Seeing the pictures from the 70's makes me realise that where most of europe is now - The Netherlands was 50 years ago. Truly a country of the future.

@No19Name94

7 ай бұрын

Actually the other countries are countries of the past

@blakksheep736

7 ай бұрын

Helps sparks hope for the States as well.

@cherriberri8373

7 ай бұрын

@@blakksheep736 Yeah, but the US has gone on way longer and way farther than it ever did over there. Not really comparable unfortunately

@Abrothers12

7 ай бұрын

@@blakksheep736I’m sure there are plenty of places in the US where these reconstructions would be feasible

@Toll99725

7 ай бұрын

That is just so true! Villages in Germany are having slight Problems with eroting infrastructure while cities are trying to transition to cycling. Some cities do it the wrong way tho, for example Hechingen putting bikelanes on way too narrow main streets, which makes the cars overtake at a too small sidedistance. That is why on these roads I ride my bike more in the middle of them staying away from the bike lane, so that the cars dont do that

What a wonderful video. The centre of Utrecht is looking great these days!

@nvwest

7 ай бұрын

Thanks for the recommendation 😌

@BicycleDutch

7 ай бұрын

Thanks Jason! Also for mentioning this video on your community page!

@TBH_Inc

7 ай бұрын

My roommate voted that city recently and loved it, I really have to visit some point because I love biking but I live in the US -_-

@ScramJett

7 ай бұрын

Utrecht is definitely on the list of places to visit when we’re in the Netherlands in June. I’d also like to visit Groningen but I don’t know if we’ll make it out there.

@starbase218

7 ай бұрын

I love how Utrecht looks with the canals! Even as a Dutchie I’d recommend it to tourists.

Honestly the greatest thing I take away from this is just how damn ugly asphalt is. The switch to red brick alone makes it so much prettier and nicer to be in.

@blakksheep736

7 ай бұрын

That slightest bit of colour helps alot. Much warmer and better on the eyes.

@argonk

7 ай бұрын

And that was smooth asphalt. Usually, at least in my hometown, this is not even the case.

@mediataal

7 ай бұрын

So true.

@victorvance6279

7 ай бұрын

Bricks are super fucked during rain and snow/ice to walk and cycle over. Just last monday I fell because of those shitty wet cobblestones.

@mfbfreak

7 ай бұрын

There are more things important for street design than just the looks. The bricks aren't water permeable like permeable asphalt (ZOAB) and can get slippery when wet depending on the exact type. The genuine old brick (clinker) is absolutely beautiful in an old city, but extremely slippery, posing a risk to everyone except cars. Modern brick or tile paved surfaces will also degrade in surface smoothness over a relatively short period of time, making it still fine to drive a car on (with plush suspension) but bone shaking to cycle on. Having rattly, rough paved roads is actually a way to slow down car traffic because rough, loud roads make people drive slower. But imagine if a car driver in their plush little box already slows down for it - how rough it is for cyclists if they gotta share that surface... These also are barely water permeable. Again, permeable asphalt would be a better choice environmentally speaking, to allow rain to infiltrate the ground, rather than to be flushed away to the city drainage system right away and pumped out to the sea, when ground water levels in the whole country keep getting lower. In my residential area, the cycle path was tiled, but because of sand that got flushed away after gaps appeared between the paving tiles, a void appeared under a bunch of tiles and one of them ended up vertical (like a tombstone). A person on a moped hit it and had very serious injuries. I've cycled over them a couple of times and actually stopped to put one back into its spot. For pedestrian-only spaces with good drainage, or for like short bits of shared pedestrian-cycling spaces, it's fine as long as the city council proactively inspects them for quality and safety, but for actual important cycle routes that you follow for hundreds of meters or multiple kilometers, you absolutely need asphalt. In short: paving stones are fine for cars, but less so for cyclists. There's no one size fits all solution for street design because there are often conflicting interests for various areas - cyclist comfort, car traffic calming, making the city pretty, water infiltration and storage etc etc.

This video is a masterpiece. Such an interesting way to tell the story of how an area has evolved

@braindump1446

18 күн бұрын

I agree, that's why I like this channel. The BEFORE pictures and clips are priceless!

"Today, cycling is not allowed" - proceeds to cycle there, right past the police headquarters.

@rinkinkel

3 ай бұрын

In Holland, the best place to break the law is straight in front of a police station.

@jaaput

2 ай бұрын

In today's Netherlands it seems like it is of no importance at all for cyclists to stick to the laws, laws are solely meant for other road-users, even those pesky pedestrians. So you do as you please, just like the author of this piece did. Until you suffer from others, like delivery vehicles that do obey the rules, then you complain. No wonder that those cyclists, once they have obtained their driver license and have access to a car, misbehave. They are simply used to this behaviour, not educated nor used to take other road-users into account, and so they cause more and more accidents. You get what you ask for I guess

@Josukegaming

2 ай бұрын

@@jaaput cyclists occasionally quietly going through an area they technically shouldn't be, not bothering or disturbing anyone is very different than driving a 2000kg giant death machine. It's wild to say they're the same thing. Laws are more strictly enforced for drivers of autos because it's incredibly easy to kill someone or yourself if you break said laws.

@jaapweel1

2 ай бұрын

Yeah. I've seen major enforcement actions aimed at cyclists in both Amstelveen (Amsterdam suburb) and Utrecht, but it was always to make sure everyone gets around to making sure their lights are in working order in the fall as the days get shorter. I can't recall ever getting a ticket or hearing of somebody getting a ticket for a cycling infraction outside of that, though I'm sure it happens. Especially in a place like Utrecht, where the local culture is fairly blunt and confrontational, a lot of enforcement is more in terms of getting yelled at by random locals. (Perhaps slightly less likely where I'm from in Limburg...) I was very confused when I moved to California and promptly got a very expensive ticket for cycling the wrong way on a 3 lane one way street...

@rinkinkel

2 ай бұрын

@@jaaput You sound kind of angry. I don't know where you are from, but I can assure you, Dutch driving licence are hard to come by. Also, being angry at city traffic is a shortcut to becoming very much part of it. That's how they all started. Also, if you get angry at cyclists, remember it's often the other way around, too. If you have a bit of a confrontation in traffic, try to laugh it off, don't be a stickler for the rules, bad for yourself. Shit happens. In cities more, because, you know, more people, more traffic. Be gentle, be patient, be brave.

What strikes me the most about this video, is how insanely quiet it is. I know this point is constantly referenced, but ever since watching that NJB video I always find myself listening to the lack of road noise in these types of videos.

about the same age also had the test as a kid. living and having lived in utrecht all my life watching videos like this confuse me seeing the old pictures takes you back and remind you of things and people no longer with us but also shows how much has been changed and why i ride my bicycle each day in the city. Thanks Mark for the trip to memory lane....

@blakksheep736

7 ай бұрын

Memory bike lane!

This is one of the best videos you have ever made Mark - what a great idea! Utrecht has changed so much, whereas the images from the 70s looked just like a town or city in England today - albeit we now have much heavier car traffic. I also realised that many of the separated cycle paths you had back then have been removed because they are no longer needed, whereas the few places in England that have installed them recently call them 'world class Dutch-style cycle lanes'...we are so behind the times!

I love whoever you're following at ~3:30. Two people and some large shopping bags on a bicycle "this is completely normal" :)

@qaphqa

7 ай бұрын

The plant cycling by at 4.50 did it for me ♡

@rientsdijkstra4266

7 ай бұрын

It is that you mention it, because I did not even notice it! For us Dutch that actually IS normal..

@peperoni_pepino

7 ай бұрын

A few streets from here (actually the street with the ignorable traffic light, but a bit in the opposite direction), a great gif was filmed where someone is moving an Ikea closet on the front of his bicycle, not capable of seeing anything. Of course it ends in a (light) collision, and of course the collision is with a scooter who didn't look before driving onto the cycle path. I tried to look it up -- I don't know what happened to Google, but I have never had search results that inaccurate. I couldn't find it.

@mozismobile

7 ай бұрын

@@rientsdijkstra4266 that's what makes it remarkable to people like me that carry stuff on our bikes in other countries. I live in a world of "are you a courier" "gosh that's a big load" and so on. You live in a world of "oh, another persone with an armchair balanced on their handlebars gosh is that the time, I better run"

@rientsdijkstra4266

7 ай бұрын

@@mozismobile Yep! And before these kind of video's on KZread I would not even have paid attention... Lets hope that someday soon that will be just as normal in the country or place where you live!😎🤘

Leuke video(s)! U heeft echt een hele aangename stem. Als Belg ben ik stikjaloers op de Nederlandse stadsplanningen en jullie fietspadennetwerk. Jullie staan echt mijlenver voor op België/rest van Europa. Hier in België begint er toch al het een en ander te veranderen, maar toch nog niet helemaal hoe het echt moet. Dit heeft natuurlijk veel te maken met de politiek, maar toch ook wel met de "bedrijfswagencultuur" die hier heerst. We zullen zien wat de verkiezingen zeggen in 2024.

I am your age. We have seen personal computers and internet change the world. You have also experienced a revolution in personal transportation. The first advanced technology, the second returned to simpler machines and healthier lifestyle. These are good changes and I'm glad we were here for them.

Something that stands out to me is how busy the streets are. So many people walking and cycling before noon. That's very different from the time both you and I did our cycling exams in 1977. I did mine in Amsterdam btw.

@BicycleDutch

7 ай бұрын

I was suprised too. But I must say that it was very close to noon and on a Friday.

Listen to this video without watching. The streets are so quiet! You can actually hear the people instead of the traffic.

Just here to say that FLFL at 10:26, is quite possibly the tastiest falafel I have ever had. Strongly recommend people visit

@james-p

7 ай бұрын

I noticed that place too - I'll have to stop by next time I'm there!

@mourlyvold64

7 ай бұрын

Agreed!

It’s nice to see how far Netherlands has come, but it’s also astounding to see how far behind North America is. We’ve been fighting for years, even decades in some cases, to get what Utrecht had in the 70s, 80s, and 90s! This is where I really agree with NJB and say the “don’t give up on America” crowd is wrong. If it takes decades for 70’s era infrastructure, just imagine how long it will take before North American cities get to where the Dutch are today! I don’t even think a child born in North America today would live to see it! And this assumes that the political winds won’t shift and some politicians in the future won’t rip it all out and bring all the car infrastructure back.

@blakksheep736

7 ай бұрын

I believe there's some changes happening. They're slow and more out of necessity than a desire for improvement, but they're happening. Also did you mean NLB or NJB?

@cherriberri8373

7 ай бұрын

Unfortunately I agree. The people who say to not give up on America are clearly in denial.

@cherriberri8373

7 ай бұрын

​@@blakksheep736 I mean that's the thing though, any argument as to why America isn't too far gone always involve some sort of qualifier, like you're trying to cheer up your friend who's not good at something without lying to them. SOME improvement is happening in SOME places SOMEtimes, doesn't really mean a lot when you have a plane full of children falling out of the sky every year

@blakksheep736

7 ай бұрын

@@cherriberri8373 yeah, fair.

@Paul_C

7 ай бұрын

​@@cherriberri8373The sad thing about North American infrastructure it isn't like a shitload of planes falling from the skies. It is the more insidious problem of getting used to people dieing as 'the cost of doing business'.

Because BicycleDutch failed the test the channel will be renamed to WalkingDutch.

@arnomrnym6329

7 ай бұрын

😂

@peperoni_pepino

7 ай бұрын

Or JoyCyclingDutch, lol.

As a person who just arrived in Utrecht a year ago, I couldn't even imagine the amount of car infrastructure that was here! Parking lots, roads, all of it even in the center! It was awful before! This really puts in perspective and I'm glad that I live in this city

These are truly some excellent photos from the 70s! great to see how the places I've seen countless times have changed so much and so little at the same time

Utrecht looks beautiful. What a transformation.

That police officer in the beginning is my grandfather. Amazing to see him again in an random youtube video.

@BicycleDutch

7 ай бұрын

That's great! Here's a link to that picture in the Utrecht Archives: hetutrechtsarchief.nl/beeld/0DA29D15B04057B4A1B49E653E8489BF

Superb ‼️ Thanks for all the work to put together this wonderful trip around the city with all the coordinated photos. Hope to visit one day!

You did a great job matching the pictures with the places in Utrecht. Awesome video!

Dang! Phenomenal archives! Very cool to sit back and watch.

Every time I watch your videos I am amazed at how there are not near accidents all the time and people do not seem to get upset or impatient.

Can I congratulate you on this - it must have taken a lot of work. It's probably the most informative one of your many excellent videos I have ever seem, and I will be pushing the video essay towards a few Cycling Commissioners and people responsible for urban environments in the UK.

Love it, I pass those places weekly and it is nice to see the old photographs compared with the new situation. I has become so much better!

The traffic test has a long tradition, I took it in 1965. The exam is the last year of elementary school, before you go to high school. You have to know how to behave in traffic.

@judebrown4103

7 ай бұрын

Yes we were the same age over here in the UK...oddly though it didn't cross many parents minds to send their kids to school on bikes because of the vehicle traffic even in 68-9. So it was a bus ride followed by a fair old walk instead!

The transformation is absolutely fascinating!

This is such a well made video, thank you so much for going to all the effort of making this! Utrecht is my favorite city in the Netherlands, especially in the center, and this really shows how far it's come! I cannot believe that the busiest part of the city near the mall used to be a highway! Absolutely blows my mind!

In the 1980s my then girlfriend lived in Utrecht and I got to know its center well. The street pattern and buildings changed little - apart from Catharijnesingel c.a. The street infrastructure was much more like the photos you showed, though. Very nice video!

I remember driving with my grandparents (who were living in a small town close to Utrecht) often under that walk bridge at Hoog Catharijne. I also remember there were junkies at the evening in the mall when walking to the cinema there. Sometimes I miss the 70s and 80s, with their cars. But looking back at those photos, the situation is improved a lot. I worked at Utrecht in the beginning of the 2000's but since then left the Netherlands for good, so it's nice to see the changes. Unfortunately, I live in a city now, where bicycling can be dangerous. Just a lot of motorbikes and cars. Thanks for the nice video.

I love this so much. Utrecht has had so many positive changes in my lifetime

Geweldig gemaakt en interessant om de stad zo te zien veranderen. Ik woon hier 'slechts' 22 jaar en vind dat er al zoveel gebeurd is.

Very interesting to see the transformation over time.

It's amazing to see how much space we can give back to nature and pedestrians while still retaining the same freedom of movement.

Leuk gedaan... Heerlijk om te zien hoe Utrecht zich positief ontwikkeld heeft... 🙂

I thought you were 33 years old, Mark!

@BicycleDutch

7 ай бұрын

you can add a quarter of a century to that ;-)

@autohmae

7 ай бұрын

well, he was at some point 🙂

Als je nu gezakt bent vraagt dat wel om een herexamen. Een mooie gelegenheid om te laten zien het een verkeersexamen er tegenwoordig uitziet…

@BicycleDutch

7 ай бұрын

De Filmende Fietser filmed all 8 of them kzread.info/dash/bejne/a32Hq9CDp6TXdrw.html&pp=iAQB

@mrtnsnp

7 ай бұрын

@@BicycleDutchI was thinking about participating in an exam, including the bike check. The full experience so to speak.

Fascinating. Thanks for putting this together and sharing. Today, Utrecht sure is the KING of cycling friendly places on earth. But you will be well aware of that fact. I, on the other hand, am just learning about cycling, having bought my first bicycle four days ago. I haven't ridden since 1990.

I would be reluctant to ride today, the route of my own British Cycling Proficiency Test from 1969. Unlike this interesting story of Utrecht’s changing infrastructure, the UK story is of increasing car dominance and reduced safety for cycling and walking.

@judebrown4103

7 ай бұрын

Oh, snap! That's around the same time I took mine. I can't even remember the route though, only the school playground agility type exercises...also the fact that if you got 100% score you were taken in to Maidstone for a Knickerbocker Glory at DiMarcos...I got 95% or something so just missed out.🥹🤤😄

@TheEulerID

7 ай бұрын

The claim that UK roads are now more dangerous for cyclists is not supported by the statistics. In 1967 there were almost 500 cycling deaths on UK roads, whilst in 2022 it reached an all time low of 98. Going back through history, in the mid 1930s, when there was a fraction of the road traffic, there was around 1,500 cycling fatalities per year. In 2022 the Netherlands has had a large and noticeable increase in cycling fatalities, reaching 291 (equivalent to 1,100 in the UK when adjusted for population). In terms of total road fatalities, that that increased to 737, which is the highest figure since 2008 (when it was 750). Again, to put that in perspective, if adjusted for population, that would be the equivalent of over 2,800 in the UK vs the 1,766 recorded in 2022. Of course the Dutch to cycle a great deal more than do the British, but the rate of fatalities per billion miles cycled has rapidly closed. The Dutch cycle a total of about 17.6 billion km per year, whilst it is about 8 billion km in the UK (meaning the average Dutch person cycles about 8.5 times as far as the average Brit per year). When looked at in fatalities by distance cycled, in the Netherlands (in 2022) there were 16.5 fatalities per billion km cycled. In 2021, official UK figures had the rate of cycling fatalities at 16.3 per billion km (26 per billion miles). In 2022 that rate will have dropped a bit more again assuming distances cycled have been maintained. I should add that the fatality rate per billion km cycled has halved between 2004 and 2021 in the UK so the roads are getting safer for cyclists, at least so far as fatalities are concerned. Now it may be that 2022 was exceptional in the Netherlands (2022 saw a 40% increase in fatalities compared to 2021, and is the worst in the 27 years for which records have been kept), but it needs watching. I believe over 50% of the fatalities were aged 60 or more, and the growing use of eBikes, especially by older people, seem to be implicated. The Dutch are also insistent that cycling helmets don't make cycling safer. I don't find that credible. Speaking as somebody who fell off a bike (no car involved) and was knocked unconscious for about 10 minutes without a helmet, then I rather doubt that. I have worn a helmet since then, and not suffered the same way despite a nasty incident when "doored" at about 30 kmh, which cracked the helmet but didn't suffer any head injuries.

@EdoTyran

7 ай бұрын

@@TheEulerID I think the increase is almost entirely due to the popularity of e-bikes, I see them everywhere in Amsterdam, young and old and they all ride too fast. I think the issue can be solved if the max speed of the e-bike isn't any higher than regular city bikes. I agree with using a helmet for e-bikes, but not sure about regular bikes.

@worldeconomicfella3228

7 ай бұрын

@EdoTyran I've read somewhere that if a helmet becomes mandatory for bicycles, it should also be mandatory for taking the stairs. Equally dangerous.

@TheEulerID

7 ай бұрын

@@worldeconomicfella3228 This is one of those faulty arguments that says we ought not to do some action because something else is equally dangerous so it doesn't matter. Some prevention measures are just more intrusive than others, and making everybody wear a crash helmet at all times they might be moving is going to be one of those. In any event, it's up to democratic countries to deal with the issue. However, denialism is never a good thing. It's like those US gun advocates who make endless claims that easy access to firearms has no effect on gun deaths.

Great with the PIP, showing then and now. 👍🏾😎 Thx Great changes to the better has been made since then. Greetings from Berlin 🇩🇪

Leuk om zo de jongen bomen op de foto's te zien en in de video hoe ze zijn uitgegroeid tot nu toe.

I lived in Utrecht in the late 90s and the situation seemed surprisingly pretty similar to that of the 70s for a large part of this route (except for the contruction of the busbaan and the red bicyle lanes).

This was fun to see. Gives us hope that some day it could happen every where.

Thank you for the picture of the diploma at the end. I forgot what it looked like. I still must have it somewhere in a carton box I think....

Fun to see the infrastructural evolution of my city through a cycling perspective. I don't remember ever cycling through the city back in the day because it was so unfriendly for children to navigate through that mess. I only took the train to Centraal Station to shop and eat at HC. Man I still miss that pancake spot overlooking what was then the motorway.

This video just shows how far the city has come, the center is one of my favorite cities in the Netherlands

I did my cycling test in 1972 in Eindhoven. I remember the route had soldiers standing on corners pointing us in the right direction.

We just rode our bikes to school. Dreaded the big streets (which were so much smaller then anyhow) and loved the residential stuff. Except, of course, for cars backing out of driveways.

Sounds to me like you, as a child cyclist, had it pretty good way back then too. In 1977 I rode every day to my middle school in Northern California. It was good then too for bikes, then and there. We never had to take "road tests". We just got our bikes as presents at Christmas or birthdays and rode them for years and years. The one I got when I was ten, I rode and kept till I was 24.

@jannetteberends8730

7 ай бұрын

The test is to learn how to behave in traffic. It’s meant to prepare the children biking to high school. You’re supposed to know already how to ride a bike.

@Aviertje

7 ай бұрын

Kids in the Netherlands are expected to be very independent. Going to high school independently is completely expected, and (if the distance and traffic situations allow) many already go to school independently in middle school, too. But for that independence, the kids need to know how to behave in traffic: make sure to look right-left-right before crossing, indicate what direction you are intending to turn with your arm, keep right, don't goof off with silly tricks like wheelies, this sign means you are suppose to cycle here, shark teeth mean you are supposed to yield, etc. These tests are not about learning to cycle nor about being licensed to cycle. Kids at that age will already know how to cycle, especially in our culture, and there is no such thing as a cycling license. This national exam is completely focused on teaching kids how to remain safe and not get themselves killed because nobody taught or practiced these basic rules with them. Compared to the US where many kids will have their first 'real' traffic participation at the same time they get their first beater car at 16(?) with an education that mostly focuses on the rules of the car, kids in the Netherlands will already have been independent commuters for 5+ years. So in the US, learning to participate in traffic is a struggle about applying common sense they never performed themselves that may be harder than it looks in a huge vehicle, whereas in the Netherlands, it is about driving home the common sense and the reason it is called common sense to little kids that don't quite grasp how vulnerable they can be when bumping into a car.

@derekjolly3680

7 ай бұрын

It wasn't quite like that for the assumptions about the US. Kids were riding to grade school at that time in California every day. We were therefore learning the rules of the road as we went. I think there might of been some basic things tossed at us in grade school for rules of the road too. It was a combination of being bused at times based on where we lived in relation to the schools, or riding bikes, or eventually borrowing cars. I started borrowing my dad's car when I was late 15 after I got my license. The high school I went to was 7-8 miles off and with a poor traffic layout for biking. All of the kids I knew from my city going to Burlingame took the bus at 14 when it was time to go there, but the ones who lived there would often be riding bikes. See the buses were free and we only had to walk a few blocks to the stop. I'd get car rides too from a friend's dad when he was driving to work. But back a few years to the two schools I went to in Foster City where we lived, and everyone within four miles or so rode bikes to school up to 8th grade, and we all had them.

@derekjolly3680

7 ай бұрын

Obviously here and now there is a whole lot less for independence through cycling and getting to schools and around. I see a lot of school busing and I assume some that makes good sense and some of it doesn't. I know parents drive their kids to school way too often and I know they usually have them tethered ridiculously with cell phones. Getting around on a bike here is not that difficult or dangerous within a certain radius. It's also gotten better in the last few years. Although kids riding to school is rare unfortunately, from what I can see. That's a major difference from the 1970s. But for instance if one wants to get to the next city away, like Prescott, which is 11 miles, excepting one long remote dirt trail out in the boonies, the only way you get there from here, or the reverse is to drive on a highway that's insanity for cycling. Speeds are 55-60 MPH. There aren't regular public buses either. No car and you don't go there. So like every place, it could be worse, or it could be better.

@MunichUWH

7 ай бұрын

​@@AviertjeShouldn't it be "look left-right-left" if you ride on the right hand side? Traffic coming from the left is closer to you.

Weirdly enough, that was super interesting to watch

would love to see the new routes

Mijn favoriete ijskraam bus, de pistache J7 van Utrecht.

It amazes me that you had to do this, in my hometown of Basel we have the “Kinderverkehrsgarten” where kids learn all about “moving in traffic” without danger since 1962. Police overview the behavior of the kids in traffic with all signage possible in a city with Trams after the lesson taken in class.

@SanderSA-ny3lh

7 ай бұрын

In Utrecht that used to exist too, but they closed it to develop it into expensive appartments with zero parking spaces.

@BicycleDutch

7 ай бұрын

Here the general view is "if children have to go to a traffic garden to learn about traffic, that real world traffic is not safe enough and should be made safer". However, we do have a traffic garden in Utrecht, but that is for younger children (until about 10). This traffic test in real traffic is for 12-year-olds.

@BicycleDutch

7 ай бұрын

It's back, no appartments were built in its place. The Utrecht traffic garden reopened in 2016. www.verkeerstuinutrecht.nl/

In Germany we have the Fahrradführerschein. This translates as bicycle driver's license.

@MunichUWH

7 ай бұрын

Yes, I remember. In Bavaria it's a big thing with a theoretical and a practical part in the last year of primary school (aged 10). When I did it in the eighties, we weren't allowed to cycle to school before passing the test. But we never ventured into traffic - the practical part happened in a dedicated part of the playground where streets and traffic signs are permanently painted on the ground.

This helpful. I am cycling LF Maasroute in June. 6 days from Maastricht.

The photos from the '70s look better than the latest infrastructure where I am. Sigh.

Wat heb je een jonge stem? Mooi nostalgisch filmpje. Denk me trouwens te herinneren dat voor de Bison Bowling dat asfalt nog niet zo heel veel jaren geleden er lag?

In Dallas whenever I go back to my old stomping grounds it's either blight or gentrification; progress, not so much.

This video really makes me want to visit Utrecht.

Oh I did enjoy this, Mark. I passed my 🇬🇧Cycling Proficiency Test in '68 or '69 when I was ten going on eleven. You know the thing that makes me notice how long ago that was? The mature trees where once saplings grew!! 😅🧓

just had an interesting thought, how do delivery works with vans and trucks feel about the city now that it is no longer car oriented? is it better or worse for them. Delivery work like that is often an argument against pedestrianizing/bikification of cities in the states. Something along the lines of 'if cars aren't allowed in how will trucks and vans get in?'

@RomyDhillon

7 ай бұрын

I would say it is the same or actually easier for delivery vehicles now. They are still allowed to use these streets, but there is less to no traffic caused by cars, which makes trips faster. They can still park on the curb or on the road for a while, without blocking car traffic now. Bikes and pedestrians can just go around them as you see in this video.

@nightpups5835

7 ай бұрын

@@RomyDhillon my thoughts as well, but would be nice to hear it from some of them who actually do the work.

Peaceful, quieter, livelier.

@9.07 WAIT FOR THE TRUCK TOO MAKE HIS TURN... Do you wanna die? Give him 5 more seconds and you are really safe!

@ChristiaanHW

7 ай бұрын

completely agree, that was to close to pass. best way of dealing with long vehicles (busses, trucks etc) is staying out of their way and making sure you are able to see the driver in the mirror. chances are, if you're able to see the driver the driver is able to see you.

@Zooz.

7 ай бұрын

In the Netherlands this is normal for truck drivers. They are not just suddenly going to reverse again quickly without checking.

@Elite3kampioen

7 ай бұрын

@@Zooz.I am a driver from a truck... I try too say this easy: WE DONT ALWAYS SEE YOU IN TIME!!! And when i hit you it is too late.. You never win from a trucks wheel.. When the wheel hits you it is at a MINIMUM of 7000 KG! what is driver over you.

@carmenl163

7 ай бұрын

The truck driver is always at fault when there's a traffic accident involving a cyclist or pedestrian, so he'll be super cautious.

@ChristiaanHW

7 ай бұрын

@@carmenl163 "partly at fault" the amount of fault is determined by the circumstances. in this case the cyclist gets into the "dode hoek" (don't know the English term) where the driver is unable to see anything. so in this case a lot of the blame/fault is on the cyclist and not the driver if something goes wrong. and even if it's (technically) not your fault as a cyclist. putting yourself in a position where you could end up underneath a (garbage) truck. and giving the driver a "mild heart attack". isn't worth the few second you might be able to save. it doesn't hurt a cyclist to wait a few second and give a big vehicle the space it needs to turn. just be a little considerate towards each other.

The city is perfect! Only, a few more of the delivery vans could perhaps be cargo bikes instead.

Looking at that circle I wonder how often the police had to do a traffic accident report from right before their station! @dutch people: What are those diogenal white/red(?) signs on the old pictures? There always seems to be writing on them and an arrow. Are those for the bike test route or something else?

@MaartenHartog

7 ай бұрын

Indeed, those are indicating the bike test route

@steemlenn8797

7 ай бұрын

@@MaartenHartog Yeah, I get a detective badge! 😊

Mooi gedaan: wel opvallend voor mij hoe lelijk/saai ik de stadsvernieuwingen (de woningbouw) in Nederland van de jaren 70 en 80 vind, hoewel Utrecht nog meevalt. Wel veel meer ruimte voor de fietsers nu. Ook herinneringen: Het Leidseplein in Amsterdam was parkeerplaats: Door de Leidsestraat mocht je wel met de auto, maar niet met de fiets. Eén keer op een ondoordacht moment gedaan met de fiets: resultaat een woedend toeterconcert van de automobilisten.........

As someone who is under 30 its always shocking to see old pictures of streets like this. I cant imagine there being so much parking there.

What does the older sign with the triangle of red shading mean?

@BicycleDutch

7 ай бұрын

Those are the signs indicating the route of the test.

0:25 funny, I had that same car (MG Bgt), in the same year, just mine was red and without the open roof. Loooong time ago, time flies... One of the reasons I slightly dislike those scenes. It is like the pains in arms and legs, 'je word ouder papa, geef het maar toe'. 😂

3:36 Interesting gesture the woman with the dog on the left does there. Is that to signal "take note of me?"

@MeatNinja

7 ай бұрын

Strange, never seen anyone do that.

@kipkippers

7 ай бұрын

I think she simply touched her face

@carmenl163

7 ай бұрын

​@@kipkippersExcept that she didn't touch it. Her fingers are before her eyes. It looks like she gestures "watch out" but that doesn't make any sense given the situation.

Was a bit nervous at 8:55, seeing an HGV having two close interactions with cyclists (the woman who bypasses it on the left, and you who bypasses it on the right). In terms of the visibility from their cab, this looks like a design that is optimised for driving at highway speeds amongst other motor vehicles, not navigating a complex urban space with pedestrians and cyclists. In London large vehicles are required to meet the "direct vision" standard, and this has been brought in because almost all the deaths among vulnerable road users are as a result of collisions with large vehicles like these.

You have great bicycle infrastructure, however when I visited I often felt that walking was quite annoying, with narrow sidewalks, cars sometimes blocking them, and bicycles passing you very closely

@iyt6407

7 ай бұрын

Most cities have a lot of pedestrain space. Do you mean Amsterdam city centre? Because I do agree there is just not enough space along the canals.

@ChristiaanHW

7 ай бұрын

it really depends on the places you visit. the old cores of cities are mostly narrow between the buildings, so getting a car lane (or two) cycle lanes and a decent sidewalk at both sides is often impossible in those centuries old places. thanks to pedestrianizing those area's we are possible to take some space from cars (down to max one car lane and no on street parking) and return it to pedestrians and cyclist so it helps. outside the old city centers most sidewalks have enough space for at least 2 people to walk side by side. about cars blocking them, it depends on the situation. but if a car is blocking the sidewalk you're able (and allowed) to just walk on the cycle lane to pass the vehicle. cyclist will understand and give you the space you need to pass the vehicle.

10:03 A Polish FSO Polonez in front of the dealership. Interesting that the Dutch were buying an Eastern European car-like product as we call it in Poland. I was riding those same roads just 3 weeks ago so good to see them again!

@LeafHuntress

7 ай бұрын

I cannot speak for all of them, but for a car the Trabant is super cute. Always happy to see them, just like old mini's & fiat 500s.

@ukrytykrytyk8477

7 ай бұрын

@@LeafHuntress Trabant may be cute to look at but it was rather terrible to to live with due to archaic construction and bad build quality. Mini and fiat 500 were a lot more advanced and user friendly, having nice look at the same time.

didnt know they made that road a canal again, been too long since I last went to utrecht after i moved from there in 2012 :(

Oh my, a trip down memory lane! Ah, the… old days!😉👍🌷

Wow what a change from the 70s look to now

4:03 the famous Jan Willem videos!

I am a tourist but I have been here on my bike when I stayed in Utrecht. Is the lady at 3:36 scolding you or what is the meaning of her gesture?

@BicycleDutch

5 ай бұрын

She's just touching her face. Her "gesture" started way before she looked in my direction. I never noticed her. We did not have eye contact, there was a lot going on there that needed my attention.

This video makes me sad. I live in one of the most walkable and cyclable and green cities in Poland and yet, this is not even close to what I have just seen.

What are the street markings from 11:06 to 11:15? Are they just decorative? What do they mean?

@eefaaf

7 ай бұрын

Goeie vraag. I wondered about it too.

@mardiffv.8775

7 ай бұрын

These markings are the Dom Tower, if the Dom Tower would fall into the Zadel straat. The Dom is THE symbol of Utrecht. There is even a demarcation line in the Zadel straat, so cross the line and you would be crushed. If the Dom falls over into the Zadel straat. Better safe then sorry. 😜

@AnD-1999

7 ай бұрын

And to add to @mardiffv.8775 . The Dom tower stands separated from the 'remnants' of the original church. The church is still large, they never rebuild the middle part after it collapsed (during a storm.. I believe). And at the square between the church and the Tower, they also outlined where the rest of the churchwalls and pillars used to be... Visible at 10:00

@AnD-1999

7 ай бұрын

Dank voor dit heerlijke filmpje Mark! Jeugd sentiment (Al was mijn fiets examen ruim10 jaar later😉)!

@sheeple04

7 ай бұрын

​@@AnD-1999not just a storm, a tornado... yes, a tornado in the Netherlands, extremely rare and also extremely rare that it just happened to sweep over Utrechts old town and destroy the middle (Middenschip) of the Dom.

it would be so cool to have these photo on google maps street view. so one can see the difference

I didn’t realize there were places in Netherlands where you couldn’t cycle

Should've walked your bicycle through the mall 🤣

Love the Dutch cycling infrastructure

What time of year was it filmed?

@BicycleDutch

7 ай бұрын

Filmed on Friday 15 September 2023.

@kras_mazov

7 ай бұрын

@@BicycleDutch Thank you. I knew weather is too good for November.

@BicycleDutch

7 ай бұрын

It was also much too warm for mid-September.

3:19 It's insane to think the in the 1970s even the Dutch were ahead of USA in cycling infrastructure. I've been to NYC and even that 1970s era protected Dutch cycleway is better than 90% of the bike infrastructure I used when I visited NYC last year using my bike.

You took me back several decades ago.. It was in the late sixties. The test was in the city center of Roermond. At that point cars were parked everywhere, cars had still access to the city center. So there was a lot of traffic. We got a list of the route we had to take. For days, after school I was "in training". I had to know the route by heart, know were to stop, know were I had to signal going left or right, know were I had to give priority of way enz. Watch pedestrians enz. On the route you were watched if you made mistakes or not. I PASSED! I got the diploma!

How can anyone look at this and say they'd prefer it as it was? I'm sure that even the biggest car pundits here in the us would struggle to say such things. Cars and their effects on cities show how truly absurd they are when you take a step back.

*cries in suburbs of Seattle*

heb ik ook gedaan. op de lagere school

@JacobBax

7 ай бұрын

Ik ook, geen idee hoe dat ging en wat we moesten doen, het was ongeveer rond 1966

It is so encouraging to see how much car induced damage to our cities can be undone or mitigated with the right policies.

"cycling here is not allowed"... and yet I do

You could have passed the test if you'd walked your bike through the pedestrian areas ;)

What's with the weird intonation though

Wait what?! Where is the bull statue at 1.15??? 😢.... Oh wait it's still there... 😅

Nice video You need to check your chain

@BicycleDutch

7 ай бұрын

It has been repaired since.

The world wants to be a car dystopia, NL wants to be a cycling utopia. NL cites are much happier places live in. But why doesn't the rest of the copy this Dutch thing?

😅😅😅

So i could now drive car on ex-road now pedestrian only zone if i make a video xD