religions....they all cycle the same. They all can be mobile and connected to society. It gives them all the same level of freedom. And the speed of living is slower. We don't need to rush through live. And funnily enough the slow moving bikes tend to arrive faster then the cars do. But its an active way of travel instead of a passive way of sitting behind a steeringwheel. And it makes cities more lively. Its not a highway but a place for living. The city adjusts to the needs of the people living in it....its not the people having to bare the cities demands. And the cycling infrastructure connects the countryside to the cities and vise versa. I know many people living in small towns but they easily go to the neighbouring cities by using its infrastructure. And it keeps people healthier. But I think its difficult to convince other cultures cause its considered preaching and many people have an us versus them mindset. If one wins the other must lose. No one will give a cyclist infrastructure at the expense of their car infrastructure. It will be met with resistance. But if we don't preach but just do our thing....show don't tell....the facts speak for themselves. And sometimes change is a win-win situation. It must be sold as a win for the cars that just happens to be a win for the cyclists, pedestrians and livability in the cities as well. Show don't tell. No divisiveness, preaching or trying to make cycling trendy with gimmicks. Cycling is as easy and plain as can be, inclusive and none judgemental.....doesn't matter what bike you ride on as long as it gets you from point A to B thats all that matters. I think people nowadays need a mindset change more then anything. Whats really important?

@ActiveTowns

Жыл бұрын

I totally agree with your points here. My goal for the Active Towns Channel is to produce content from around the world to promote what is possible and how it can be achieved in a positive way for all. Thank you so very much for watching and for your very thoughtful contributions to the conversation. I hope you enjoy the rest of the content here on the Channel. Cheers! John

@bobbieboothroyd8531

Жыл бұрын

I think if you get the politicians on your side then your half way their. It would be nice to see more bike infrastructure here in the UK the best we can get is a painted line done the side of the road I know London as got some bike lines but their is more to Briton than London.

@ActiveTowns

Жыл бұрын

@@bobbieboothroyd8531 Great point. And the best way for the politicians to be on board is for us all to grow the movement so that the politicians see that there is a critical mass of support from the community, the constituents that will have their backs and keep them in power. So we must all share the message with our neighbors as well as far and wide. Cheers! John

@DenUitvreter

Жыл бұрын

The strange thing is, I never really noticed the difference as kid on foreign vacations all over Europe, in the days when proper culture shock was still a possibilty. I missed my abiltiy to move about without my parents, not having my bike there. I never questioned my ability to cycle there if I had a bike there. We all had a laugh about a Hungarian girl in her late teens learning how to ride a bike in the vacation camp for communist factory workers at the Balaton lake. But that's about it. When I was a student and got involved with a visiting French student girl she mentioned all the cyling a lot and how great it was, but it was not really getting through to me that it didn't really exist as a mode of transport in French university towns. I never liked the many cars around the sidewalk cafes, I remember noticing that too. But it never amounted to a seperate observation in the "why don't people cycle here" category. And coming back home I just stepped on my bike like it was the most normal thing in the whole World to do. So I guess it was just an integral part of being home or being in the Netherlands as opposed to visiting a foreign country hat it was absorded entirely by the notion of being at home or away from home.

@ActiveTowns

Жыл бұрын

@@DenUitvreter Thanks so much for watching the video and for these wonderful reflections. I truly appreciate it, and I hope you are enjoying the Channel. Cheers! John

During the podcast I wasn't paying 100% attention, so I didn't quite understand the 'texture' thing, but now I do. It's actually something that was deliberately designed in the newer quarters, outside the old center. In the late 19th century and beginning of the 20th, they designed residential areas for the new laborers, as they saw it. Areas were designed to have shopping areas, community building, services like basic medical stuff, parks, playgrounds, it was all planned. One thing they had seen in other countries, and what they were worried about, was that all blocks would look like one another, which would lead to people not feeling attached to their neighborhood. The more you like living somewhere, they thought, the less likely you are to turn to crime or rebellious behavior. The older areas had unique streets and buildings appear 'naturally' as the city grew and changed over time, that wasn't going to happen now. So they deliberately deviated from grid patterns, added little squares, 'strange' inefficient road shapes and, very importantly, every street got its own facade design, so your street would look noticeably different from other streets. When I learned about it, I was somewhat amazed. Thing is, every industrializing nation was struggling with building housing in the cities and different places went different directions. And in The Netherlands they went with 'lets try to make people content' instead of 'lets make it all as cheaply as possible', based on the belief that content people work better. And so the new houses had to be roomy (for the time), with sewer access, flowing water, electricity. So far nothing new. But they also figured the area had to be nice. We spend most of our time NOT at home, street life was also more active at the time. So if you want to keep people content, the neighborhood has to be nice, not just the house. Not gonna claim they did it perfectly, but they did make the effort to think of the people Edit: Actually, I'm gonna paraphrase our friend Jason here. The experience you get in The Netherlands, there's so much more to it. It's Not Just Bikes

@ActiveTowns

Жыл бұрын

Yes, to all of this! I'll be sure to have Jordan check out your comments. Thanks so very much for tuning in today. I really appreciate it. Cheers! John

@gerritvalkering1068

Жыл бұрын

The person often considered to be the initiater of The Amsterdam School of architecture is H.P. Berlage, who designed the area known as 'Zuid' in Amsterdam. He wasn't actually part of the architecture movement, but his design kicked it off. It called for 'honest' materials, which usually meant lots of brickwork, but it also used different colored bricks to create patterns and decorations. Unexpected shapes further changed the monotomy. Every square or important corner should have it's own special building, as a landmark. He was one of the first to consider the street and the buildings on it as a whole, rather than separate. The streetscape, if that's a word. There's an architectural museum dedicated to it near the Westerpark called ' 'T Schip' I've always been very interesting in how and why cities came to be, why they are the way they are, each in their unique ways. So I've looked into it :) that's kind of how I encountered your channel as well as NJB, Strong Towns and a load of others, not necessarily in that order.

@carmenl163

Жыл бұрын

@@gerritvalkering1068 I think you are being overly optimistic about the reasons why certain areas in Amsterdam look like they do. You may find this excerpt from an article about Revolutiebouw (Jerrybuilding) interesting: The nineteenth-century ring of new districts around the old city was laid out on the basis of the Expansion Plan of ir. J. Kalff (1875-1876). The design was pragmatic in its layout: it took the existing parcelization and property relations into account, and parts of it were regularly adjusted to the wishes of private developers and builders. It is characteristic of the owner-occupier builders during the last four decades of the nineteenth century that they edged their way through the city as it were, with some money of their own or in partnership, to build separate houses or small rows of houses here and there for various target groups. Thus the city grew at a great pace, bit by bit. You can read the whole article in Dutch: bulletin.knob.nl/index.php/knob/article/view/Smit83/15

In my opinion: The driver of a bigger, more powerful vehicle has the responsibility to make sure that the less power full road user is safe. When, I ride my bicycle in the city center of my home town I have to make sure that I don't put the lives of the pedestrians in danger. When it is too busy to be able to cycle I have to dismount and walk.

@ActiveTowns

6 ай бұрын

Yes, precisely. Well said. Thanks so much for watching and for this important contribution to the discussion. Cheers! John

at 46:22 the cargo bike says "SportBSO". BSO stands for "BuitenSchoolse Opvang", which translates to something like: extracurricular daycare. And in this case of the sports variant. After school the BSO provides the transport of the children from school to the BSO. At a Sport BSO the emphasis lies on sport activities.

@ActiveTowns

Жыл бұрын

Ah, perfect! Thanks for the translation. Much appreciated. I hope you are enjoying the Channel. Cheers! John

Indeed very fascinating as a Dutchman to see how fascinated you are! One thing to mention maybe is that lots of people living in a citycentre also own a car, like me and you don’t see those. They are often parked outside of the centre. I live in a provincial town in the soutwest of the NL and there is no parking facility near my home, so I usually hop on the bike to get to my car. I am allowed to drive to my house to unload suitcases or after shopping, but have to get the car away asap, because it really obstructs traffic. This means that we use the car only if it is really necessary and thus normally only on weekends or to shift heavy or bulky stuff around.

@ActiveTowns

Жыл бұрын

Ah, this is quite interesting. I like that you have access to a car when you really need it but don't have to live with cars parked everywhere in the immediate area where you live. Which town are you in? This sound like a good "car parking management and active mobility scheme" that deserves a profile video in the future. Thanks so very much for watching. I hope you are enjoying the Channel. Cheers! John

Hi John (sorry, wrote David), all, I love to see your video's. Fascinated to see how fascinated North Americans are about the Dutch (cycle) infrastructure, which we are so used to, that we don't see why it's so special until we see these video's. I know Amsterdam well, so all locations I can pin point exactly, but I am not born but raised in Rotterdam. I know Rotterdam since the beginning of the 70's. Lived in many quarters, worked in the heart of Rotterdam for decades. I remember the 70's and 80's when the inner city was dead indeed, after the offices closed after 17:15 (5:15 PM). Now Rotterdam has a bubbling innercity, with appartements, bars, restaurants, clubs et cetera. And also a yellow bicycle highway: a four lane car road was transferred into a two lane car road plus the two lanes bicycle road. In the Netherlands we learn to bike at a young age. I had my first bike at age six, and I cycled on my own (unsupervised) everywhere alone or with friends. Age 12 years, I had to go to junior high, going from a quarter at the suburbs to the school in the center: a half an hour bike ride. My parents never brought me, so my elder brother escorted me the first time, and then I had to do it on my own. I had to bike, since it was the only way to het to school or home. Yes, even when it was raining, snowing, black ice, we had to bike. Even, still, today young children, teenagers do the same trips, in inner cicties, but also from remote villages to their junior high schools. Currently I lived behind Rotterdam Central Station, with lots of junior high schools in my neighborhood, So every day I see loads and loads of young children going to and fro every day. Cars will (must) slow down and they will, simply because most car drivers are all pedestrians but mostly also cyclists. Helmets: we don't wear them, since we feel safe indeed. Helmets give a false sense of security. Whenever we bike, we use our ears and eyes, we calculate the speed of cars and fellow cyclists. Without helmets we are way better in reading faces and signaling to one another. On a bike I have almost 360° vision. I look in all directions and I hear everything around (can't understand people who wear ear phones in traffic). In a car (I do have a car, which I use for long distances) I don't hear nor see that much. In busy junctions I get nervous because I might overlook a pedestrian or a cyclist. My father used to bike till he was ±83 years old. He was not allowed to drive cars any longer, but he loved his freedom, cycling to a farmers' market in a neighbouring quarter. I never thought anything special of it, since I see a lot of old age folks on bikes. Anyway ... keep up the good work. Going to share this video with friends of mine, whom I told about these KZreadrs making videos in the Netherlands of our bike culture.

@ActiveTowns

4 ай бұрын

Thanks so much for watching and spreading the word about the video/Channel. I really appreciate it. I'll be visiting Rotterdam once again later this summer. I think it is a wonderful urban experience for North American cities to learn from. Cheers! John

please do remember everything achieved over here(The Netherlands) was really hard fought over to get realised....since the seventies right up to today. endless tiny incremental steps to make it safer make what it is today

@ActiveTowns

Жыл бұрын

Yes! Absolutely. I try to bring this up as often as possible. Y'all are just roughly 50 years ahead of us here in North America and in many other car-dependent cities around the globe. Some of us, with the support of Dutch guidance, are making progress faster than others. See my Austin Dutch-inspired cycle network playlist for some examples: bit.ly/AustinDutchBikePlaylist Thank you so very much for watching and for this important contribution to the conversation. Cheers! John

15:31 A few days ago I saw a video of about 10 years old with the subject: 'Why are Amsterdam locals allowed to bike through red lights (28:41), but tourist aren't, according to Amsterdam locals?' The speaker came to the conclusion that there are 2 important unwritten rules about biking in Amsterdam. 1. Pay attention (at your surroundings). 2. Don't loiter while biking. It is very hard to define these unwritten rules, but I think the speaker in the video did a good job. Cycling in Amsterdam is traffic, not leisure, or a sunday afternoon ride. kzread.info/dash/bejne/h5mbxLOhj8rFmrQ.html It is very easy to spot tourists on a bike in Amsterdam. They behave differently and are unpredictable (Tip: stay away from groups of cyclist who all ride the same colour bike 🙂 ) kzread.info/dash/bejne/h5mbxLOhj8rFmrQ.html This, this is dangerous: kzread.info/dash/bejne/h5mbxLOhj8rFmrQ.html (Loose translation: 'what does this cyclist do; two very dangerous thing: 1. not paying attention, 2. loitering') It is the same when I am in my car on the highway with a maximum speed limit of 100 km/h. I don't mind the Mercedes who is in a hurry going 120/130 km/h passing me while he/she is in the left lane. I do mind the elderly man/woman going 70 km/h in the right lane, because they are somewhat scared to drive and think it is safer to go slow. I know the Mercedes is probably paying attention, I am not sure the elderly man/woman is. If people get on a bike in Amsterdam, approach it as being traffic. People should never really relax when they are in traffic, but always be somewhat vigilante (yes, even when walking) If you just want a nice, calm, sightseeing-like, relaxing ride, go to a place designed for that. Just my thoughts. Not a rant on tourists, but I can tell you some horror stories from my brother who worked at a bike renting shop in Amsterdam, about some 50 year old Japanese women who hadn't been on a bike for 25 years, heading straight into Amsterdam rush hour traffic on a bike. That!.... that is dangerous.

@abexuro

Жыл бұрын

I don't really like the title, but he does make some good points. I never really thought about how vigilant we are in traffic, and on bikes too, there really are a lot of unwritten rules we subconsciously adhere to. I remember watching a video where some people are doing an urban planning tour through Amsterdam/Rotterdam and they were surprised that they could see drivers and cyclists looking for eye contact when approaching an intersection without traffic lights. In hindsight that seems like a good example of how you look for the intent that other road users have and how it might not be obvious how to interpret these kind of things. Of course this isn't exclusive to The Netherlands, but it is interesting to see a different perspective/reaction from another culture.

@ActiveTowns

Жыл бұрын

I totally get the context... I used to live in Kona, Hawaii, so yeah I totally get the "dangerous tourist effect." lol🤣

@ActiveTowns

Жыл бұрын

Yes. These are good points... and that exact line is in this video I produced (it might be the one you are remembering) just about the one minute mark: kzread.info/dash/bejne/pXiWs9Wwdrq5gLg.html Thanks so much for watching... I really appreciate it. Cheers! John

@alcidesforever

Жыл бұрын

@@ActiveTowns lol, proving my point about groups of cyclist who all have the same colour bike.🤣 kzread.info/dash/bejne/pXiWs9Wwdrq5gLg.html Again, not a rant on tourists or visitors! (... but they go so slow, are wobbling and clog up the bicycle path near the traffic light) , but look at the difference when this cyclist with the cargo-bike (28:41) is running the red light. He checks over his left shoulder multiple times (before and during the 'traffic violation'). He is riding so smooth, without putting himself or anyone else in danger or causing some sort of traffic problem.

@ActiveTowns

Жыл бұрын

@@alcidesforever lol 🤣true... sort of. We were off to the side here, and our tour leaders, Dutch active mobility experts, and cycle path engineers, were pointing out some key design features, but yeah, on the surface, the group kind of looks like a bunch of tourists. For the record, I was on my personal bike 😉

In the discussion on density and texture I think you will find the work of Jane Jacobs very interesting. She described how have streets with lots of storefronts, and other social functions make them more livable, because of the social interaction between all those people. I think you could call Amsterdam a true "Jacobs city" because there are shops, restaurants, clubs, cafe's etc everywhere...

@ActiveTowns

Жыл бұрын

Yes! Jane is one of my favorite authors.😀

Density makes infrastructure financial healthy to maintain and inprove. Suburbs are unhealthy from financial perspective.

@ActiveTowns

Жыл бұрын

Yes! You are speaking the language of Strong Towns and Active Towns. kzread.info/dash/bejne/ooaqr62lgafdqKw.html Thanks so much for watching. I hope you are enjoying the Channel. Cheers! John

@Snaakie83

Жыл бұрын

In contrast to many US/American cities most of the European cities are built for humans rather than business.

@ActiveTowns

Жыл бұрын

@@Snaakie83 Yes. And most definitely more so at human scale rather than massive car-dependent scales. Thanks so much for watching. I hope you are enjoying the Channel. Cheers! John

Yes, and hooray, today I'm going to buy a new e-bike. A typical Dutch e-bike. I am trading in my old Trek e-bike (12 years old). I hope to have my new bike delivered at home in a week or 2. And, oh yeah, almost forgot to say. I cycle always and everywhere. Not too fast so that I can look around a bit (I can't do that in Amsterdam), but where I live in Hoofddorp just outside the city of Amsterdam, but in the Amsterdam Metropolitan Area, that's fine :-)

@ActiveTowns

Жыл бұрын

That's wonderful, Bert. Congrats on the new bike. Cheers! John

Hi Dave, I totally enjoyed watching this podcast about your vision on my home town. Makes me realise how extraordinary it is that you are introducing and using our cargo bikes over there in Canada! Hope to meet you again next ICBF! gr. from Wim from Babboe Pro

@ActiveTowns

Жыл бұрын

I'll be sure to let Dave know about this comment. Cheers! John

@dedward4

Жыл бұрын

Wim! So nice to hear from you and I'm really happy you enjoyed the video. It was great to put a face to a name and get some time to speak with you at the ICBF. The Babboe Pros have a very important place in our fleet here in Toronto, and no bike gets more compliments around the city than that one! I will definitely be back to Amsterdam in the next year or two and hope to get a chance to speak again. Take care - Dave

Those ferries across the IJ (the body of water behind Centraal Station) are absolutely essential for bikes. They make it trivial to bike to and from Amsterdam Noord, which is the borough on the north side of the IJ. It's a significant chunk of the city, and it's great you cna easily reach it by bike. Without the ferries, there would be no way to get there, except through en enormous detour, most likely by car. And it's not a single ferry either; there's several connecting several points on the south side to several points on the north side. Centraal Station is the most import node connecting to the most points on the north side, but there are other ferry docks on the south side too. That windmill is Brouwerij 't IJ, Amsterdam's largest microbrewery. Worth visiting if you like beer.

@ActiveTowns

Жыл бұрын

Yeah, I've taken the ferry to and from Amsterdam Noord several times over the years. As you said, makes it very easy to do so. I'll definitely check out that microbrewery on my next visit. Thanks so much for watching and for contributing to the conversation. I hope you are enjoying the Active Towns Channel. Cheers! John

For your next visit you should take the ferry and then ride out into the country to Broek in Waterland for pancakes.

@ActiveTowns

Жыл бұрын

I did go back later in the trip and took the ferry, but did not go that far into "the country."

The thing is that in Amsterdam (and all other Dutch cities) the separation is only for streets roads where cars can go "fast", but in streets where traffic has been slowed to 30km = 20 mph or lower the different flows (walking, biking, cars) are mixed (to enable the interactions of daily life, shopping, (un)loading etc...)

@ActiveTowns

Жыл бұрын

Yes! Precisely. I frequently make the point that the protected and separated infrastructure gets the bulk of the attention, but the various forms of low-speed shared spaces actually make up about 70% of the Dutch cycle network. Thank you so much for watching and for contributing to the conversation. I really appreciate it, and I hope you enjoy the rest of the content here on the Active Towns Channel. Cheers! John

@rientsdijkstra4266

Жыл бұрын

@@ActiveTowns Thanks! And indeed I think that that "mixing" in traffic calmed, but socially lively, urban environments is crucial! By only separating flows you will end up with a "sterile" world where everybody is stuck in his/her little flow/bubble. That won't work without the combination those social mixed spaces, wich are in most cases actually the destinations and/or sources of the traffic in the separated flows... And yes I will.. I was just watching a number of your other video's. It is great to see that the work that is being done here in the Netherlands is an inspiration to people from other countries. And also it is very interesting to see many of the things that you point out in your video's, some of which already had become ubiquitous for us, and thus also enriches our own insights. In this way we can all learn from each other and make a more sustainable, and more pleasant, world!

@ActiveTowns

Жыл бұрын

@@rientsdijkstra4266 Indeed. Well said. Also, our journey here in Austin, TX, has been influenced by a close relationship with the Dutch government and the Dutch Cycling Embassy. More on that can be found in my playlist here: bit.ly/AustinDutchBikePlaylist

Some great discussion here about subtopics that I never gave much thought to - for example the effects of larger cargo-type bikes and of heavier bike traffic in cities like Amsterdam.

@ActiveTowns

3 ай бұрын

Thanks so much for watching. Much appreciated. Cheers! John

The windmill is called 'De Gooyer'. There is a wiki page in English and Dutch. In WOII it was actually used.

@ActiveTowns

Жыл бұрын

Fun! Thanks for this Lucas! 😀

@erwindegroot8760

Жыл бұрын

@@ActiveTowns And the building next to the windmill houses a brewery (Brouwery 't IJ ) and ofcourse a place where you can drink the beer.

@ActiveTowns

Жыл бұрын

@@erwindegroot8760 Very fun! Thanks so much for watching and for this essential contribution to the conversation. I hope you are enjoying the Channel. Cheers! John

This was a really interesting and informative podcast.

@ActiveTowns

Жыл бұрын

Thanks so much, Colleen! Glad you liked it. Cheers! John 😀

At the other side of the water (name: 't IJ - IJ originates from proto- Germanic I believe meaning streaming water) is Amsterdam Noord (North), which contains neighborhoods with more interesting names. Just at the other side of the ferry crossing is the old Het Tolhuis (the toll house). In this venue my grandparents celebrated their 50 years wedding anniversary, about 50 years ago now. A long time ago this area also contained a station from which a steam tram departed to small towns in the north. Only a few photos is what remains from that time. You can find old photos of the station and Het Tolhuis in the Amsterdam city photo archive.

@ActiveTowns

Ай бұрын

Oh, what a fabulous memory. I did, a couple weeks later, take the ferry over to Amsterdam Noord, as documented in this video: kzread.info/dash/bejne/foqg18mpfNuonps.html Thanks so much for watching and sharing. I really appreciate it, and I hope you are enjoying the Channel. Cheers! John

@giselavaleazar8768

Ай бұрын

@@ActiveTowns Nice. Amsterdam Noord is relatively new. Construction started in the 1920s. The city's gallows were located there historically.

@ActiveTowns

Ай бұрын

@@giselavaleazar8768 Oh that's right. I have heard that. 😀

That was a great video. I would probably lean to the side that scooters should be on the Road with the cars just because they can go that much faster than A bicycle. The cargo bikes is a gray area. Anther option is to slow the speed limits but that wouldn't be very popular with the car drivers. And I'm not an expert. Have great day

@ActiveTowns

Жыл бұрын

This is a very intuitive take, Bobbie. I like it! Cheers! John

@willekevanderham5326

Жыл бұрын

Amsterdam is working on a speed limit of 30 km/h for cars in all of the city.

46:48 this particular crossing is designed pretty much like a cone. At the waiting area before the light it is at it's widest and narrows towards the other side of the road to make room for a wider waiting area on the other side. It was designed like this after studying video footage of how people behaved at this crossing, and then make the infrastructure accordingly. The same applies in aquadynamics to water flowing to a culvert (using full capacity in the beginning, but as the water speeds up, it needs less of the diameter of the culvert)

@ActiveTowns

Жыл бұрын

Oh wow! I know that intersection and the story behind it. I totally missed that we went through there. Thanks for pointing it out. Cheers! John

Hi John the ferry Actually is direct connection to Amsterdam North and I do take it every day as I work in the area of Amsterdam Central station but in the North oh and the new Bicycle parking is now open and can hold 8k bikes and an other one is being build behind the station this will be underground that will hold an other 4000+ and 450 bike share that you can rent for the last mile with our OV card if arrived in Train let say from any city in the Netherlands and the parking is free the first 24hrs and after that is less then 2 Euros for an other 24hrs .thank you for your wonderful videos and coming to our country and enjoying and having A good time and John Jason(NOT JUST BIKE) and Mark of Bicycle Dutch channel both have videos about our new under water Bicycle parking if you want to see it love light and peace for all mankind and victory and peace soon for Ukraine

@ActiveTowns

Жыл бұрын

Yes. I've taken the ferry several times. I'm bummed that Jordan never had a chance to do so. I'll have to drop the links for Jason and Mark's vids on the parking structure in the Video description - I've watched them both. Thanks so much for watching and for your contribution to the conversation. I really appreciate it, and I hope you enjoy the Active Towns Channel. Cheers! John PS I'll have a couple of videos with Mark w/ BicycleDutch in the coming weeks.

we also invented the most terrifying, ungodly bike ever made! the bane of every inner city bike lane. contraption born out of pure hate towards humanity. the beerbike! think full blown beer tapping tiki bar, on a bike frame targeted towards springbreakers..... the only bicycle that can trash a car completely, or a bridge, or a shop front,.....depends on the state of the "designated" driver. i personally saw one took out a traffic light and a city bus in one fell swoop! bierfiets equals ptsd m'kay. so to summarize: it is all fun and games on the fietspad, till you meet the bierfiets, thats another cake. you better don't let that bierfiets eat the cheese of your bread and just go past it before it gets in your path and your whole day falls in the soup! if not? unfortunatly peanutbutter!! but you will be laughing as a farmer with votepain thinking about my words! not saying this as being Jan with the short last name, heed the warning!

@ActiveTowns

10 ай бұрын

😀

So many bikes in those bike racks. Where's all the people that ride all those bikes?

@ActiveTowns

Жыл бұрын

Yes, I know! Many are catching transit, going to work/school, shopping, or just going about their daily routines. Thanks so much for watching. I hope you are enjoying the Channel. Cheers! John

@barryvandertas2234

5 ай бұрын

Taking public transport. Also a lot of people live in the countryside, come by train and then take their bicycle into town.

The comment about the ferries: "Well they're free right? Might as well...". Very Dutch 😬

@ActiveTowns

9 ай бұрын

Hehe 😂 and I did later during my visit. 👍

Lovely video, very entertaining . You guys do a lot of good for your cities to make them more liveable. One question , is there a story behind the fact that North americains use the words : You know in many sentences ?? Is it just a expression ?? Good luck with your channel.

@ActiveTowns

Жыл бұрын

Thank you so much! Hehe 🤣 Yeah, the "you knows" and "likes" are expressions and a form of filler words similar to "Umms" essentially used as a pause when one searches for the next word... very common in a casual conversation, but hopefully not so much in a more formal setting. Thanks for watching and for the question. I really appreciate it and I hope you are enjoying the Channel. Cheers! John

The oldest building in Amsterdam is somewhere about from 1200...That is a thousand years old!

@erik5374

Жыл бұрын

823

@ActiveTowns

Жыл бұрын

Very cool! Thanks so much for watching. I hope you are enjoying the Channel. Cheers! John

@MartijnVos

Жыл бұрын

@@erik5374 And that makes it one of the younger cities among the old Dutch cities. Amsterdam didn't become prominent until the late middle ages; many other cities, like Haarlem, Utrecht, but especially Dordrecht, Zutphen en Nijmegen are much older than that.

@erik5374

Жыл бұрын

@@MartijnVos I’m from Utrecht, originating from a village near Nijmegen. Both are more than 1000 years old, reaching 2000… My three-digit post was kind of meant to ridicule the ubiquitous Amsterdam way of centering Dutch history and geography on Amsterdam. No, Amsterdam, you’re are not all that.

@h50herman

Жыл бұрын

@@MartijnVos in that time the "Hanze towns" were more important than A'dam. Zutphen, Deventer, Zwolle, Kampen to the North Germany and Russia.

Hi. Thanks for teaching me and making me think about my own country (and Toronto/Canada). One doesn't allways realize that there's something special about day-to-day, average things. Unfortunately on these kind of channels, which also includes 'Not Just Bikes', they focus on the big cities, mainly in the west and especially Amsterdam. While the country is more, much more than that. Things in the countryside are different. Imagine a village that has no stores. Where the nearest small grocery shop is 10 km away from you, with five hungry mouths to feed. People still use bikes there, but not for doing groceries. Then again.. electric cargo-bikes might be useful there too. Hmm.. you get me thinking. Your conversation is interesting. Almost an hour long, but it didn't feel like that. Also, women on bikes are more beautiful :)

@ActiveTowns

Жыл бұрын

Thank you so much for watching... and hang in there... during my three-week stay, I made to many other cities outside of the "big ones." I also profile cities from around the globe... next week on Friday will be Seville, Spain. Thanks again and I hope you enjoy the Channel. Cheers! John

Can you link Jordan’s podcast from 24:56? Very interested in listening to that

@ActiveTowns

5 ай бұрын

Sure thing... here you go. Looks like he and AJ are on a bit of a break. Cheers! John

Did these people also leave the bigger cities like Amsterdam and Utrecht?

@ActiveTowns

Жыл бұрын

They did spend some time in Haarlem and loved it!

I think the max assisted speed of an e-bike that is treated as a bicycle should be 20 km/h. If you want one that is faster than that then it should be registered as a moped and follow moped regulation. This shouldn't be too much of an issue, moped regulations aren't that strict. But I think it's good to make a distinction between slow traffic and fast traffic and to have the slow traffic actually be slow, not semi fast. So when you say that mopeds have to go on the road with cars, then that includes faster e-bikes. Or when helmets are compulsory for mopeds but not for cyclist, then that also includes faster e-bikes.

@ActiveTowns

Жыл бұрын

You make some good points here... In the meantime, I advise those on bikes that CAN go faster that they don't HAVE to go faster, they can share the same path and just chill out until it is safe to speed things up. Thanks so much for watching. Cheers! John

@willekevanderham5326

Жыл бұрын

E-bikes are allowed to go 25 km/h officially and get a little leeway, so 27 km/h. Which is plenty fast enough for the narrow busy bike paths and lanes.

@michielwvdb

Жыл бұрын

I think the supported speed for e- bikes should be at least 30 km/h in Europe. But the law is often inspired by busy city problems. Outside the city, the commute is way too long when driving just 20 km/h. I would rather go for a speed limit in crowded areas. Slow assisted speed, including most of the blue-plated mopeds, has caused a lot of tuning modifications and thus creating less safety.

@ActiveTowns

Жыл бұрын

@@michielwvdb Makes sense. Thanks for watching and for this thoughtful contribution to the conversation. I hope you are enjoying the Active Towns Channel. Cheers! John

@Anonymous-sb9rr

Жыл бұрын

@@michielwvdb You can get an e-bike that goes 45 km/h if you want, just don't pretend that it's a bicycle, it's a motorised vehicle. 20 km/h is already faster than most cyclist.

Not normal in USA.

@ActiveTowns

8 ай бұрын

Yep. Unfortunately not. Thanks so much for watching. Cheers! John

Quiz question: How many times you guys use the words 'you know'... My guess it it well over 100 times... Just to be aware...

@ActiveTowns

Жыл бұрын

Too many!!! Yes, thanks. I try to clean up the excessive "Ums" but may need to do the same on "You Knows" and "Like" as well. Thanks so much for watching - it is much appreciated. Cheers! John

Pedestrians are king, then cyclists, then scooters, then etc etc

@ActiveTowns

23 күн бұрын

Precisely! 🙌

Summer edition kzread.info/dash/bejne/oYalp9GwmLaqZLg.html

@ActiveTowns

Жыл бұрын

Ah, cool! That's some familiar music. Thanks sharing. I hope you are enjoying the Active Towns Channel. Cheers! John

Actually motorbikes serve no purpose. You get the vulnerability of a bicycle user strapped to a combustion engine going at high speeds, thrown alongside car traffic. Ebikes are the way to go if you want a motorized bike, they don't make noise and don't pollute, and you get to be safe in a bike path.

@ActiveTowns

Жыл бұрын

I have never had much use for motorcycles... every time I've tried to ride one, I have managed to crash it. hehe 🤣 Yeah, bikes and e-bikes are definitely more my speed. Thanks so much for watching! I hope you are enjoying the Channel. Cheers! John

Amsterdam might not be the best example. Visit places like Groningen, Utrecht or the smaller Houten. Think these places can be inspirational for North Americans.

@jooproos6559

Жыл бұрын

Die bestonden nog niet toen Amsterdam al werd gebouwd..

@ActiveTowns

Жыл бұрын

Thanks for watching! Yes, here's my first entry from Utrecht: kzread.info/dash/bejne/mIF8p9Grc8nAerQ.html and my ride from Utrecht to Houten and back: kzread.info/dash/bejne/gmFs0ZOOZJDIhpM.html I wasn't able to make it up to Groningen on this trip, but I did stay up there foe a couple of days in 2015 I hope you enjoy the channel. Cheers! John

@Whistler4u

Жыл бұрын

@@jooproos6559 Lekker belangrijk. Trouwens, Utrecht is ouder dan Amsterdam.

Density influences demographics. In Amsterdam half of the studios have only one person living in it. The advantage of US and CND suburbs is that one can have multiple kids.

@ActiveTowns

10 ай бұрын

I'll be sure to tell my friends with multiple kids living in Amsterdam that they are doing it all wrong. Hehe 😜 In all seriousness, here's a wonderful discussion on this topic between a person living in Amsterdam and a person living in the USA: kzread.info/dash/bejne/gWpkpLKQmqTOoZc.html Thanks so much for watching. Cheers! John

@henkkelderman4182

9 ай бұрын

@@ActiveTownsAmsterdam is a bad example of your point because many studios are too small to have more than one kid and larger houses in Amsterdam aren’t affordable anymore by most of the original Dutch inhabitants.