Beyond the Glitz: Carmel's Everyday Infrastructure

[@michelleishimitsu7704]

Thank you for taking the time to show what it's like to actually bike from A to B in an American city. Every city planner and traffic engineer should see this. -from Seattle WA

[@WhereWeRoll]

The mom riding in the lane probably didn’t even know this is bike infrastructure. Unless someone told me I would have assumed that whole ride you were illegally on the sidewalk. Absolutely mad.

[@steemlenn8797]

Well, she would be right, this is not bike infrastructure. That's just bad pedestrian infrastructure where someone said "oh, and bikes can use it too!"

[@ThirdWiggin]

I do prefer that cities allow bikes on the sidewalk, but it shouldn’t be a permanent solution

[@nicolasgauthier5359]

yeah in Canada where I live, the police tickets heavily bikes riding on sidewalks, so I have to ride in the middle of the street like a car would and signal by hand. They do give us a break a few weeks after someone gets killed though so there is that.

[@jeremysteinmeier1701]

You can see in those areas where business doors are not inset or have some sort of patio area, it's pretty easy for a shopper to door a bike (with an architectural door) or for a pedestrian to suddenly appear traveling 90 degrees to the sidewalk. The only thing I like about bikes and pedestrians sharing the same space is that no one is likely to die, but one can get hurt badly.

[@davik9003]

it's not illegal to ride on the sidewalk. It varies by state, more often "behind the times" states like Indiana it is completely legal. Officially Carmel "encourages" people to ride in the bike lane, not legally mandated.

[@braden_tmoore]

in north america: bike infrastructure is for recreation, and pedestrian infrastructure is for walking to your car.

[@mattf3761]

Well said 😭😂😭

[@mataiasagm]

those steps coming from the cafeteria are really dangerous, can't see them at all from your POV and if you've never been to the area you will definitely fall, even if you're jogging and happen to not look there at the wrong time you might fall. it's good to see sidewalks for a change tho, like most of the videos I see from the states are just plain roads and grass, but I always wondered that there people use the scale card to say it's impossible to move without a car, when in reality that's perfect to promote it, like many of those shared paths that you were in, could perfectly be 1m wider at least. and maybe paint half of it so it's clear that it's for bikes. and that's just a solution that doesn't take all that "useless" space for cars. car lanes look so much wider than they need to be for that amount of traffic. I also noticed that car rarely stop tho, even if they have a stop sign they just roll really slow or stop after the designated line, but that just follows what you said, the Design encourages that. I've lived in Milan, Seville and now Rotterdam, and it's really nice to see how every city approached the issue. Seville had a lot of shared-paths but due to lack of space, but little by little they've been taking more space from cars. Milano is going more with painting the roads but not so many dedicated paths so far, but it's getting there. and well, Rotterdam is just the best for me so far.

[@SeanRyanJ]

Lots of crazy stuff (that bike parking!), but the worst was the person trying to cross the road and nobody stopping - not even when they had to stop because the car in front was stopped waiting to turn. Incredible.

[@BoulderHikerBoy]

This is just an excellent exposition of a single, exemplar ride. I especially like the (grouchy) tone because I think transportation planners (especially if they are not cyclists, themselves) benefit from understanding the frustration that is generated when cyclists and pedestrians are expected to accept (and, then, only as an afterthought) scraps from the table of auto-centric roadway design. It also highlights the importance of thinking about a complete, safe network, not just showpiece infrastructure.

[@Yodalemos]

The shocking thing is that this is truly some of the best infrastructure in US cities.

[@AmericanFietser]

I agree and that is a sad realization. If this is some of the best, which I feel that it is, then we are doing very poorly as a country.

[@rispir4716]

@@AmericanFietser it is kind of sad. I actually lived in the apartments across from Meijer until recently and I LOVED being in that area. Walking around there was the easiest I've seen anywhere I've visited in the US. I'd love to know what it's like to live in an even better area for foot traffic. I'm right by downtown Noblesville now and it's not the WORST but definitely not as nice as that area in Carmel.

[@AmericanFietser]

@rispir4716 it's so sad how Noblesville has basically turned their downtown into a parking lot/highway. It has so much potential if not for the prioritization of cars.

[@cloudyskies5497]

I think this type of detailed video showing the places that need improvement and giving suggestions is a great idea.

[@Paul_C]

Why are there two lanes for each direction is beyond me. It is bonkers to do that in a built up area, people have their housus there.😮

[@AmericanFietser]

🎯

[@elijaha773]

10:40 Thank you for eloquently summarizing how infrastructure affects driver behavior. I'm tired of our state hiring highway patrol troopers without design changes.

[@lolololol7573]

Way too many people expect others will bend their behavior when they're told 'do this' but this never works. Ever. The behavior has to be bend, because the vast majority lives on literal autopilot.

[@38snipshow]

Great video. It's just astonishing that Carmel, like many other North American jurisdictions insist on over-building roundabouts as multi-lane when a single lane version would do just fine considering they're so much more efficient at throughput than a conventional intersection. Also, the lane widths are ridiculously wide, like highway sized (3.5-4 m). So much space could easily be reallocated to more sustainable design options if transportation officials pulled their heads out of archaic design manuals.

[@ChristiaanHW]

and the way the lanes (the angle of the lane) go into to roundabout completely defeats the purpose of a good roundabout. with the angle those lanes have the cars barely have to slow down to enter the roundabout. you want an almost 90 degree turn to make sure the cars slow down before encountering pedestrians and cyclists and entering the roundabout. the current design just encourages people to drive way to fast and not pay any attention to anyone else.

[@derekjolly3680]

We've had some new ones put in around here. At least three on one old long street and another couple in on this much newer development I ride though sometimes. They're all single lane. Probably when they make them with two lanes they're simply expecting a lot more traffic in higher traffic areas. Regardless, roundabouts are almost always an improvement however they're fashioned compared to four way t-stops.

[@TheSnowLeopard]

22:50 this seems like a case of guerrilla urbanism - get some reflective paint and paint a warning on the path. The local government then has two choices - ignore it or actually fix it. If they remove the paint warning of the danger then they are causing danger and can be sued.

[@clayton_games]

I just found your channel from the not just bikes podcast (urbanist agenda). Subscribed.

[@DizzyDiddy]

I was looking at a bike trail magazine for Michigan last night and while it tries to show areas where the trails are still incomplete it still makes the routes look better than they are. The pictures are of course of the most beautiful parts of the route, but sometimes not too far down from those photos the route is interrupted or ends. Things are slowly improving, but too often it's not the highlights that dominate your experience of a route; it's the low points. Those friction points really need to be addressed with a higher priority than they are. We have some pretty nice multi-use pathways around here, but there isn't a single destination I can bike to without encountering a very high friction point due too poorly designed infrastructure. I'm grateful for what's here and make it work, but I do wish cars wouldn't get so much priority. Just this morning we had to navigate around a big mobile electronic sign that was blocking pretty much the whole pathway. It looked like a big generator and it appears it's temporarily there before they set it up to help cars navigate for some roadwork they are planning but haven't yet started. We had to cut through someone's yard to get by it. It's just an example where even before the roadwork has begun, people in cars are treated more favorably at the expense of people using other forms of transportation.

[@AmericanFietser]

The all too common experience that I don't think gets talked about or pointed out enough.

[@dutchman7623]

When you think the US infra prioritizes cars, I would think that the number of traffic casualties among drivers would be much lower than in the Netherlands, but it's not. Though it seems that drivers get full attention, it doesn't lower the number of deaths or wounded, but increases it. Good road design is good for ALL modes of transport. Even makes SUV traveling more efficient and faster! Saves lives and physics of all users. But it seems impossible to get the message across the Atlantic.

[@braden_tmoore]

"we ignore the excess that pushes everything to the margins, and focus on the conflict in the margins" is a perfect way to sum up the U.S.

[@BorisBoris-sl1sf]

Also, great music.

[@dave.c42]

Great video. I’ve lived in Carmel since 2006 and we’ve come along way. I wish all pedestrian crossings were raised. While I love our roundabouts with each one I’ve noticed car speeds increasing since people don’t have to stop. I rarely use the Monon since I live near Hazel Dell. I am encouraged by the continuous improvements to our Multi Path Network. I use the Main Street path a lot and they’ve finally just converted a section of narrow sidewalk to a wider MUP. My ability to get places by bike has drastically improved in the last few years so while not perfect, I do love what we do have and the fact they are continuing to grow our options. I’m also encouraged by the increased usage of the network because more people using it with create the demand to continue to improve it.

[@AmericanFietser]

Thank you for watching. It sounds like we need to have your voice heard by the city council for an upcoming issue. I'll link below, but you may need to copy and paste. It's unfortunate that public comment is allowed for common sense safety issues, but here we are... youarecurrent.com/2023/11/21/carmel-city-council-considering-20-mph-speed-limit-in-roundabouts/

[@dave.c42]

@@AmericanFietser I actually talked to Jeff Worrell a few years ago when he was campaigning. He asked me about the speed limit signs back then and I told him signs don’t work, if they did we would have any speeding tickets issued. I said you need to do more raised crossings. At the time they just started to include them. I believe the Rangeline and 126th/Carmel Drive near the Kroger was the first of those. I specifically told him we needed those on Hazel Dell because crossing it like I have to is difficult due to traffic speeds. Unfortunately one of our biggest bike advocates in Carmel was Bruce Kimble but he unfortunately passed away a few years ago. If you really want to see old vs new structure, take Main Street towards Grey road. You’ll see a nice wide path but next to it in one section you’ll see the original sidewalk. The bridge over the creek used to be an old wooden boardwalk barely wide enough for two walkers to pass let alone a bike. I know the Monon gets all the attention but there are a lot of us who use the connection paths. That’s what I love about this video, your bringing more attention to the larger network and their impact on mobility options in and around Carmel. - Sincerely Carmel MUP Rider.

[@AmericanFietser]

Please contact Jeff again. Myself and another local advocate spoke to him about these issues just a few weeks ago and I even helped facilitate a recent consult by the Mobycon firm here in Carmel. They have been told that signs can't replace design, but leadership is still so ignorant on the issue. They will no doubt be yelled at by motorists, so they need to hear from us and our reasoning. Jeff seems to like to ride the fence on what should be a simple safety issue.

[@kailahmann1823]

@@AmericanFietsera great sentence I heard in that: "the best speed limit is a driver's fear of a dent in their car."

[@swtexan6502]

Wonderful channel, just in line with two of my other favorites at Not Just Bikes and Shifter... plus, here in my hometown! Keep up the great work. We could definitely use some traffic calming measures in the downtown area.

[@FacelessJanus]

As I noticed at the second roundabout, is that it has lost its functionality. Look at the speed you can approach it, ans the very lenient way you can enter it. It does not demand lowering your speed whatsoever, nor to really anticipate other road users. Thus simply using traffic lights would be more effective. If one talks about bad road design !!! Never start with the whole "first step" approach, one needs multiple changes, one is allowing mixed zoning, next is maing the prices for owning a car more realistic, by better drivers lessons before getting license, and up the price for that, change fuel prices to European standard (which are at minimum about triple those of the US), do roadworthy checks of cars, so you get rid of the bricks of metal that can barely drive, start fining folk for insecure loads, or having anything in their hands while driving. Also change infrastructure, but do it all at once. A good argument, should be the safety of children. The Dutch did that with "Stop de Kindermoord", which led to the cycing culture, it has today. Another point is the location of traffic lights in Northern America, versus Europe. A thing I think needs to change in the US, as the location alone can diminish accidents.

[@stephanmaxx_]

It would be so easy to build better, more humane infrastructure with you, you have so much space. Here everything is much narrower and more densely built up. Greetings from Nuremberg

[@dutchman7623]

Top video! Agree on almost everything you pointed out. But a raised crossing for multiple lane roads isn't a good solution. The road should be split into separated lanes first, with medians. There are no places with perfect infra, but with a little bit of effort you can gain so much more safety and efficiency, even for drivers, because bad infra is bad for all.

[@ratbert1]

Or just be a single lane road to begin with, I saw not need for two lane roads in the video.

[@dutchman7623]

@@ratbert1 Correct! Median separated single lane roads have high volume trough-put. No merging, no lane switching, safe.

[@leonpaelinck]

Impressed by your mic/camera setup on your bike

[@AmericanFietser]

Here's a tour of that setup. kzbin.info/www/bejne/qXXFiWOJgdWBgrcsi=4g2qYr4oji9VxGM4&t=320

[@oakspro2998]

This infrastructure would be heaven for many of us USA dwellers. I ride bike for utility and economic reasons in town where the roads lead to a stroad with no shoulder. The only bicycle infrastructure we get is a sign telling us to take the official bike route going out of town. Be grateful for what you have

[@romonster9002]

You're lucky it's legal to ride on the sidewalk. Where I live, it's not, an there's probably 10 times as much car traffic. If there's no bike lane (and on most streets, there isn't) we're expected to ride in the car lanes.

[@Starr4101]

Unrelated to the point of the video but I love how steady the camera is. Giving me 0 motion sickness whatsoever.. this is nice :) Would love to know the setup you're using 😮

[@AmericanFietser]

I believe episode 3 of "Fietsen" is the one where I show the recording equipment. Starts roughly halfway through, I think.

[@JosiahKeller]

One of your best videos! Examples of design is better than complaining about drivers.

[@jeremycole2036]

You said a lot, but there's so much more you could have said -- things we're just used to seeing, like the overgrowth on the paths.

[@mimisandmilk23]

Awesome video highlighitng the difficulties many Americans face who truly want to see change and live a lifestyle that involves less vehicles. Pointing out the terrible infrastructure ideas that plauge North America, while also providing realistic and easy solutions. While also almost getting run over by an impatient motorist. All challenges we face together despite being over thousands of miles apart. Packed into one concise and well explained commentary.

[@AmericanFietser]

Wow, thank you for your kind feedback and also taking the time to watch. Really appreciate it! 🙂

[@Bionickpunk]

A lot of the segments of the ride reminded me of places I go through daily in my European city, so these issues are a plague everywhere to some amount. Pointing out bad road design is topical and relatable to everyone. It annoys me to hell and back just how much space coffee shops and restaurants take for outdoor seating, it's a massive problem even where I live, but when I saw where they put bike parking polls, I almost had an aneurism. Terrible design, should have put it in the inner areas next to the walls of the building where there isn't outdoor seating.

[@martinn.6082]

Not just Americans. I actually like how he says "North America" because much of Mexico and Canada look very similar.

[@masondillard1610]

10:30 I’ve noticed this problem is particularly bad on college campuses. I’ve lived near Texas A&M and the university of Illinois, both massive schools. In these areas with high amounts of pedestrian and bike traffic motorists often seem to feel entitled, get mad, and are aggressive toward people trying to cross the road even at crosswalks because the design is so car focused. This is particularly true in the bar districts, near A&M there are several bars in the district that open up onto a curb backed sidewalk for a 40 mph speed limit road, these sidewalks also often get extremely congested with people queuing up to go into the bars and people will walk into the road to get around people. While I was at A&M a couple of students died after being struck by motorists. It makes no sense why the infrastructure in these areas are so car focused when there is an expectation that there will be a lot of foot traffic! If anything the roads should be reserved for buses, which are often delayed and unreliable because of the significant amount of cars around campus.

[@iqui]

I love how chill you explained everything!

[@AmericanFietser]

Restrained rage. 😅

[@steemlenn8797]

Curb back sidewalks are normal here in Germany, we practically have no other. But the recommendation for them is 30cm to the road before the space for pedestrians even starts. And then "2 people with grocery bags" (yes, really) and 20cm to the house (as most of them are inside towns, you don't have to have that if there are 10m green in a village of course). And of course biking on the sidewalk is forbidden except for children. That crossing at 17:00 is so vastly overbuild! 4x4 intersection and nearly no cars. Also no houses or other stuff. No wonder everything is miles away from everything!

[@gdemorest7942]

I lived in Holland for 15 years. I have the same crap infra here in Richmond, BC, Canada. Very very car centric my city is!!!

[@alangag0279]

I was truly impress by the infrastructure of the city. In my view is way ahead of other American and Canadian small cities. Nice video dude!!

[@RaabStephan]

Saw some of your source in a NotJustBikes video and had to come over and drop a sub! Keep up the good work. Really liked hearing you talk through everything. It's really indicative to how small changes could have huge effects in a positive direction, and unfortunately we currently find ourselves on the worse side of cumulative bad decisions. You mentioned the raised crossing for the roundabouts multiple times, and it's crazy because in some places throughout Carmel, they have it be nice and raised but it seems like the farther you get to the outskirts the less likely it is to have those niceties. Looking forward to watching your back catalog.

[@AmericanFietser]

Welcome and thanks for the sub! I don't produce videos so much anymore as I've leaned into the live streaming rides. It's an enjoyable creative outlet. NJB helped to get me up and running with the live streams. I left TwitterX recently for moral reasons, but if you ever find yourself on Threads, I like to keep the advocacy platform going there. 🙂

[@derekjolly3680]

Impressed with the no helmet business right off. That's the way I ride always including on the road bike and with the hills around here. In fact with a similar watch cap style on my pre-dawn, 35 deg (not so bad) exercise ride today. The whole bike helmet fixation is for the birds. So I'll probably finish all of this later if only for that. Been covering a lot of Shifter's content lately. From what I can see so far you have a similar style and perspective to his.

[@derekjolly3680]

I will say that some of what I think is going on with these less than major intersections is that with not having special marked crossings or raised crossings, probably much of the lack of it is based on the idea that there were far less for cars and trucks out on the roads than there are now. I mean to say that the thinking is probably rooted in the 60s or the 70s in the same city where it just wasn't any kind of an issue for the safety of the cyclists. Also that kind of rings true for where I grew up in the 1970s 25 miles drive south of San Francisco, where there was nothing special for cycling provisions whatsoever unless you count the occasional crosswalk or rarely a crossing guard. We all had bikes in the 70s, we all rode to school in the 70s, no one had helmets in the 70s yet where I lived it felt safe all the time. Probably the 70s "Bike Boom" factored in then for the mentality of people related to bike use. Perhaps that's an indicator factoring in for driving mentality or mindset for then versus now. Some things you just have to guess at.

[@derekjolly3680]

Density is one of the key conflict points in terms of the "urbanist" mindset compared to the average American, or the average middle classer, or the average city dweller. Americans do not want to live in crammed up Hong Kong style housing. They want back yard space and a drive way and a garage for at least one car, and some space for personal greenery. I think this is something which is wildly misunderstood, either deliberately or not. The fact is there is an "American Dream" rooted in the post war era, which draws people in, with the picket fence, the Atomic Family, the two car garage, the lawn, and the dog and all of that. This can't be ignored, yet it commonly is. Frankly, to get better bicycle accommodations, one has to take this into account, at least in the United States.

[@TylerProvick]

10:55 I live on a street that changes name and design as it crosses a major road. My street is kinda narrow, winding and has on-street parking. There is a sidewalk on one side of the road which is set back 4 feet and the lawns are pretty small. The houses are carriage homes. When it crosses the major road it is wide, with painted bike gutters, it gently curves but is mostly straight. There's a sidewalk on each side, set back 10 feet from the street and the lawns are big, the houses are generally townhomes with a gap between each unit. When I moved in 13 years ago they were just setting the speed limit from 60kph to 50kph on the bigger road. It is 40kph on my road. The nimby's constantly complained about the speed of cars on the big road, even though they had stoplights just for pedestrian crossings. They tried traffic-calming bollards but it didn't work, so they reduced the speed to 40kph. It feels like an incredibly slow crawl and I use my cruise control to keep my speed under the limit. They were still not happy with the lower speed and a speed camera was added. Meanwhile, once I cross the major road onto my street, which is narrower, winding, closer houses, etc, I find I don't even have to think about my speed and it's unlikely that I'll even hit 40kph. In my opinion - if they want 40kph on the other road they need to give up their big lawns and setbacks to make the road winding, and replace the painted bike gutters with proper divided bike lanes. That's the only way to really slow people down.

[@in551125do]

That was kinda fun, and kinda scary....!!....good luck from Amsterdam....!!

[@AmericanFietser]

Let's trade places.

[@newsjunkie7135]

Honestly, I'd rather be stuck on an island than in the middle of the road with no protection. Plus, an island allows me to check for traffic in only one direction at a time, which is easier. If the person you filmed didn't have an island, they would have been stuck on the side of the road much longer waiting for 4 lanes of traffic in 2 directions. Of course, that crossing could be improved further, as you explained, but I think the island makes it better, not worse.

[@lilacghoste8366]

Fiji islands?

[@jordankohl2130]

If there are 4 lanes to cross, I agree the island is helpful. But they are still fairly narrow, so it feels unsafe to stop here with most bikes and especially cargo bikes, because you either are or feel like you might be sticking out in traffic still. It should be 2 lanes, but the island is better than nothing for the time being.

[@sqoomsh]

Hi! Where did you buy your bakfiets? I am looking to get myself one 😊

[@AmericanFietser]

Propel Bikes can ship anywhere in the US.

[@sqoomsh]

Thank you :)

[@TheNormalUniverse]

Lovely video! Thanks for shining a light on these design details

[@kailahmann1823]

For pedestrians this is almost acceptable (except for double lane crossings, which would be plain illegal to have in Germany) and even quite good (and especially in good condition) by US standards. But for cycling this is an absolute ZERO and it would be illegal to allow (or even require) cycling on this in Germany… An urban (=with non-irrelevant pedestrian traffic) shared path must have a with of 2.5 meter for ONE direction plus a .5 meter buffer to the road. If it's bi-directional you may need a lot more and on higher pedestrian traffic this design should not be used at all but instead a split layout. Out of town (where you almost never see pedestrians) you need 2.5 meter regularly or 2 meter with some shoulder - so two cargo bikes can pass each other. For intersections: In Germany the curb continues as a painted line, so drivers know how far forward they can and should got - that way they don't block the offset bike lane. The bike lane itself also continues as two lines (the outer one may be the same as the curb line). This is the *legal minimum*. Also if there is a median island, it usually continues in front of the bike lane - and it's illegal to have anything high on this island. Even the plants in the first one aren't acceptable, as they'd hide a crossing child.

[@AmericanFietser]

As much as I love our landscaping near the roundabouts, I've definitely noticed many line of sight issues, especially when driving, that obscure a clear view of anyone attempting to cross. I probably need to figure out how to do a video or Short of this issue.

[@chow-chihuang4903]

Haha, 0% of the cars stopped at that stop line at that intersection. Raised crosswalks would reinforce the correct stopping location for cars.

[@insertgoodname4809]

When you showed the mother with the kid on the back riding on the road it really hit home what you were saying. Do more interviews and get more footage of real people cycling.

[@GinghamGinger]

Thanks for sharing I really enjoyed this audit and perspective. Also enjoyed your calm anger vibe. ✊🏻

[@AmericanFietser]

"Calm anger vibe" I like that. 🙂

[@finnblackburn9583]

Thank you for this video! I've been looking for something that summarizes my frustration of having "traffic calmed" bike paths directly beside cars going 50-80km/h. Our bike infrastructure is better than Carmel's if this video is highlighting average infrastructure, but one thing I'll note that I didn't see here was that when our separated bike lanes cross roads they have bollards at the let downs. It's annoying on a regular bicycle but you have to slow way down on a bakfiets otherwise the let down will loft the front tire in the air and you risk nailing the bollard. Thankfully that's old design that's being phased out!

[@yaash4123]

Great video. Totally agree with what you pointed out.

[@hansc8433]

I think if I could change anything in Carmel, I would reduce all those two-lane (each direction) roads to one lane each direction, and reduce the speed limit to 20 mph. There are just not enough cars for two lanes. And then use the remaining space for a dedicated bus lane and a shielded bike lane.

[@Nathan_Mash]

Wow, that street along the Meijer store is particularly bad. Now I understand why the bike parking at Meijer is completely unanchored. The store was trying to fit in with the aesthetic of the neighborhood.

[@AmericanFietser]

I've never been to the Meijer. Sounds like I shouldn't give them business.

[@jezzarisky]

I generally don’t consider something a good multi-use path unless it can allow for two people to walk side by side and still allow for someone else to pass them(around 3-4 meters). I’ve seen too many times where passing two people walking side by side creates conflict between someone walking and either another walking or someone on bike trying to pass. While 2 meters is still better than many sidewalks I see, I’d say it makes for a good neighborhood sidewalk size more than a multi-use pathway size

[@AmericanFietser]

I agree with you.

[@mike2106]

A lot of main arterial roads that would benefit from separate bike/walking paths have houses, driveways and front lawns along them in America. It drives me nuts. Any thoughts on how this could be resolved? I feel like taking +50' of people's front property wouldn't go over well in most of America.

[@Allaiya.]

Really enjoyed the infrastructure & design overview

[@xouxoful]

6:51 judging by the flow of traffic, why would you need 2 lane in each direction ? (A single lane can really handle a lot of traffic, the Dutch know that).

[@Peterthegreat1234]

Sharp corners are used to slow down traffic; including bicycles.

[@mylearningcurvezone9485]

You bring great points to your infrastructure. But taking a step back as a Swede here, I do see the American lifestyle to be in cars, and there are only like a few major cities that are walkable, like San Francisco, or New York City. But cities like Cleveland or Los Angeles are more for the cars. Heck it is said that Los Angeles is basically just one big highway, and the rest of it are beaches, hills, and celebrity homes with big hedges. And it comes down to American lots focusing on their fasads rather on their purpose. It has to look like you are a baller.

[@AmericanFietser]

I wish I lived on your side of the Atlantic, but unfortunately I'm here and trying to go against the grain of typical American living.

[@mylearningcurvezone9485]

No it is a good thing that you are engaging in your areas. We have problems in our infrastructure too...like too little parking spaces in a city center, or just too expensive to park and drive overall. Dont get me wrong about the fasads, everything looks like a movieset, and it is usally beautiful. You guys over there are great at it.@@AmericanFietser​

[@TylerProvick]

6:40 around here it's not legal to have a vehicle on that sidewalk - so bikes are forced into the street.

[@adamknott7830]

A+ content

[@GoodStreeets]

It could just be the time of day and traffic levels but there's so much opportunity for road-diets on some of those roads. You have scenarios where narrow "shared use" paths (sidewalks really) are being used in favour of just assigning part of the roadway as separate cycle infrastructure. There's so much potential for cyclist/pedestrian conflict 😬

[@AmericanFietser]

There is, but MUPs will always be a better option when compared to on-street lanes, especially when they are so often only "protected" by paint in the US. We can't make bike infrastructure for people who are comfortable being uncomfortable. Bike/Ped conflicts aren't deadly in the same way that bike/car conflicts are.

[@GoodStreeets]

@@AmericanFietser Oh yeah, the whole thing is moot without separation. Do they plan on making the planter-separated lanes permanent? There's so much construction in Carmel, a couple of contractors and a cement truck could knock something together in an afternoon!

[@mojavemike6522]

Thank you for an informative video.

[@micosstar]

0:04 smooth transistion; i did not realize the bike until later

[@pbilk]

Great video. I loved it! 😊

[@smileyeagle1021]

33:00 "who the hell thought it was a good idea to put bike parking here?" Better than my city that is spending millions on protected bike lanes and has no plans to put in public bike parking.

[@steemlenn8797]

You know, that isn't really a problem here in Germany, because people just stand their bike in front of the shop they want to go into. But of course most of our shops have sidewalks in front that are wider than just a meter.

[@Bionickpunk]

Not having bike parking is an issue, however if there are no official ways, you use the unofficial like street lamp posts, between metal fences, Trees, etc.

[@AssBlasster]

I have the opposite problem in SoCal. Plenty of bike parking on sidewalks or the beach boardwalk but you are basically biking in the roads on useless bike lanes at best

[@justinfurgason1084]

Good insights, enjoyed your commentary.

[@TylerProvick]

My city is electing "non-political" mayors as a "fresh take" who are obviously part of the same political apparatus as our previous mayor, and who campaign on a promise of standing up for car's rights in the "War Against Cars" which is what they call "building a pathetic amount of bike infrastructure in 1 year rather than 25" which was part of their opponent's platform. But at least their cutting service on our public transit which, due to mismanagement, has experience a dramatic drop in ridership after an LRT system was added which increased commute times and made the whole system even less reliable than it was when we had buses with GPS reporting that they'd arrive at your stop in 5 minutes but didn't actually exist. Meanwhile, nearly-next-door Montreal is doing beautiful things with removing cars from their city and strengthening their bike lanes and transit.

[@edg7636]

Great video! can I ask what equipment you used to film? It's a very smooth and stabilized somehow I'm assuming

[@AmericanFietser]

Episode 3 or "Fietsen" is about the bike and recording setup. (Don't know if links in comments work) kzbin.info/www/bejne/qXXFiWOJgdWBgrc

[@garyharty1902]

Speaking of bike parking, how about the obligatory bike parking staples at the auto loan place (30:50) on the small concrete pad? It wasn't big enough to park a regular bike let alone a cargo bike. But, hey, the builder could check the box for yes I installed bike parking. Never mind that It is non-functional. To your points, infrastructure encourages and enables drivers, but not so much encouraging cycling and walking. Enjoyed this video.

[@AmericanFietser]

The US seems to specialize at box ticking, while ignoring utility and function. 🤦‍♂️

[@linesteppr]

I love that you actually show the contrast of good and bad examples with the deep understanding that they are a result of systemic failure to provide infrastructure for all ages and abilities and that is useful beyond just a spin up and down a trail. Also, dead on about the massive over-capacity of the roads, roundabouts and street parking. Such a massive misallocation of resources where less could have been spent while providing much better service for non-car mobility. OTOH, your blood pressure clearly went up for the rest of the video after 22:54 when you encounter the steps by the coffee shop. Maybe next time take a quick break for some deep breathes. 😉

[@AmericanFietser]

It's always a struggle to explain the ins and outs of design principles before eventually becoming frustrated by the accumulating list of oversights. 😂

[@ThirdWiggin]

The thumbnail to this video tricked me into thinking I’d already watched it (because of the red bar)

[@roccpro5021]

I hope you make more videos like this one. (+1sub from netherlands)

[@Valerianqelbri]

Great video

[@brick6347]

Light years better than my city. And I live in Europe. But there's a huuuuge difference between Western Europe and Eastern Europe. And it's mentality in our case. We could be Amsterdam, but everyone wants to be 1950s America. So cars on sidewalks, cars in squares, no pedestrian streets, buses that are old enough to drink, and everything is one way with a 50km speed limit. It's not so bad in major cities with legacy trams etc, but in smaller cities it's a hellscape.

[@ashkiler]

How about having underground road crossings for a change? One can always dream...

[@jsb7975]

With that kind of enormous villa's and richness, surely you must financially be able to afford an infrastructure that fits all inhabitants in those urban invirements....

[@Oxymera]

The rich in America see biking, walking, and public transit as a poor man’s thing. Hence why they don’t invest in biking and pedestrian friendly infrastructure.

[@johnveerkamp1501]

As an DUTCHT MEN ,IT LOOKS GOOD FOR AMERICAN STANDARD.

[@ratbert1]

Great ride, I didn't see any justification or need for two lane roads, or for free street parking. The bike rack placement and poor cycle infrastructure looks like it was designed by someone who never rides a bike! Two lane roundabouts are unnecessary and promote speed.

[@johanlahti84]

Didn't know our beloved "Fjällräven" sold in the US too. (The warm cozy beanie he is wearing)

[@AmericanFietser]

Big fan of it so far. Keeps me on my bike and out of the car, so it's worth the extra cost of quality.

[@jeremysteinmeier1701]

Riding on sidewalks in CA is illegal. Those curved back crossings are so terrible. Drivers have already committed to making the corner (it's rounded for them) and aren't looking for bikes. The angle the bike enters the steeet makes it hard to look over your shoulder for cars.

[@hello-lb3vf]

I had no idea such a well-designed city existed in America. Too bad it is not in CA. I don’t wanna move to Indiana. I wanna stay in CA. Anyone know a city like this in CA?

[@lilacghoste8366]

Sf?

[@hello-lb3vf]

@@lilacghoste8366 SF is not as good as this. At least from what I have seen while traveling.

[@chow-chihuang4903]

Emeryville, on the Oakland side of SF Bay. Their mayor is a huge pedestrian & cyclist safety advocate. I hear Davis is okay too.

[@AssBlasster]

You have the bike capital of USA, Davis in California lol

[@hello-lb3vf]

@@AssBlasster I went to Davis for the first time last month (after I sent this comment). Davis is AMAZING. I might live there temporarily to see what it’s like to live a cycling lifestyle. It was literally heaven when I was there

[@ramtinabadi]

Some parts of the biking infrastructure is good but somewhat pointless, nevertheless, due to the zoning. You are biking/walking in a relatively good infrastructure but you are just passing by other people's homes. There are no shops or activities while using the good parts of the infrastructure.

[@pumamountainlion7777]

Land owners should fund infrastructure with taxes not drivers, then we can build for all modes of transportation. That's despite the fact that car dependency hurts car users as well by encouraging car traffic.

[@AmericanFietser]

Nearly all sources of tax dollars fund transportation infrastructure. Gas tax alone contributes only a little as car culture is completely unable to be self-sustaining.

[@noob.168]

cello, so probably school orchestra.

[@jfkusa123]

I’d love to hear more about your encounter with Carmel PD!

[@GurHaenouasHazourem]

Exactly. If you did that in a place like Curitiba (Brazil), you would become clinically depressed, and would have to be hospitalized to recover 😄 The HOPELESSNESS

[@AmericanFietser]

At least I'd have SUS or UNIMED. 🙃

[@MohammedAlshahrani]

12:51 wow! Unbelievable, Americans started using metric units

[@micosstar]

came from youtube recommend

[@micosstar]

by: mico, a man part of gen z ( : age 18 : )

[@AmericanFietser]

Happy to have you here. 🙂

[@eriklethdanielsen3968]

in denmark it's alwayes the cars fault

[@tedsteiner]

Same in the Netherlands

[@hansc8433]

The rights of cyclists are much better, but it’s a bit of a myth that the car is always in the wrong in case of a mixed accident. If the cyclist runs a red light and hits a car, it’s clearly the cyclist who is at fault, so the damage / repair costs will be split 50-50 between the two insurance companies. Only if it’s unclear who is to blame, the car insurance needs to pay the full amount. So there is always at least a 50-50 split, but it’s not the case that cars are always to blame.

[@chow-chihuang4903]

At least it’s a policy that causes drivers to pay attention and also not try to bully pedestrians or cyclists.

[@scaredofghosts6813]

Imagine if raised crossings became a national standard😮 ..too bad people are car brainwashed here

[@ARBITRAGEandTIME]

It's time to build segregated bike lanes!

[@psantosh3873]

This is crazy expectations of bikers. For almost 6 months you can’t bike there due to winter. Yet you (not specifically you, just bike advocates) want bike infrastructure for 6 months with recreational use, whereas cars use it for 12 full months.

[@AmericanFietser]

Lots of people bike year round for transportation. Winter is not the obstacle that you think it is. All over the world, people are not afraid of minor discomfort for utilizing active transportation in all climates. I once shared the ignorant viewpoint that you currently have, but was fortunate enough to see how wrong I was.

[@psantosh3873]

@@AmericanFietser glad to learn that. I always think that biking culture in Holland or other European cities is possible because they aren’t as cold as northern parts of US so you can ride for almost entire year thus it makes sense to build an infrastructure around that. Keep up good work.

[@AmericanFietser]

@psantosh3873 it really has very little to do with the cold and almost everything to do with the infrastructure and density. When proper infrastructure exists and you design cities and neighborhoods to be more dense with goods and services closer to where people live, walking, riding, or even grabbing a tram to go somewhere in cold or snowy conditions is much easier and I'll admit, quite fun at times. Again, I get where you're coming from as I spent many years of my life thinking the same, but I'm here to tell you it's possible everywhere. It will just take time and a lot of work that unfortunately many of us will never live to see through. For now, for those that want to and in places that make it possible, you can try to live car-lite. It's more enjoyable than you might think.

[@skullface_cmx]

43:17 you are also riding on the wrong side of the road. you should always cycle with traffic versus against

[@AmericanFietser]

That is not how things work here. There are no rules. You ride where you are able to safely do so.

[@sspoonless]

Sooth your squeaky brakes by rubbing them lightly with a old soap bar.

[@jetfan925]

Carmel itself doesn't even have public transit as a reminder.

[@AmericanFietser]

Yeah, along with countless other cities across the country. Let's be real, the Carmel leadership will never fund a transit service, so people have to hold their feet to the fire to enable walkability and bikes as transportation. As a realist, I see that and will push forward with that advocacy. Not calling you out specifically, but I'm tired of the used up line of "Carmel has no transit" as if it's an important point, given the state of the majority of the country lacking it. At the very least, they're making strides at making active transportation more possible and that's remarkable in some oddly Republican run suburb.

[@Servergmr]

Lack of turn signaling

[@andrelukin6364]

there is simply no bike infrastructure, the author was riding on the sidewalks! The woman with a child did the right thing - she was riding on the road because it is more convenient and straighforward. Yes, it is not good not to have proper bike infrastructure separated from cars and sidewalks but still if you want to move smoothly on your bike, go on the road because what they call "bike infrastructure" is a sidewalk only. Carmel is not a good town to live if you riding a bike. In NYC we have better real bike infrastructure.

[@AmericanFietser]

It is an ignorant stance to shame anyone who rides on a sidewalk, especially responsible people. Also, you don't seem to understand what multi-use paths are. That is what we have here and they are meant to be shared by bikes and pedestrians. Bikes and cars should never share the same pavement under common design found in the US. That only works in very specific contexts where the street design reinforces safety and establishes that motorists are the last class citizens.

[@andrelukin6364]

@@AmericanFietser I didn't shame you on riding on the sidewalk. I simply called it what it was. I am not talking about the multipath in the beginning of the video, yeah, there is a better environment. I am talking about section once you turned from the path. You were riding on the sidewalk there because there is simply no separated bike lanes. It's wrong if Carmel city "sold" it to the public as "bike infrastructure".

[@MrBlueSky2112]

I’m going to unsubscribe from all of the channels I follow. I’m being told that if I am not commenting within a few hours of a post my comment is ignored. Although your content is important, I refuse to comply with a stupid algorithm. Good luck with your channel.