Finally finished; a cycle route in Utrecht's station area

[Ep. 903] It had been a building site since 2009, but this summer Smakkelaarsveld was finally finished as a cycle street (or rather a cycle path where delivery vehicles are permitted). The rest of the area will be developed in the coming years, but at least you can cycle here again decently. More information in the blog post: bicycledutch.w...

[@PvdBMr]

As a lifetime resident of Utrecht and growing up on a bicycle, this channel has taught me to be proud of the Dutch bicycle culture. It makes me appreciate all the changes that the city has seen in the recent years even more. It’s always easy to complain about what could have been done better, sometimes it is also good to compliment Utrecht on how they developed and executed all these big and small projects. Hats off to BicycleDutch for the continuous effort in making this wonderful content!

[@BicycleDutch]

Thanks Peter! I think it is always good to take a step back and look at the larger picture. Of course I would have a whole list of things I would want better, but I also focus on the list there *is*. So many things will be better soon and they will in turn be an incentive to do even more. Slowly but steadily we're moving in the right direction.

[@tardvandecluntproductions1278]

The place has been a ugly construction yard for so long but holy crap did they make something out of it! To think I didn't like it when the first section of the new big station opened. Can't imagine wanting to go back to that old box anymore.

[@emiliofernandez7117]

Crazy how my neighbourhood doesn’t even have sidewalks and I’m looking at this. It hurts

[@tardvandecluntproductions1278]

One person can start a chain event of change. Governments won't change their minds unless they know their voters do!

[@pp7x79]

USA suburb?

[@mikedebruyn]

The most important thing about this whole video is in the last few seconds of it. Standing in the city center you can hear those people on their bikes talking instead of car and motor sounds.

[@GreenJimll]

Wow, that's an amazing change. And a positive one at that. Utrecht really is leading the world in urban mobility infrastructure isn't it?

[@xerexon2k]

if it's flat and you can pedal

[@S1rWakka]

@@xerexon2k Excuses

[@ozowizo37]

no it isnt.

[@mourlyvold64]

@@ozowizo37 So, which city is then, in your opinion? Please give us a name, I'd like to have a look. Thanks.

[@hamtier]

i only started visiting utrecht about 8 years ago, the area around the station, or rather the city center has always been in a constant state of extensive street construction, i honestly don't know it any better then being broken up, its good to say stuff is finally wrapping up, just unfortunate I can't go there right now given recent events but its nice to know construction has yielded some very pleasant results

[@rajnadar6555]

Please keep making more videos about bike/pedestrian infrastructure in the Netherlands...perhaps one day the US will follow suit and leave car infrastructure behind.

[@S1rWakka]

The automobile lobby is too powerful there

[@Skard01]

Can we all just appreciate the driving skills of the trucker @0:48

[@stewtm]

I personally think this driver is rather crazy. What the hell are they doing there?

[@ov_079]

@@stewtm skipping the line ye, not something to appreciate

[@maozedong44]

@@stewtm Truck driver is running a red light squeezing through others. Total mad man.

[@JAKempelly]

I like you showing the parts of the Netherlands that aren't perfect, but are getting there

[@youssefkaddeche7398]

I am always excited when I see a new BicycleDutch video hahaha.

[@Ginsoakedboy21]

I worked in Utrecht for 3 months before the pandemic - in fact the apartment I stayed in features in this video - and this makes me miss it so much, Thanks for sharing.

[@thekalevar]

How can people still see nothing wrong with car centric cities?

[@Hypersonicbiker]

Firstly thank You for this video. So good change. Life quality is so high in Utrecht's Station Area for now.

[@davebalmada]

It's amazing to see how much and how fast Utrecht progresses. I remember my first time in Utrecht back in 2017 and this station area was still being worked on. Then when I moved I remember that this part was a bit chaotic because of all the new construction sites. It's very impressive how forward thinking the city is and how they can manage to make it modern while still having an old and cute town.

[@GregVidua]

Thank you for working late to get it published. Put a smile on my face since the very morning.

[@mfaizsyahmi]

Just look at Utrecht, living in 2021 while the rest of us is living in the 1970s. Also that big box mall that replaced De Utrecht is barely anything like its predecessor. Most malls, including this one, are bad because they face inward and provide absolutely nothing facing outward. They could have made lots that face the street, open to the streets as well as to the interior hall.

[@pp7x79]

True. there has been quite some criticism on the new facade

[@tallky]

There's actually quite a lot of room for outward facing business. Unfortunately they've been standing empty since the redesign.

[@pp7x79]

@@tallky do you know if there are plans for it? the new planted sidewalk there can also fit in some coffee business etc. with the new smakkelaarsveld buildings in front, in 5y or so, it wil look totally different once again. i kind of expect that they thought of that.

[@dundeedideley1773]

A location full of life

[@xaviwarrior1]

Bicycle lines infrastructure helps to reduce loud streets and stressfull car avenues. I'm fabbergasted for the relative tranquility of some dutch cities, coz the situation is very different in other countries. Peace!

[@mysurlytrucker7510]

The Dutch are smart , now I am house trained and am expected to stay that way for at least another ten years, all I need is adopted, not as cute as a puppy but I can make tea 😉.

[@Paul_C]

Truck drivers are needed everywhere, send a resume and in all probability you'd get a job in no time at all.

[@mysurlytrucker7510]

@@Paul_C ye unfortunately I am 63 and in poor health, just think the netherlands is a great country, they were very nice all throughout my trip .

[@Paul_C]

@@mysurlytrucker7510 right, that is a bummer. Guess that would mean staying put, hope you will continue to come over regularly. At least when the new lock down is over. Seems to me May-June and September-October would be for you. Better prices and not those hot days. And that front rack on the bike: Yes, that will hold a sleeping bag just fine, even more than that 😉 oops forgot, built in may 58...

[@mysurlytrucker7510]

@@Paul_C I will definitely be back, the people were amazing so nice mite get over with the pomchi and his trailer 2019 was best holiday ever on the bike thanks to the Dutch people.

[@muhammadsaufi9012]

Wonderful view bicycle in Netherlands...

[@Petru.S]

I had no idea this was so new ! I used this street every day when I visited. I also unfortunately saw a collision at the T intersection, but luckily everyone was okay.

[@lucasrem1870]

I remember the old station, 'the Utrecht' , not able to remember, Croeselaan, later Zeist. you recognize it, trough all the changes, my hope is always that they restore the Utrecht, they still have the tiles mosaic

[@reueljames4914]

Sir gid Richly bless you for wonderful video keep it up...

[@msdenise1234567]

I only just realised it's a two way road with lanes as big as those for cars and I walk there almost every week 😅. That's not even normal for Dutch standards, that's pretty luxurious. Reminds me of that German car that tried to drive into the bicycle parking garage haha.

[@kjh23gk]

Great video as always, but chimera is Greek. The "chi" is pronounced as "kai".

[@khulhucthulhu9952]

That was.. an actual traffic circle and not a roundabout!?🤯

[@MarioLorenzo]

Real progress!

[@jebbo-c1l]

i wish every city was like this

[@amac140]

Cars have been moved to countryside. Where there are no cycling paths

[@Cl0ckcl0ck]

There are even more cycling paths there. Very nice for a short ride to clear the head and pump the blood a little. The cars have just been moved to the ring roads.

[@rodrigosouto9502]

Very nice

[@goozerboozer8543]

The new infrastructure is really good, except the bicycle lane if you come from the Amsterdamsestraatweg and want to turn right to go to the trainstation parking garage. You need to stop for people that want to go left or straight. They should make a shortcut for cyclists that want to go to the right.

[@Lillith.]

I love the new road. It makes sense that near public transport you can walk or bike. Why would you take a train if you can go by car?

[@xFD2x]

The other way around. Why would you take a car when you could go by train ?

[@Lillith.]

@@xFD2x because often it's faster. When I lived with my parents and went to university it would take me over 1.5 hours by train and an hour by car.

[@lucasemanuel8305]

Eu espero um dia conseguir ver isso acontecendo no meu país.

[@Cool_Goose]

Rofl at that truck going in between two other cars at the lights cutting everybody off.

[@trentr9762]

All cities and large towns in the West should be doing this. No excuse not to

[@fw2699]

Ik ben opgegroeid in deze omgeving. Tot mijn 14e levensjaar heel veel rondgezworven (station en centrum) en gezien hoe de " vernieuwing" aanving.. Jaren 60/begin 70...

[@LisaBeergutHolst]

"Space that is now reserved exclusively for cycling and public transport used to be designed for private motor traffic..." *Sighs in American*

[@ltg8382]

Chimaera spreek je toch echt anders uit in het Engels ;P

[@Fjodor.Tabularasa]

On the ground level the infrastructure improved massively. But the the whole station area remains an eye sore. The past and current city councils thoroughly destroyed the 17th, 18th and 19th century buildings and replaced it with soulless modern monstrosities. And they continue to do this to this day. The apartment block build right on the Vredenburgh square is a prime example of how to destroy the soul of a 12th/19th century look and feel city. Basically that whole part of Utrecht is ruined by decades of city council incompetence, continuing to this day.

[@bastian8763]

Ik vind t appartementencomplex op het Vredenburg juist erg geslaagd.

[@XEinstein]

I see where you are coming from as the whole station area indeed isn't the prettiest bit of Utrecht. For the rest though Utrecht still has tons of old buildings and the rest is very pretty

[@smarkasmc]

👍 😉

[@Jaykey-mj2mp]

Wow

[@letheas6175]

As someone who hates Utrecht a lot, I have to admit this is a thing where they seem to be taking the right direction again:)

[@vanderquast]

Why do you hate Utrecht so much? Can you explain this to us?

[@driewiel]

1:19 vind ik het mooist.

[@RFGfotografie]

That took WAY TO FUCKING long.

[@christill]

I would definitely take never finished over never changing.

[@msdenise1234567]

wasn't expecting such a deep thought, but I like it

[@pbilk]

So true!

[@unequalsine7186]

I’m 28 years old and have never seen the Utrecht Centraal area NOT being a huge construction site. Always a mess and not a nice place to be. Would be quite remarkable to see that area finished in my lifetime ha!

[@DamienAlexander]

Same, I remember going to car shows in Utrecht when I was 6 years old and it was a huge building site around the train station always.

[@sillybillyno1]

if someone would like to give me a job in the Netherlands so i can live in this bicycle utopia, that'd be great 😅 im always astonished at the shots in these videos of 100's of bikes parked together!

[@stokkie01]

Kinda depends on what you want to do for a living, but there are a lot of job openings and also a lot of foreigners working here.

[@Jaykey-mj2mp]

Now they just need to demolish that disgusting building and that's a nice area

[@GregVidua]

Which disgusting building?

[@Jaykey-mj2mp]

@@GregVidua 0:14 that one

[@GregVidua]

@@Jaykey-mj2mp the front or background one?

[@Jaykey-mj2mp]

@@GregVidua back

[@bastiaan4129]

Its a great looking building and if it were to be demolished some ugly stack of blocks would be put in its place. 21st century architecture is at quite a lowpoint in the Netherlands right now.

[@amcaesar]

And regular viewers of this channel can see the intersection of the Hoog Catherine area with the finished nieuwe-gracht project just below. Simply amazing.

[@blinkybillist]

I'm living in Adelaide, South Australia, where the current Government together with cycling infrastructure "experts" are going to make Adelaide City the cycling capital of Australia. They only have to look at this clip and realise they're wasting millions of taxpayer dollars

[@Freshbott2]

Same here in Perth. The state has allocated a decent amount of money yet there's not a single integrated intersection or proper bike parking anywhere. We've got all the space in the world, it should be a lot easier than in NL.

[@blinkybillist]

@@Freshbott2 It's rather weird isn't it, all the major roads in Australian city centres and suburbs are almost twice as wide as inner-city roads in old European cities like Utrecht

[@Freshbott2]

@@blinkybillist and yet travel times in Australia are high. Planners here need to note that reducing speeds and replacing signalled intersections with low speed, free flowing options improves travel times while improving safety. It also makes nice streets to be on. When we have high speeds, we trade it for increased periods of waiting at lights and end up slower overall. You can’t put bikes in there without killing people. Drivers have a lot to gain by giving up some entitlement but it’s hard politically cause driving beings out the narcissistic and vindictive tendencies in people.

[@jillvandenlinden6946]

This is nice and all but the council now has a problem that the bikepaths are too busy in the city center, because the city grows too much.

[@markovermeer1394]

The bike-paths are too busy... imagine when everyone was in a car! Apparently, Utrecht is alive and kicking!

[@BicycleDutch]

Yes, kzbin.info/www/bejne/j3eaq2tmrKetepY

[@jillvandenlinden6946]

@@markovermeer1394 gemeente Utrecht should be concerned to keep the city liveable. Instead they just want to grow within the city. I do agree that its better to have bycicles than cars

[@peter1062]

"The bike-paths are too busy" What a wonderful problem to have... 😉

[@NLvideomaster]

You don't understand yet. Utrecht Central will NEVER be done. Get that in your head. 😏

[@pp7x79]

Fijne video wederom :)

[@curlyfingers]

Somehow current day Utrecht with bikes looks more futuristic, than retrofituristic renders ever could

[@Cl0ckcl0ck]

A light cardio work out on your way to work/shopping/study/whatever so you can spend more time doing fun stuff is pretty futuristic in some ways.

[@javierfernandez2365]

Felicitaciones desde la ciudad de Rosario en Argentina. Espero que algún dia podamos llegar a ser nuestra ciudad como las de uds. Pregunta: que podemos hacer los ciudadanos comunes para poder tener ciudades con mas sendas y seguridad para bicicletas? Un saludo

[@utopistmsoc]

No votar a la derecha. Utrecht es una ciudad que tiende centro-izquierda.

[@Jerbod2]

A certain improvement but still work in progress!

[@qwertyuiop102345]

Your videos are great. Just a suggestion, maybe get a better camera. It's not very sharp now, especially with moving sceneries. Sharper image would be great. Don't take it as a rude comment, I'm a fan of your channel.

[@rudivandoornegat2371]

Haha. Spotted a old DAF truck in the beginning of this video. Memories ....

[@LiMussico]

This is so interesting to me, because I haven't been to Utrecht since about 2016. But growing up here, around Utrecht Centraal was always a lot of renovation. Glad to see how it developed and hopefully, I'll be able to go to Utrecht again soon too.

[@tstcikhthys]

Very cool! I'm on a total binge of your videos. BTW, 3:16 the "chi" in _chimaera_ is pronounced as a "kai", since it's a Greek word.

[@robbin182]

Uuuuuuu!!

[@joaswesterbeek8126]

1:55 my colleagues in the background.

[@ricardosemino8133]

Muy buen video un abrazo desde Perú bendiciones

[@ImranShaikh-gh2wd]

Wonderful changes - progress

[@ozowizo37]

its actually still quite dangerous since cars and bikes still use space together and bijes almost never stop for red lights and expect cars to see and notice them. Its stressy

[@wimahlers]

And your solution is?

[@ozowizo37]

@@wimahlers Walk

[@wimahlers]

@@ozowizo37 That is one solution. But most drivers don't like walking long distances.

[@ozowizo37]

@@wimahlers train, bus

[@wimahlers]

@@ozowizo37 That is already what many drivers do these days. They use transferiums together with public transportation.