Ghent kicked out cars to make room for cyclists! (and hosted Velo-City 2024)

[Ep. 1033] The Velo-city Conference 2024 took place in Ghent in Belgium in June 2024. This is my video report of the four day conference and host city Ghent (Gent/Gand). More information in the blog post: bicycledutch.wordpress.com/?p...

[@klanko64]

The staged anti-cycling protest seems like a weird thing to add to the event. I also thought it was real until you said otherwise

[@KrulKrulSprietSpriet]

But why would they stage something like this? Screaming biking is murder seems pretty strange as a protest. :o

[@amyloriley]

@@KrulKrulSprietSpriet I think it's to add urgency to the message and to add realism. Ghent is not a cycling paradise. Many people are for the cycling improvements, but dedicated car heads still exist, even in Ghent. It's to say, "even with all of these improvements, some people are still against it and we have to be aware of that." I haven't been to the conference myself, but I'd take a guess you could follow this up with "...and this is how we handle this opposition: communication with the neighborhood, making them aware of the advantages of the changes, easing them about parking for citizens not being made more difficult, etc..."

[@distlstek]

It's also a good display of the weird sense of humor this city has. When outsiders come to the yearly 10-day city festival in July (Gentse Feesten), they are often confused or shocked by the shows that are put on. They seem very non-PC at the surface, but they're actually just holding a mirror. And the people organising them are the most compassionate and inclusive of all.

[@klanko64]

@@amylorileygood points!

[@PSNDonutDude]

​@@KrulKrulSprietSprietI wish that was strange. Many actual people believe this.... People are odd.

[@SturmZebra13]

I'm very proud that I live in a city which is copying the scheme of inner city zones

[@JonasSalen]

If you're looking into Belgian cities, I would love to welcome you to the smaller city of Mechelen. We had the bicycle city of 2022 award. Our whole city is a fietsstraat, we have schoolstraten at almost every school and recently we redid our ringroad to have it only one-way for cars to make room for more and bigger cycling lanes. The city is also redoing a lot of streets to make space for cyclists.

[@charlienyc1]

I hit 'like' so many times while watching this, I realized I was toggling it on & off. Great video. You have another subscriber.

[@shivtim]

I recently went to Ghent and Bruges and loved Ghent so much more because of this. In Bruges we had to constantly watch out for cars and trucks that were speeding through the historic center and even through the main square. In Ghent it was so pleasant to walk around and take the tram.

[@alonblue]

I had the same experience as you did in those two cities while visiting a couple of years ago

[@hananas2]

I live in Ghent, it's a great city :) I'm surprised it almost always flies under the radar for cycling friendly cities, but maybe that's because it's not that big relatively speaking.

[@channelvr1293]

Yep lots of drugs and rapings...but there not allowed to put that in the papers. Know a lot of young people who want out...

[@paolagrando5079]

I like that 1 floor of an underground car park was flooded with thousands of bikes of the participants. (Found in the blog in the description 📦)

[@jakubkebukaj3384]

I live in Gdańsk and i am looking forward to this event next year! City is relatively cycling friendly, but has A LOT to do to improve. Its cycling modal share is just 5%. Because of that i was surprised that this event will be held in my city. It is a bit overrun with cars as they held 42% of modal share which is still rising. Fortunately they are making some changes to make city more pedestrian and bike friendly building more level crossings. They have plans for buiding a network of bike highways. So I hope that this conference and event will help improve cycling experience in the future.

[@mypointofview1111]

The more cities that adopt bicycle friendly strategies and infrastructure the better for everyone

[@jakubkebukaj3384]

@@mypointofview1111 Exactly!

[@kaischmidt730]

I LOVE Ghent. The city center without cars is just amazing.

[@alonblue]

I love Gent! visited and was very impressed

[@bluettr250]

And our town is spending a million on a car park. You know, for more cars.

[@joelrebollar7055]

What town?

[@channelvr1293]

Yep and cars bring people...and people spend money 💰 bikers don't....duh

[@joelrebollar7055]

@@channelvr1293 Of course bikes bring people, how else are they going to move? We don't have self driving bikes yet

[@channelvr1293]

@@joelrebollar7055 NO? They do where I live 🤣

[@nikhilsrl]

​@@channelvr1293ignorance in abundance duh

[@georgh.3041]

never seen so much Tern GSDs on one place, before. Like it 😊

[@The-Dutch-Way]

Since the start of Velo-city in 1980, five conferences have been held outside Europe: Montreal, Canada (1992), Vancouver, Canada (2012), Adelaide, Australia (2014), Taipei City, Taiwan (2016) and Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (2018). Are there plans to hold the conference in the USA in the future?

[@dutchman7623]

They will demand that a majority survives the bike tour... so most of the US is still excluded.

[@dirk2518]

It’s not only infrastructure but allso a mindset towards cyclists and cycling. The US has a huge task to do that will take many many years.

[@Mo-mu4er]

The benefits of such a conference would likely fall on deaf ears, here, sadly.

[@dutchman7623]

@@Mo-mu4er Reforms are needed, but to be a caller in a desert is no use, you need at least a little oasis...

[@jamalgibson8139]

I think Portland, Oregon would be interesting. It might actually get some council members to realize the importance of biking for their citizens. Not too sure of any other cities in the US. Maybe Hoboken, NJ?

[@paolagrando5079]

2:45 I've just learned that Ghent copied the temporary closing of the streets around schools from Bolzano (IT) ... Why the rest of Italy hasn't done the same!?? 😣

[@mypointofview1111]

It's common practice near schools in the UK. So many unnecessary accidents happen near these places it makes sense to keep these spaces child friendly as much as possible. I'd like to see everywhere like Amsterdam where even children can cycle to school independently

[@respectedgentleman4322]

I've always called it 'Gent' not 'Hent' but I'll bow to your knowledge on Dutch / Flemish pronounciation! Anyway, good to see Belgium taking it more seriously. Always been the poor relation of NL for cycling, but slowly we are all learning the value of safe cycling in cities.

[@yagi3925]

It's pronounced with a regular English G in English. The pronunciation used in this video is the Dutch/Flemish one, which is incorrect in English.

[@DanCojocaru2000]

​@@yagi3925It's not really incorrect, just unusual. Just because it's common to call Germany Germany in English, it doesn't mean that someone who says Deutschland is wrong.

[@martian9999]

@@DanCojocaru2000 well, when I watch a video made by a German, and they pronounce German cities the English way (and I don't mean saying 'Munich' or 'Brunswick'), that makes me cringe, big time

[@yagi3925]

@@DanCojocaru2000 What a senseless comment! “Correct” or “incorrect” - in what language? That’s the whole point. Of course using “Deutschland” is incorrect in English.

[@ashchbkv6965]

2:36 that kid😅

[@Nemo59646]

Paradise compared to the UK.

[@TheYoutubeUser69]

its crazy home much more biking infrastructre you can build for the same money.

[@tarquinmidwinter2056]

Il y a longtemps que j'allais tant de Bruges à Gand 🎵🎶

[@Siranoxz]

I wonder how well developed Polish cycling infrastructure is..

[@lawnmaw4953]

Poland is car-centered / car-infested and mostly hostile towards cyclists. There are bike-paths here and there (mostly in big cities and around some tourist resorts) but this is for the most part just playing to the gallery. Gdańsk is trying to be the EUROPEAN and PROGRESSIVE and for sure there is a lot of money involved. I wouldn't hold my breath, but, let's see in 10 years.

[@mypointofview1111]

As long as they keep building cycle infrastructure others will get the message that its ok to cycle

[@oldbrokenhands]

Take the Ghent about good biking infrastructure.

[@lyssasletters3232]

❤

[@azertycraftgaming]

damn this is belgium!

[@liamtahaney713]

Contrary to what NJB would have you believe, Belgium and especially Flanders are doing excellent things with regards to Cycling. Just funny to join in on the "oh hurdur belgium dumb belgium fake belgium bad" rhetoric on the internet.

[@lws7394]

@@liamtahaney713 Well, he lived in Brussels. And that was very bad for several reasons. Furthmore the roads in Belgium are generally considered not very good. And Belgium has a lot of sprawl ! with socalled 'lintdorpen' (linear settlements) , but also with the kind of sprawl , you only see in America. When I saw the sprawled region between Mechelen and Arenschot in Flemish Brabant on google maps I was flabbergasted ! similarly outside Antwerp .. And with trains .... How is it possible that Antwerp Central to Ghent (50km) takes 1 hr and to Kortrijk (100km) takes 90 minutes ? The only train running are all stop trains (just 3x per hour ..) (And I think he admitted there were some changes going on ...)

[@liamtahaney713]

@@lws7394 So Belgium bad because we have a slow train between a b and d tier city? okay? I can do the same thing for the Netherlands...HOW IS IT that there is NO direct train from Rotterdam to Nijmegen and it takes 1h45 with a transfer??? as for Gent, this is only true for Gent Sint Pieters, which is not actually nessisary. If you just get off at damport which is closer to the city center you save 15 minutes since the train doesn't need to loop around the historic center. All things considered I think it is okay the railway gives a wide radius on the beautiful center of Gent. So what? And yeah as for lintbebouwing is a problem. But its nothing like American suburbia, that is ridiculous assertion. I have lived in both places its frankly funny to even make the comparison.

[@lws7394]

@@liamtahaney713 My app gives 1h29-1h42 for Nijmegen (With 6 options per hour). Not ideal, but Nijmegen is not a very important city (sorry, Nimwegers) at the other side of Netherlands. Whereas Antwerp and Gent are #2 and #3 cities in Belgium at close proximity. To have such a long commute is not good imo. In Vlaams Brabant, the sprawl around Keerbergen en Tremelo .. I was quite shocked with google views of the region. Around Antwerp you have the same with Brasschaat and other suburbs (partly bcause of Dutch tax evaders ..). FYI: Lintdorpen = sprawl and 'catastrophic' ( 'nefast', mooi woord ) for car use, pollution, concrete landuse, inefficient utilities etc. That is not my opinion but that of Flemish government. Any which way you look at that, it is not good land use and Flemish gov wants to limit that.

[@lws7394]

@@liamtahaney713 Nijmegen is not a very important city and at the other side of the country. (My app shows 1h29-1h42 btw). But Antwerp and Gent are the #2 and #3 cities in Belgium at close proximity. To have a almost 1 hr. journey 3x per hour is quite bad imo. It would be better to have a couple of commuter, multi stop trains and a couple of fast trains that could do Gent in half an hour and Kortrijk in like 1 hr. Not so much the lintdorpen , but around Keerbergen, Tremelo in Vlaams Brabant and Brasschaat it looks very similar to (low density) US neighbourhoods ! And still the lintdorpen mean sprawl with the negative effects. They are 'catastrophic' ( 'nefast' prachtig woord) for inefficient car use, concrete landuse, utilities etc. And those are not my words but Flemish Government , who want to put a limit to it for its high environmental and maintenance costs .. but unsuccessfull so far ..

[@stephanyzamboni3258]

🖤💜💙🖤💜💙🖤💜💙🖤

[@TOMESHTI]

Great city compared to Chisinau❤

[@dewaard3301]

Careful, Americans might be reading.

[@shivtim]

We are, and we love it. What a weird comment for you to post.

[@cyclenut]

As many Americans are overweight and the declining middle class - people are forced to drive because the roads are too dangerous with the careless, reckless and drunk / drugged drivers. In many areas lots of people drive cars in need of repairs, but the people can not afford them. Bicycles are not free or cheap. When looked at price per pound, bicycles are very expensive. I have 8 bicycles and for the cost I could have bought 2 nice automobiles.

[@AnD-1999]

Does police still stop you when you're at the back of a bicycle? Because 'it's a 1 person mode of transportation'? Silly Belgium rules... 😅

[@schottepaul]

All appearances. Moving car transport does not solve the problems. On the contrary, there are more and more long traffic jams in Belgium, public transport is in short supply, buses and trams are stuck in traffic jams....

[@laotang80]

If congestion is the issue, then there is an even greater urge to reduce car traffic to solve the congestion. If car-oriented road infrastructure is oversupplied, fiscally and politically, as it is now, it is strongly advised to radically cut investments and subsidies benefitting car traffic and to reallocate the budget into viable alternatives which do exist already, i.e. bicycle lanes, tram lines, train tracks and, hell, even busses. Furthermore, the more frequent emergence of "jams" is a temporary phenomenon, aside from the "culprits" being the car owners themselves, not people facilitating alternative modes of transport, as people require some time to adapt to changes in traffic regulations and arrangements. They will go down, simply because less supply means evaporating demand, which is a certainty, as already happening all around the world where "road diets" and "modal filters" are applied.

[@laotang80]

P.S.: Yes, that's true, the staged "protest" naturally is only about appearances, regressives and fascists trying to harrass, insult and hurling rhetoric sh*t, using lies and false narratives to discredit such programmes, although even they are fully aware of the positive effects of progressive, human-scaled traffic policies, which even benefits the most renitent of car enthusiats.

[@AardvarkDK]

@@laotang80 Have you considered... just one more lane? ;)

[@Josukegaming]

Yeah moving cars does not solve the problem, but reducing car useage by increasing cycling DOES solve the problem.

[@miles5600]

@@laotang80well that’s not the way many think. If they see congestion then it must = building wider highways, even in The Netherlands this is still done.

[@MrSvenovitch]

The green party is about to get voted out in Gent in October, just like in most towns and cities in Belgium. I wonder wonder why....

[@laotang80]

Because of semaring campaigns and sabotage, slander and hate, originating mainly from petty, small minded, misanthropic right wing "politicians". The Greens might be voted out not because of their pragmatic and effective achievements, but simply despite of them due to pathological badmouthing and lying by right wingers and fascists.

[@AardvarkDK]

Racism, probably.

[@laotang80]

They won't despite all the slander, insult, sabotage and drag being introduced by regressive right-wingers, fascists and misanthopes, although this lot are really trying hard to act like pre-school bullies, whilst their followers even laud them for such a despicable behaviour, outing themselves as the ignorant idiots and antisocial grousers they are. But yes, it is this toxic discourse environment that hurts the Greens the most, although they are still the most progressive and pragmatic of the bunch.

[@martian9999]

"is about to be" "in October", wow, this is some heavy-duty forecasting we see here

[@distlstek]

Still got a pretty good result last election though. The coalition in Ghent let the green party do all of the very necessary dirty work in mobility, making the city more livable but also resulting in now being a bullseye for the car-centric conservatives. Now they will not be part of the coalition and yeah, probably not elected. A lot of voters are very selfish, believing politicians who keep shouting 'yOuR PriVILeGe wILl bE TaKEn AwaY' - and not at all thinking about the long term. At all.

[@mastrDC]

Bicycle streets are the worst! They are a sign of weakness and poor compromise. They just annoy cars. And as a cyclist you feel unsafe and nervous for the cars that stay behind you. The whole idea and implementation should be rolled back and cancelled!

[@dirk2518]

You have seen the video? There are maybe 5x the amount of cyclists in these streets. Car drivers are lucky They are still allowed.

[@Josukegaming]

Bro doesn't know what he's talking about, look at the Netherlands and see if you still think you're right. Clearly you haven't experienced good bicycle infrastructure

[@ChristiaanHW]

i've never felt unsafe on a bicycle street, the drivers know they have to stay behind me and they have to adjust their speed to the cyclists on the road. and if a driver is acting like a D, you just move to the middle of the road to block him from overtaking you, eventually he will get the message. the only times bicycle streets fail is: - when there are almost no cyclists on it, so drivers think it's just another road for them to use. - when people (mostly drivers) don't understand what they mean or how to use them. - when drivers don't have respect for the cyclists and just do what they want, instead of following the rules. and in all those cases it's the drivers that do it wrong, so the problem isn't the cycling street, it's the drivers that show they don't deserve the privilege of being allowed to drive. (if you can't follow the rules as a driver you shouldn't drive)

[@Andres_1970]

Sure Ivan... and we should start buying more oil from... Russia ?

[@channelvr1293]

Yep and that's why me and my wife no longer go to Gent. Unfortunate for the local merchants. We used to go shopping have a long lunch etc... bikers are mostly locals (I'm a biker too btw) problem is a city can't live on just locals . In the long run you will create poverty... but don't take my word for it...I couldn't care less. 😢

[@niceone99]

What the hell are you talking about 😂

[@channelvr1293]

@@John-lq6dv geen kinderen en een hybride auto die enkel opgeladen wordt via zonnepanelen, sorteer alle afval, heb bloemen tuin voor insecten etc.. maar toch niet welkom met auto...spijtig 😒

[@distlstek]

@@channelvr1293 Je bent heel welkom om met de auto tot aan de rand van de stad te rijden, en dan met het openbaar vervoer verder te gaan. Je kan ook nog steeds met gemak onder de vrijdagsmarkt parkeren. Een stad moet vooral leefbaar zijn voor haar inwoners, niet voor mensen die om de zoveel maand eens langskomen. Goed dat je (een beetje) milieubewust wil leven, maar we laten alvast geen tranen voor jou ;)

[@cassio2999]

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

[@Gugner]

Superb!! 34% of all trips made by bycycles!!😊😊😊😊