Road and Street Design In the Netherlands 

I have been a traffic engineer in the Netherlands since 1980. I graduated from an institute established for this purpose in 1975. A lot has been achieved in 50 years and I think that you perfectly describe the various solutions with this report. This was a very good general description of what a livable environment should provide.

Thankyou for not using examples of just Amsterdam but the beautiful city of Groningen

Listen to how quiet these Dutch cities are......relaxing.

One thing you forgot/ decided not to mention is that those intersections in Groningen have rain sensors on them as well, and when it rains the cyclists get a green light more often. Which I think is pretty cool :)

I love that you mentioned the relationship between neighbourhood and wellbeing of children. The important of this cannot be underestimated.

I planted the wisteria at 15:23 😅. I lived in that house for 5 years.

Just imagine that American cities were built like this, how much nature there would be and how much energy the country could save…

16:37 So true, this really works as generally, parents will let their kids roam (“be back when the street lights turn on“) which massively boosts freedom, independence, and confidence.

Clear and understandable explanation of the what and why. The infrastructure here in the Netherlands, or specifically in Groningen isn't perfect, but at least the government is making a great effort and for now continues doing so.

This is the thing that people usually don't understand. Driving a car is also great in the NL since it's predictable, and separated.

Been saying for a long time as a driver, you want safe, well maintained, uncongested roads, and low insurance and rego costs. You just can’t get that in an environment that forces everyone to drive and drive a lot. I really wish Australia would just adopt the Dutch street codes like for like.

Well, clearly the Dutch have done a exemplary job, and have provided the world with a template to follow.

Every video I see about this subject forgets the most important thing you have to change in America: mixed zoning. We have shops INSIDE the housing zones. Everybody lives close to shops and other facilities. This is the most important thing to change asap.

Remember that the Netherlands didn't build this in 1 decade. It takes a long time and isn't finished yet, and never will be. we started in the 70's. So more or less 5 dacades ahead. Start simple and cheap. The low hanging fruit. Not the fancy stuff. That's for later. It's about money well spend. And don't forget culture. We have a bike culture. And sayings like "Your not made of sugar", You can handle it, You won't melt when cyling in the rain. Our parants cycled and our grandparents. Kids start at 6 years old. Teens cycle to school and sports.

Looks like the urban planners in the Netherlands actually earn their wages ... lots of interesting design

Loved this video. I'm in the Norwegian Cycling Federation and while I have seen everything you have presented before, this was presented in a relatively terse and comprehensive way. I will distribute this to others as an introduction to how the Netherlands are doing things that we should learn from.

Awesome video! You packed so much into this, I learnt a ton, even though I've watched basically every NJB video and tons of Bicycle Dutch videos. Not sure if you can sustain this level of quality, but if you can then you'll grow the channel very fast.

I miss Groningen. Living in that city was truly something special, even compared to the other Dutch cities I've lived in.

Groningen my beloved... Honestly one of the best cities in the country in terms of correctly implementing bike infrastructure.

So nice to watch footage of Groningen in a video like this, I live here and I was so used to all this that it took video's on YT to show me it is not so common in the world to have bikelanes or effective public transportation. When I went to my secundary school I had to ride 17 kilometers, and that was quite normal. Only in december and january I was allowed to take the bus. Some of my classmates had to travel even further. I didn't hurt me, I still have strong legs and I think it also builts some character to ride to school in wind and rain. There is no bad weather, there is bad clothing, that sort of thinking.

Amazing Video, Very clear and also nice that instead of talking about Amsterdam you went to Groningen

Impeccably executed. Brilliant analysis. Thank you for creating such an informative, visually superb video. How fortunate I am to live in glorious, compact, pedestrian/cycle friendly Middelburg.

Dutch roads are like the ones they always use in textbooks and childrens books as illustrations

Lots of detail and great visuals

Your video was suggested to me from @NotJustBikes - I look forward to watching more of your content!

Such a clear description of how the Dutch have got transport so right for their citizens and for the Planet. Thanks for a great video.

I will be watching your channel with great interest, you seem to be capable of describing without moralizing like so many other good and not so good urbanist channels fail to do. While also describing more than just a single particular thing at a time, which greatly increases my sense of all of this belonging to a coherent system rather than an example in vacuum from the rest of reality.

very very cool that you used the city of Groningen!

Nice to see my daily biking roads and bus and trainstops in this video. A single way on the bike to work is 18km, so on rainy days I take the train and the bus. Both take about 45 minutes, so it is easy to take the bike and take a shower at work.

Fascinating and very comprehensive.

I'm so glad I found this video. 90% of your footage is from my own neighbourhood!

thank you for your positive approach

Wow, a great contribution!

Groningen the happiest of the Netherlands and 3rd of Europe of best quality of life. My city ❤❤❤

Commenting to support the channel. Can’t believe this is your first video, it’s great

Great video. Your introduction was solid and you really reeled me in out of curiosity even though I know the answer. Edit: What a solid video! This is insanely well covered, fantastic work.

Very very good video packed with many clear examples.👍👍

Perhaps the best thing about the Dutch is that they've shown the way, so all we have to do is copy where they are now instead of trying to "discover" everything. Unfortunately, most agencies feel that they're "different" and can't possibly do that.

I live there, never gave it a second thought. But it’s pretty cool to realise how clever it actually is.

Subscribed - I used to drive to work from the UK, through The Netherlands to get to my office in Germany in the mid 1980's. I now live in Thailand where driving is very different, due to so many motorbikes on the road. Locally, I have noticed that some traffic lights have been removed at a 3 way junction, this naturally slows the traffic down, so everyone makes an effort to give way or make safe progress through the junction. It's like walking across a pedestrian crossing in Ho Chi Minh City, walk across slowly, allowing bikes to avoid you as you traverse the crossing. It takes time to adjust to new traffic patterns. Best wishes from Bangkok.

18:45 Stad is veranderd mien jong! Ik werk er, woon er al 15 jaar niet meer, maar blijft een geweldige Stad.. Grunn

Thank you, this video is very helpful and concise.

This video is BEAUTIFUL!!!!

Great video, good examples being shown here. I guess we in the Netherlands are so used to all of this great streetdesign and it's positive consequences for our well being, we may think it is the same in the rest of the world, wich of course it isn't. But as we are people who can complain very well, we also tend to keep looking for improvements, where ever possible! Thank you for reminding me, we live in a well structured, well organised society, with indeed the happiest children in the world, gettin their independence by riding a bike on their own as young as 8 or 9 years old!!!

Very informative. Whell done

Great video.

My grandfather was one of the people behind the Verkeerscirculatie plan. Its funny to see it mentioned and also funny how he has been continuedly been proven right, again after the whole Jullianaplein debacle

Wow you showed many places in Groningen where I rode my bike, it's nice to see 😊

I was 28 when I bought my first car. I simply didn't have the need for one before that because I would either cycle or take public transport.

Me who has been living in The Netherlands for years now: That is really interesting 👍

I would love to see a video of all the bad things with the dutch street designs as i think we can learn a lot about whats not working so well as well as whats working great!

Great video, you got a new subscriber :)

Awesome video 😎

Great video!

Some notes; In the residential areas where cars, bikes, pedestrians and playing children share the same street, with a max speed of 30, cars have the lowest right of way. They have to wait for everyone else. So, if someone is walking down the street, or biking, you have to slow down even more. You dont have any right to start honking and demand people move aside so you can drive faster. The street is for the people living there, and cars are guests. The maximum speed may be 30, but the advised speed is walking pace. A kid could come running out of a driveway or kick a ball across the street at any point. If the max speed is 50 instead of 30, where 50 is the highest possible speed inside urban areas, then cars, bikes and pedestrians are seperated, with marked or seperated bike lines and a kerb for pedestrians. The trees dont just discourage speeding, they also for physical protection for the cyclists if a car has an accident. They will hit the tree. The tree will probably win. The cyclist on the other side of the tree is safe. They also provide wind shade, which is very important in flat land. The bike paths are set back at intersections so the drivers can more easily see cyclists. Instead of having to stop and look left and right at a 90 degree angle, the cyclists will be in their peripheral vision. This significantly reduces accident rates at intersections without lights where cyclists have to cross a car lane. The roads without lines in the middle are specifically designed to be exactly wide enough that 2 cars can barely pass each other, while slowing down, and driving on the bike lanes to the side. Meaning that, if there is a cyclist there, one of the cars has to wait for the other one to pass and only then can overtake the cyclist. Which further slows down traffic and makes things safer for everyone. Buses have special transponders that communicate with the streetlights and get priority over car traffic. They also have their own dedicated street light. So the 30 people in the bus spend less time waiting at intersections than all the people sitting in their cars alone. Parking in cities is very expensive. Some smaller towns may allow 2 hours of free parking next to the shopping mall, but in large cities you will have to pay several euro per hour to park in a partking garage or on street parking. In Amsterdam it can be up to 10 euro per hour. So its cheaper to park outside the city and walk or take the tram to the center. Or just take the train.

Did I see Groningen? Love it! Groningen is totall bliss!

Very well captured! Much to improve elsewhere, also here in Czechia

This video is top notch 👌

Love to see my home town getting some attention, Groningen is an amazing place to live. You had some nice weather too, judging by the flags I guess you were here in early May?

There's three places in the city i really wish the municipality to tackle: - Visual markings on Pop Dijkemaweg, so people will permanently drive in the middle, meaning people will actually go 30 rather than 60 - Europaweg (shown in this video with the dedicated buslanes in the middle) is a 50 road, but looks like a 80 road, so people speed continuously. Should be less wide with better markings (and no speed trap please, punish people for your bad design) - Pedestrian crossing on Hereweg with a traffic light. This is a big nono, because there's no intersection there drivers don't notice the traffic lights and people already speed there. Great video btw! Thx for sharing

I feel like I am the only one who bicycle commutes in America seems everybody wants be fat and lazy and poor cars makes you poor

This should be an example for some countries in Europe and the rest of the world. Like Belgium, they almost do the same, but they can do better. Especially the bicycle paths. Some of these are in such a horrendous state right now so you can't call it a bicycle path anymore.

Very nice video! It's good to see some own recorded clips rather than just ripped of from the internet.

My hometown!

beautiful

How much would it take to implement this across the US? A fraction of what we spend on the military, that’s for sure. I want my town to implement this within 5-10 years. How do I get involved? How do I push for change? How do I push for rapid, explosive movement??? I don’t want to wait for a child to die for this to happen.

Nicely done! I regnize more than half the locations, and the closest to my house is less than a kilometer.

It was funny seeing one shot and thinking "Hey I know that street" and then doing that for most of the video. You're right about the car park in the back of the vismarkt at 17:36 . The municipality has the same opinion and they've bought it to remove car parking. Now they are looking for options on what to do with the space. One of them is making part of it a protected bicycle parking garage. Bikes have become a clutter issue in the city centre and the municipality is trying to remove them from the streets with free bicycle parking garages

Groningen my city 😍

very similar in my neck of the woods in Twente

4:37 Outdoor warning siren spotted!

Groningen ❤❤❤

very nice video

Not mentioned is the fact that the main purpose of a lot of the dutch road infrastructure is to increase safety for all users. The slowing of mechanical traffic added to the safety. The safety made the alternative of using bikes possible. More bikes is less cars which leads to more safety. If you want to follow this dutch example concentrate on the safety. Look at giving people a choice: car, public transport, bike and going on foot.

My city 💓

I hope Americans find this video and not only Dutch.

This video is incredible dishonest.... I mean only sunshine and good weather? Not including, fog, rainfall or an actual downpour? Tsss ;) (just in case anyone stil wondering that was 100% sarcasm). I like the tone and flow of your vid, u talk calmly and seemingly effortlessly flow through your arguments it is very pleasant to listen to, thank you. And of course putting the Netherlands in a good light is always +1 :D

Grunn!

Impressive inaugural video! I’m curious if you have a focus or niche topic or interest area for your channel? I have a suggestion if you’re interested in urban design issues in general. I have a hunch you have produced other videos before, though not available here😉

Born and raised in Groningen, moved out in 2001, because of a job in printstore, Bronsema in Leek, now 2024 I work in Groningen again since a few years, at a printstore and doing deliveries, they can be a challenge in downtown, the time schedule is not realistic, so, when I must deliver, I deliver, also after 12.00 .. and it is what they want, the igns are already up, but legally they are out of function

A bicycle path that is set back, timestamp 4:03, has the advantage that drivers turning right don't block the road behind them, when waiting for a cyclist that goes straight ahead. Loading or unloading goods or persons is not considered parking.

You should really visit Amersfoort! in the newer neighborhoods like Vathorst

A woonerf is also great when you don’t have children. You can experience the childhood of the children of your neighbors. It’s a kind of street family.

I've biked in every spot that is visible in this video. There's a point I'd like to make, recently someone had the idea that bikes and pedestrians can share roads in the centre of town. This is however not a brilliant idea because pedestrians are more aware of their phones, shops, the conversation they are in or whatever is on their mind than that they are participating in traffic. Most people on bikes are used to pedestrians walking anywhere they want, on the sidewalks but also in the middle of the street. This is probably due to the fact that the roads as well as the sidewalks are constructed of the same yellow tiles. Especially people who haven't lived in the city seem to think they are therefore allowed to walk everywhere. This does already create dangerous situations, but now we are getting ever more spaces that totally lack designated areas for bikes and pedestrians. This would not be a problem if pedestrians would be aware that they are participants in a traffic situation. Well, they are not. Pedestrians do not see themselves as taking part in traffic and their actions on these streets are completely unpredictable for people on bikes. Even if you use your bell (or as I do now, a 118db horn) on a bike, people hardly ever react or, at best, cuss at you for having the nerve to warn people of your presence often stating (falsely) that you are not allowed to ride your bike there. Which already shows traffic signs are wasted on pedestrians. I find myself in multiple collisions per month with pedestrians who suddenly decide to go to the other side of the street, who suddenly decide the should cross a road or who feel the need to walk with four or five people in a row taking up the whole width of the street. This gets especially scary when you approach parents with two or more children. It is easier to predict where lightning will strike than it is predicting the moves of kids. Combine this with the yellow tiles that are notoriously slippery when wet (even though the municipal government claims they are not, everybody who rides a bike knows this is a lie) and you have created quite a dangerous situation. I would urge every city to make an effort to keep pedestrians and bikes strictly separated for the safety of both parties.

12:45 as a delivery driver, I would like to disprove that claim 🤓 Especially around Nieuwstad!!

If the car is limited to 30km/h then there is no separation . If the car goes 50 then there will be a speedbump, if a car goes 60 or more , there will be trees or a row of parked cars. @notjustbikes

I don't understand what is so special about all this. Oh wait; I live in the Netherlands! Kan ook gewoon in het Netherlands schrijven dus :-) Het is echt wel bijzonder hier qua fietspaden en zo, vergelijken met de meeste andere landen. Mogen we trots op zijn. Verkeersdrempels vind ik wel irritant, als we rustig rijden zijn ze niet nodig, maar we rijden niet allemaal rustig, dus vandaar; verkeerdrempels.

Groningen blijft toch echt een mooie stad!

Man, there would be strident opposition to this in an overwhelming number of areas of this country. Part of it will be from the auto manufacturing, energy producing sectors, and conservatives overall. It sure as hell would make our cities far more livable if we did this.

1:25 lol 'yank tank' was a surprise ... I bet this beast was part of the kindermoord ... maybe it only has just been released from prison!

“Here, pedestrians have the right of way” me, an American who knows pedestrians also have the right of way here but people don’t care: “interesting..”

Great video, but one thing you said bugs me. Predictable road network is not to make driving safer, it's to make everyone safer. The dutch roadnetwork in very many places does not place cars in the nr 1 spot

Just a (side) thought: Wouldn't it be an idea to have/design signs indicating "no entry" into a street for cars only? Such as the combined parking and speed restrictions signs shown (11:53). Thereby non-car users would immediately recognise, that this restriction isn't pertaining to them, instead of having to check, whether they are exempt by looking at/for a visibly separate sign (13:43).

4:52 the give way sign with the little 'bike' signs underneath, what is the purpose? And why the differing symbols and directions? One looks like an ebike?

Amazing video! Do you know any book/website to be read to understand the whole Dutch street design? In Dutch language will be okay. Thank you beforehand!

So on what day was this all filmed? I have never seen so many flags when not on a special day...

@17:57 those scooters are the worst experience in the Netherlands. Multiple examples are in this video.

Very informative and fun to watch. Too bad most of our bikelanes have become useless here in the netherlands because of a rising amount of E-Bikers.

👍

One thing the stopping for a car who is bringing a package is seen as annoying but people know that being angry doesn’t help. But because of this there is a general hate culture around these types of van’s since they always speed and don’t look out for other people