How Expanding Bike Lanes Can Actually Decrease Traffic - Cheddar Explains

Common sentiment is that expanding the amount of space that is dedicated to bike lanes would increase congestion and automobile traffic. We take a look at some studies that indicate this may not be the case, and that expanding bike lanes may actually decrease car traffic.
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5. www.nytimes.co...
6. www.bts.gov/co...
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[@jamestucker8088]

I like the idea of the protected bike lane. I can't count the number of times I had to swerve into traffic because the Amazon drivers treat the bike lane as a dropoff zone.

[@soaringstars314]

Yeah unfortunately cars and commercial vehicles do not see it as a bike lane, they see it as a free dropoff zone while pedestrians see it as an extended sidewalk (although imo joggers are ok) and hence why they usually don't look before crossing before walking Basically anyone who isn't a cyclist doesn't think bike lanes don't exist and thus indirectly fighting back against bike lanes

[@micosstar]

@@soaringstars314 well, vote with your vehicle

[@soaringstars314]

@@micosstar wdym

[@alexp8785]

We all here together lol

[@proletariennenaturiste]

Where are they supposed to stop?

[@pjrt_tv]

You failed to mention the most important part: bike lanes induces demand for biking. When bike lanes are safe and effective (they connect ppl to where they need to go), ppl buy bikes and bike to those locations instead of driving. We tend to forget just how much space a car takes, but it is a lot, so if we induce more biking via bike lanes, that means less cars on the road, which means faster travel times for cars.

[@apapods]

Drivers dont realize how beneficial having more cyclists on the road it is for them. Instead, they'd rather get stuck on traffic, killing the environment and blame cyclists on why they're getting fat

[@jazzfan7491]

Effective is key, as you say

[@erp2000]

Ya right bike lanes in chicago cause way more traffic

[@kju666]

@@erp2000 See, you're not seeing the full picture. Less than 5% of the population in American cities cycle to work, because it's not safe to cycle even with the presence of bike lanes, because there's no punishment for drivers to "temporarily" use the bike lanes. You're right in the way that if no one is using the bike lanes, they are indeed causing more traffic. But what needs to be done is punish car drivers who violate the safety of cyclists so more people will cycle instead of driving. Just watch this video (kzbin.info/www/bejne/bl7LaIKaoducgdE&ab_channel=BicycleDutch) and see how light the traffic is in The Netherlands because most people cycle instead of driving.

[@SpaceLOSER]

​@@erp2000 nice anecdote 🥵

[@jobt1999]

in the Netherlands we have bike highways

[@jmorris6520]

Want to adopt a stranger? Lmfao

[@cks0328]

And bike traffic lights lol

[@dempsey_mbk]

In belgium to lol

[@damianp7313]

Yea iv seen the most epic bike parking lot in Amsterdam.

[@jamalcole1985]

On earth we have weather. lol

[@YoniIsrael]

if the dutch people kept New Amsterdam then the traffic would have been much better

[@MuddinNYC]

Yea but it also wouldn't be a world city either. Didn't become a power house till the English moved in

[@SurprisinglyDeep]

@@MuddinNYC I don't think thats true. As a Canadian I think New York became a world power because its in America (the world's most resource rich country) and because hundreds of thousands of mostly hardworking immigrants moved there.

[@SurprisinglyDeep]

@@MuddinNYC I'm not saying the original immigrants to America from Britain weren't hardworking.

[@MatthewWenzel31]

Old Amsterdam wasn't cycle-friendly for a long time either. Over here in the states we should see that to realize that things can change.

[@YoniIsrael]

it is seems that some people here are not getting that this is a joke i'm not even duch

[@etunimi1208]

”But in New York city that number rises to 3%” - Laughs in European 😂😂

[@electrichanoi7244]

Georg yep, in Australia it gets upto 10% in some cities

[@archdukefranzferdinand567]

@@electrichanoi7244 Australia is my favourite part of Europe

[@teringarchief3860]

Archduke Franz Ferdinand This is why you were shot

[@campkira]

meh..

[@ralphr-c7156]

@@electrichanoi7244 That's still nothing.

[@FullForceDrummer]

Narrowing a parking space to 2.4m width. I, as a european, find this quite amusing xD

[@MuddinNYC]

American cars are bigger and wider.

[@romyan5382]

@Pretty Awesome Person But y'all don't have the big ass trucks we have here.

[@elonmush4793]

Then why do you drive around in a car that is the size of a small tank?

[@stefanbraem]

Romyan thank God we don’t have them... SUV’s and cross-overs are worse enough...

[@MrDeathray99]

@Pretty Awesome Person Uhm yes they are. Have you ever been to America or Canada? The cars there are massive, a pretty standard car you see outside a city is a Ford F150 which weigh 3-3.5 tonnes (other big SUV are in the same size range) compared to a more reasonably sized toyota corolla (pretty standard size car at least in my area) at 1-1.2 tonnes. Everything over there is bigger and every single building is far apart with car parks that take up acres for just 1 small shopping center.

[@altvctr]

It also works because people have started using bikes more and more out of frustration. Not having to wait in queues is liberating at times.

[@ej_tech]

The individual, independent mobility without the added bulk and emissions of a car.

[@andretsang7337]

I think a gigantic reason people in urban areas don't bike is that they feel unsafe. Make it safer, and people will bike!

[@jacksonanderson5288]

Andre Tsang Exactly, people feel it’s too dangerous and they’re right. Drivers will get mad at the bicyclist when the driver is actually not following the driving laws and the bicyclist is.

[@alanhonlunli]

In a city with growing population, there will always be more people wanting to drive. It's the turning buffer that makes the difference, not the additional bikes. But this video passes it off as a blurb in the last 5 seconds of the video and makes no reference of it in the title. Thumbs down for clickbait and politicizing traffic planning.

[@Rose_Butterfly98]

And when there's no bike lane, bikes let us slip through traffic jams.

[@ramochai]

Washington DC here. Although it’s relatively a walkable city (by US standards, not EU) my life drastically improved when I subscribed to the city bike share program. I had previously tried it in London a decade ago, but never knew how it would impact my everyday life so brilliantly. In the meantime our mayor is putting great efforts to make the city more bikable. Dear bikers, I love you all.

[@lastone032085]

yup. I'm planning on spending a lot of bike time in dc when the winter is over.

[@illhaveawtrplz]

Update from the future for this comment: DC’s mayor has recently started back-tracking on her promise around bike lanes and Vision Zero. Many lanes have been built and much progress has been made, but Bowser’s administration has made a notable shift towards coddling suburban commuters at the expense of her constituent’s lives with recent decisions such as the cancellation of the Connecticut Ave bike lanes.

[@LittleRadicalThinker]

5 lanes has a lot of lane changes, that is what slows everyone and everything.

[@Carewolf]

Yeah, everything over 3 lanes decreases effective throughput. Somehow that is lost on most American infrastructure planners.

[@TecrasTrash]

@@Carewolf Yes, also increasing lanes causes induced demand. More cars on the road BECAUSE more cars CAN FIT on the road. There's a reason why there's only one long section in the whole of the German Autobahn network that has four lanes. Most are two or three. It's the one around Frankfurt Airport and it's just because of the amount of cars merging onto the Autobahn at each interchange - works because only few people overtake on the right.

[@Carewolf]

@@TecrasTrash No. That is backwards thinking. We have many highways built that never ends up fully used. The expanded ones get filled up because they are less efficient.

[@peter1062]

That's what I thought. With so many lanes to choose from, cars must be weaving in and out all the time. Causing cars behind them to brake.

[@Lafv]

Carewolf Yeah it’s true that a lot of highways are underused. But for ones that are congested, adding lanes generally doesn’t help. Induced demand is a real thing in traffic engineering, you can look it up.

[@RuRaynor]

Cycling is one of the best ways to get around the city. Bikes don't make exhaust fumes and require a much smaller space for parking. They help keep the population fit. They're cheaper than cars to maintain, and free lower income people from the shackles of public transportation, which while a necessary part of any good city can present completely illogical routes to get somewhere. It's time to embrace the bike.

[@xmateinc]

TRUE

[@cactusman1771]

Then winter comes and bikes become the worst option.

[@wingn3849]

Try lugging around the family on a bike 😂

[@danikawest5247]

@@wingn3849 Biking with families can actually be great! Check out electric cargo bikes - cheaper than minivans and more fun, plus all the health benefits! And there are even more options out there. www.nytimes.com/2015/04/23/style/families-ditch-cars-for-cargo-bikes.html cupofjo.com/2015/09/riding-bikes-with-two-three-kids-brooklyn/

[@julecaesara482]

@@cactusman1771 in NY that is a good point. For a European, snow in cities that won't be gone by either weather conditions or public street workers throwing around salt after a few hours is a rare experience

[@1stNightingale]

It's almost as if America is actually learning from the rest of the world

[@Caswell19]

Only New York. Rest of the country still doesn’t understand.

[@stefanbraem]

They’re thinking that there will soon be bikes with V8’s

[@MilwaukeeWoman]

@@Caswell19 You're wrong. Even small cities like West Allis, Wisconsin are adding bike lanes and have bike rental racks everywhere. If you left your bubble you'd see that. Milwakee has bike lanes and a streetcar that will be expanding. Madison, Wisconsin rates higher than NY for bicycling.

[@米空軍パイロット]

I know how to respond to this. It's just like with metric people: There are two types of countries. Those with bike lanes and those who have been to the moon. I'm just kidding. Don't take this seriously.

[@archdukefranzferdinand567]

@@米空軍パイロット I get it was a joke but your name is in Chinese

[@stefanbraem]

As a European, I find it hilarious that this is considered as new and groundbreaking in the US, while I can’t even imagine a road without a bike lane 😆

[@MuddinNYC]

No one here considers it new or groundbreaking. We know Europe has it. In fact our politicians visited your cities to copy it. Bike Lanes also believe it or not originated in the US but were mostly removed to make space for cars in the 40s. Eventually we will remake them, probably destroy them again after and repeat for all of history

[@MilwaukeeWoman]

@@val4414 Plenty of Americans live without a car. I didn't get a car until I was 30. I got a job far out that public transit didn't accommodate.

[@stephlrideout]

@@MuddinNYC oh there are PLENTY of people in north America who don't know Europe has so many bike lanes and who think they are terrible. I'm from a city where people actively campaign against them.

[@stephlrideout]

@GoldenShower Potato if only there were younger people growing up behind them, what a shame (my uncle is nearly 70 and rides his bike every day)

[@AvgJane19]

@@MilwaukeeWoman depends on where in the country you are

[@tahimig1]

As a person living in the Netherlands, i love to watch videos about american cycling infrastructure. Mostly just to laugh at how terrible it is.

[@likira111]

Highfives from Denmark.

[@mardiffv.8775]

I agree that American bike infra is in its infancy (kinderschoenen), but it is a start. The Dutch and Danes have a 40 year headstart. So any bike infra is better then no bike infra at all. Groetjes, Vriend.

[@sidjtd]

Not a put down but a small country with a population of a shared and similar culture combined with a government that can get away with “trying stuff” more without the ability to be sued as easily as US municipalities makes a huge difference that has people with competing views and interests much more diverse than in the Netherlands

[@conversationtosaurusrex]

I mean your country has a babysitting service it calls Prison, you have no right to judge

[@elijahr.775]

Every country has its problems

[@vlada35989]

I absolutely love the 1.5m buffer + 2.4m parking lane idea! In my city (east EU) we got decent amount of bike lanes, but they are separated by just a paint marking from the rest of the traffic. That makes me quite nervous, since the cars are driving with around 80km/, just centimeters away from me. As a result, I gave up trying to commute with the bike, now ride it just for fun in parks and such.

[@PublicHealthAdvocate]

:31 if you can't fit the dude riding a bike decal in what you are attempting to call a "bike lane" it's TOO NARROW. Nice video~!

[@noisycarlos]

Haha, true! PS, if you put a '0' before the :31 (as in 0:31) KZbin makes it into a clickable timecode ;-)

[@jannetteberends8730]

In the Netherlands a one way bike lane has to be a minimum of 2 meter. (6.6 feet)

[@frankhooper7871]

@Jannette Berends - consider yourself lucky; most UK cycle lanes are more like 1.5m wide...and often [even at that width] bi-directional...and often shared with pedestrians. Also, they usually disappear at junctions - where they're needed most!

[@timpauwels3734]

At the end they make it sound like a turning lane is a new and special idea...

[@nosten5276]

Indeed :) You couldn't possible have them without bike lanes, though.

[@skripnigor]

more bike lanes => more people switch from cars to bikes => less traffic

[@readisgooddewaterkant7890]

i wa sthinking the same way too

[@elliotgengler3185]

But they also mentioned that "traffic volume," the total number of cars going through each of the roads, was kept the same.

[@AndreS_-df2nw]

Not the case in Seattle. They still spend $7M/mile putting inbike lanes. A few use them, when it's nice. Some use them when it's not, but not nearly the number they claim.

[@skripnigor]

AndreS123_03 That’s true. Bike lanes are not a silver bullet. They only work: a) in mild climates; b) for healthy people. Efficient and comfortable public transport is a much more reliable solution to the traffic problem, but it is very complex and needs huge investments. City governments probably view bikes as a quick and cheap fix. And apparently sometimes bikes really do the job.

[@skripnigor]

Jonathan F damn I always forget about emojis 😁

[@SupremeLeaderKimJong-un]

My people like to use bikes and the Metro in Pyongyang, that’s why you don’t really see any cars

[@jacksonanderson5288]

Kim Jong-un You’re chubby.

[@alb4150]

@@jacksonanderson5288 rude

[@jacksonanderson5288]

Lil Alb Calm down, that’s a compliment in North Korea.

[@turkicfish]

Your people are starving

[@15DJONYX]

Ahh yes of course

[@Eli20021_]

If everybody would bike, you would get through Manhattan in 40 minutes or so

[@filonin2]

You do know it snows in New York, right? For months?

[@StephenSmith304]

Do you have something against wearing a jacket?

[@EugeneAyindolmah]

@@filonin2 so does Amsterdam

[@filonin2]

@@StephenSmith304 Will a jacket make it possible for a bicycle to traverse multiple feet of snow in a blizzard? No, but it will make it easier to find your frozen corpse later. I'll stay in modern times in my heated metal box, safe from the elements. You can take you quaint pennyfarthing over to your tent in the park.

[@StephenSmith304]

Last I checked, "modern" metal boxes don't work well in multiple feet of snow. Unless you own a tank, you're not going to have the undercarriage clearance for heavy snow. A bike, however, has no undercarriage, so throw on a hakkapeliitta studded tire and you're good to slice through practically any depth.

[@SkyRocket159]

"How Expanding Bike Lanes Can Actually Decrease Traffic" Like it isn't obvious already.

[@Theleaver5088]

To some drivers its not

[@Pikkabuu]

Not to Americans. FYI Prager U has a video stating that cars equal freedum and so supporting other ways of commuting is communism.

[@idromano]

Because it isn't. It's very counter-intuitive, so I don't blame people for thinking like this. Keep in mind that our brain evolved to simplify our worlds, this is why cognitive biases are everywhere on everyone for instance.

[@patriot9487]

@@PikkabuuPragerU is heeb drivel

[@MCLSK1]

Just within the past few months, my town has transformed all of our busiest streets to be more bike friendly via wide bike lanes and reduced a few roads from 4 traffic lanes to 2 in the process. Because it's still recent and there is no buffer, many drivers are treating the new bike lanes as traffic lanes and will drive down them for miles thinking nothing of it. While I was excited about the prospects of finally being safe while biking, I think Americans as a whole need to reevaluate the current "I own the road, don't test me" social undertone that is so pervasive throughout most of the US before much good will come from these changes.

[@leandrog2785]

The bike lane should be separated by poles. They don't need to be strong, just able to remain upright and un-stealable. Drivers wouldn't run over them. The poles should be shorter than the height of the handlebars.

[@ClamorDiGilgamesh]

Right? These people really do act like they own the road, and if you're on a bike YOU'RE the problem. I literally don't feel safe riding a bike on the street, but there is no where to ride where I live. They'd rather run someone over than quit being self absorbed. If it were safe to ride bikes in the US I would bike rather than drive.

[@dutmala]

Spend a week in a dutch city and you have the proof you need

[@johanwittens7712]

4:50 These turn pockets are a really bad idea because they're incredibly dangerous for the cyclists. A car that has to make a left turn here will have a massive blindspot for cyclists coming up from behind. In the Netherlands and other countries they're making an effort to INCREASE the turning circle and distance to decrease the possibility of collisions with cyclists. It would be way better if that "pocket" was removed so that cars turning left are at a 90 degree angle or at least 45 degree angle with the bike lane when turning, immensely increasing the visibility of cyclists for drivers, completely removing the blind spot from the equation. As also shown this pocket is often used at intersections by drivers to then turn left partially and block the cycle lane as they wait for pedestrians, forcing cyclists out on the car lane. This is really, really bad and dangerous road design and has been known to be for decades in Europe, especially the Netherlands. They have the masters of bike infra to look too that tested all this decades ago, yet they still implement dangerous road design because car traffic might experience a tiny bit of hindrance. That's insane... Also narrower lanes automatically increase traffic flow as speeds go down, drivers drive more cautiously, and dangerous manoeuvres become less likely and common. It has very little to do with wether or not there's a bike lane or silly and dangerous "turning pockets".

[@soaringstars314]

They actually made a video talking about right hook crashes and how to fix that which isn't the one that they presented here 🤔

[@ActionKid]

Great video on the effect of bike lanes on traffic! I’ve noticed this effect personally. When infrastructure is changed, the city evolves to grow with it. There is still much for New York to improve.

[@devilboy251]

ActionKid they don’t evolve they move away. Not sure if you noticed but people are fleeing New York and California.

[@umairsiddiqui9900]

@@devilboy251 You are telling me that bike lanes are the sole reason for people leaving NYC? Not the incompetent leadership, rising cost of living/ gentrification, or changing demographics as more people are moving to surrounding cities in NJ and LI which is why the population of the metropolitan area is rising

[@mardiffv.8775]

Even the Dutch are still improving their bike infra and the Dutch are working for over 40 years on their bike infra. So improving bike infra never ends, but gets better all the time.

[@jjc5475]

nobody: dutch people: colonized!!!!

[@crasho]

Makker, wat is dat voor Angelsaksisch gebrabbel.

[@julesb6816]

GEKOLONISEERD*

[@Avi2Nyan]

@@julesb6816 Seg makker, spel het dan goed. Het is *GEKOLONISEERD

[@jannetteberends8730]

🤣😂🤣

[@joostvanassenbergh180]

G E K O L O N I S E E R D

[@Johntheblack99]

So the real benefit was using the buffer zone to move turning vehicles out of the street and let traffic flow freely. The stop and start from turns was the problem. Adding bike lanes is a great side effect that should be more ubiquitous in the US but the real reason is the change to traffic flow.

[@CharlesLambert137]

Definitely add more bike lanes but, as you point out, the real benefit to less congestion and speedier commutes (less idling/driving = less pollution, too) is to add turn lanes on busy streets. Way too simple a concept for most gov't bureaucrats, tho, lol.

[@brawndo8726]

Not necessarily. Lookup "road diets" which show increased flow as a result of fewer lanes changes. In this video, they narrowed the lanes which leaves less room for aggressive maneuvers.

[@matieking]

Not completely true. In long term, as seen in Amsterdam and Copenhagen, making biking more attractive by creating bikelanes reduces traffic massively as more people will start biking.

[@MilwaukeeWoman]

@@matieking If Americans find out that the bike lanes have made car commutes faster we'll be even happier to drive. Some of us, anyway. The older ones, lol.

[@stephlrideout]

@@MilwaukeeWoman and that's totally ok, because it will also make others more comfortable biking. Driving isn't the problem, unbalanced transit strategies are

[@vincewhite5087]

Once you properly punish car obsessed culture, people look for different ways rather then drive.

[@gabrielrussell5531]

All the footage is of people walking in the bike lane or cutting you off when they turn with their car. Your cyclist needs to scream at the people and threaten them with being smacked by their bike lock.

[@jmorris6520]

The way drivers act towards cyclists in ny is crazy. They'll be mad at you for biking in the bike lane and not letting them ride in front if you.

[@DiamondCalibre]

That's what I was thinking. Have a tire iron and charge a fee of one window every time you get cut off.

[@gabrielrussell5531]

@@DiamondCalibre I always have my U-bar resting on my wrist. I have it handy if anyone starts something. Oddly I've also had a lot of pedestrians threaten me when I told them to get out of the bike lane. They're threatening an armed giant who has the balls to bike in New York. In what scenario do they see that ending well for them?

[@DDRWakaLaka]

@@DiamondCalibre what an edgy little baby you are. Buy a car, fuckboy

[@Peizxcv]

Bikes have no place on the streets of New York. We have subway, we have bus, we have Uber/Lyft and we have wide sidewalks. Having a bunch of people that don’t follow the traffic right-of-way nor any traffic signal nor maintain their bikes have led to an increase in pedestrian injuries by bikers.

[@dyslexiksteve]

I ride in London and its so much better now we have bike lanes. The parts that don't are hard to get around and I avoid them and will go out of my way if there is a route with lanes. In London they took a number of car lanes out to get the bike in. This promoted the bike lanes and stopped people using there private cars. Now we have traffic jams on the bike Lanes as there is some many bike😂

[@SurprisinglyDeep]

Good for you Londoners! I'm not being sarcastic I'm being sincere. Also those bicyclists are doing their bit to help keep the air clear.

[@novuutheneolf3073]

Jay Foreman has made a great video about this matter!

[@Ambergetahobby]

It's amazing that in the US we feel the need to maintain the same number of vehicle lanes to add bike lanes while other places can remove traffic lanes and still see success

[@GreyscaleNightmares]

Amber Berg mostly stems from a sense of entitlement that western culture puts on us, why would they sacrifice any space, their cars are big and expensive, and they are the most important on the road. It’s a super common attitude in America, and Canada (where I happen to live as well)

[@Lolimaster]

And sadly that culture expanded to central and southamerica.

[@gugugua]

Hey Cheddar, a Taiwanese translation is submitted and is waiting for approval.

[@pianofortesam7951]

對台灣人來說可能建立完整的機車專用道大家比較有感哈哈哈~

[@ThatSilentGuy]

You mean Mandarin or traditional Chinese? "Taiwanese" is just a dialect.

[@Ad-rien]

How do you submit a translation ?

[@jeremiasrobinson]

I lived in LA for a while. Whenever I was on those chaotic freeways I imagined them being converted into the world's greatest bike paths.

[@noytelinu]

In downtown there are the wide green bike lanes now. With them and new metro train lines hopefully things can improve.

[@xaagripha7326]

Lol yeah right the people are the reason that place is a shit hole and I know I'm from Vegas a earthquake would be a start more like it.

[@dbclass4075]

There is some space adjacent to the motorway. Maybe a dedicated bike road (or bike motorway) perhaps?

[@ixlnxs]

Give it twenty years maximum, and even LA and Dubai will have become bicycle cities. And no, the heat is not an issue. Bikers create their own breeze, and trees along the route work wonders. Just ask Napoleon, who planted trees along every road to give his soldiers shade.

[@KxemonPlayz]

There used to be bicycle highways in LA or so I think because 1 person said that.

[@michel_dutch]

This summer, I visited Portland, a city that supposedly has got a relatively good cycling infrastructure. So, does it? ... I'll keep my rant to myself and just say it was enormously disappointing. No offense, love the country, but as far as cycling goes, the USA has light years to go.

[@compmojster]

Wait, you actually didn't have dedicated left turn on the 1st avenue before bike lane? Wtf

[@vivalacarlo]

Welcome to new york, most ppl dont signal ahead so its annoying af when they randomly slow down to turn and youre behind. I do it to tailgaters 😆

[@bserum]

All the pedestrians walking in the bike lanes. So typical.

[@mardiffv.8775]

Here in the Netherlands, peds also walking in the bike lanes. Very annoying.

[@xaagripha7326]

Just becuase you ride a bike dosnt mean we have to convince you, and its called the extended side walk now. Expect the new law to be enforced with karate kicks and fish wire.

[@mardiffv.8775]

@@xaagripha7326 no, it is called a bike lane. And in the Netherlands peds can only walk there to cross the bikelane, or in lieu of a sidewalk. If there is a sidewalk peds must walk there. Sidewalks are off limits for bikes. Seperation of transport modes.

[@ixlnxs]

@@xaagripha7326 I don't know about which laws you are talking (what country? what city? no need to clarify, ma'am?) but in most places a bike lane is for bikes and neither cars nor pedestrians are welcome there. Just like you wouldn't tolerate cars on the pavement. I don't even stop for them, I just ring my bell and make them jump aside. Their bad.

[@Grumpy_old_Boot]

Damn, if you walk on the bicycle lane here in Copenhagen, you run a big chance of getting run over by a bicycle. 😆

[@skpjoecoursegold366]

bikers are commuters, too.

[@ixlnxs]

Yes, and so are pedestrians. I hate it when Americans talk about pedestrians, cyclists and mass transit as opposed to "traffic". They are traffic too.

[@brawndo8726]

1% are bikers and 99% are missing out.

[@MilwaukeeWoman]

I'm missing out on getting rained on, snowed on, getting heat stroke, freezing, and getting hit by a car. I'm missing out on not being able to transport things easily including my dogs. I'm missing out on not having a cup holder to sip my coffee and a radio to listen to whatever. I don't mind. I don't have FOMO. I use my bicycle for leisure on perfect days on a carless dedicated path that used to be train tracks. I don't risk my life on a bicycle.

[@christianbarnay2499]

@@MilwaukeeWoman Good clothing resolves all your weather problems. You can use some of the time gained from avoiding traffic jams for a shower and change and still have enough time for a morning coffee in a comfortable sofa while chatting with colleagues instead of alone in your car. Portable radios existed before car radios and are still available. Most dogs would prefer jogging behind your bike than sitting in a car. So you can do pretty much everything with a bike and keep your car for that once in a week/month moment when you need to transport large things. You'll gain on gas cost, time, stress and your dogs will love you even more.

[@cactusman1771]

@@christianbarnay2499 So how does good clothing prevent you from slipping on black ice?

[@Xachremos]

@@christianbarnay2499 I'm not pedaling my ass 13km one way in a deluge when I can be at my workplace in a quarter of the time if I take my car, with zero effort. If traffic was really a problem I'd just take my motorcycle. Bicycles are for leisure, in non congested areas, not commuting. Get a motorcycle if you want to slip through traffic.

[@Xachremos]

@@cactusman1771 it doesnt this guy is a tool for cycling in the winter and in the rain.

[@geo5106]

4:39 as a cyclist, these people walking on the bike lane and traveling In The opposite direction are the most cancerous of all!!!!

[@MilwaukeeWoman]

Proof wider sidewalks are needed and less width for bike lanes.

[@Demonic_Culture_Nut]

@@MilwaukeeWoman No, wider sidewalks, same width if not wider for bike lanes, fewer car lanes.

[@conception3509]

As a cyclist, it's also too bad we can observe 5:06 in this video

[@guicho271828]

@@conception3509 I was looking for this comment. The bicycle must yield to pedestrians.

[@conception3509]

@@guicho271828 i gotta say though when I rewatched it, it seems there's a green traffic light to the left... bit awkward setup. As if it's british :). So now I don't know. Still the whole situation breathes inexperience in combining bikes and pedestrians this way.

[@JulianGommers]

Hahaha so funny to see these numbers from the US. You’re showing as if it’s all so revolutionary while in The Netherlands it’s already put in place since the ‘70s with great succes!

[@NOMADdaf]

And a tiny fraction of the cars. And tiny cars. And tiny houses. And people living minimalist life style compared to the US. I take it my way thanks.

[@kevinaguilar7541]

@@NOMADdaf hey it's a culture preference. But it is a fact that we Americans are doing road infrastructure the wrong way.

[@lennon2490]

**sees this video** **LAUGHS IN DUTCH**

[@stephlrideout]

You missed the most basic reasons bike lanes decrease traffic.... Better infrastructure means more cyclists and thus fewer drivers, especially for people making short trips. Bikes are also smaller than cars and more maneuverable, so you need less space per vehicle overall. Come on Cheddar get your mid century city planning straight

[@Robbedem]

Even after making the lanes smaller, they still are 12ft (3,66m). In Europe many lanes are only 3m wide. So the original road: 13ft + 3*12ft + 11ft = 60ft (18,3m) could have easily been divided into 4 lanes + parking lane and TWO bike lanes (one for each side of the road). 4x10ft + 8ft + 2 x 6ft Why waste so much space?

[@gabetalks9275]

I think it's because cars in the US are generally larger than those in Europe. At least, that's what it seems like just by eyeballing the difference in car sizes.

[@anneonymous4884]

Fat people -> fat cars -> sprawling development -> car dependency -> more fat people. It's a vicious cycle.

[@Anthracite_coal]

@@anneonymous4884 I mean, I've known atleast 3 tiny woman by now who own those giant ass pickup trucks...

[@allstarwoo4]

I don't ride a bike but pedestrians need to GET OUT OF THE BIKE LANE. Unless they rather have bikes back on the sidewalk, they're defeating the purpose of bike lanes.

[@chrisklugh]

I wonder with narrower lanes, it reduces the sight down the road from drivers in such a way to reduce changing lanes for a 'faster lane'. Lane changes slow down traffic more then anything. If people just stayed in the most appropriate lane for their destination, all drivers would benefit.

[@emilekroth100]

As a Swede I really don't get why you don't bike instead of going by car. From my experience biking is a lot faster for going around a city than driving.

[@wreckingopossum]

When I first got my job I was living with my parents 37 miles from where I worked. I did not want to travel 37 miles (59.55 km) to and from work everyday (each way) using a bicycle Also, there were no dedicated bike lanes for most of the trip. When I moved out on my own I moved to 6 miles (9.67 km) away from work but the dedicated bike trail goes an extra 3 miles (4.83 km) out of the way making the total commute by bicycle 9 miles (14.48 km) each way whereas the commute by car is just 6 miles (9.67 km) each way. The speed limit for 4 of those 6 miles is 70 mph (112.65 kph) and people generally travel it at 85 mph (136.79 kph) I know many people who work here who live 50 miles (80.47 km) from here (for some it is more) Which of these commutes is faster by bike than car?

[@ExtraD0G]

So the decrease in traffic seemed to be less due to the entrinsic existence of a bike lane, but rather to the addition of a separate left-turn buffer zone for cars.

[@stephlrideout]

There are lots of other reasons that they inexplicably didn't cover in this video.....

[@pappy9473]

The guy coming to the Zebra crossing at the end of the video looked to suggest the bicycle user should stop/slow down. This is typical of pedestrians unfamiliar with the significanty low danger of bicycles. With a modicum of urban knowhow he could have crossed without breaking his stride.

[@leandrog2785]

It seems to me that when there are few bikes on the lane, the pedestrians should adapt to the bikes. Because a pedestrian can accelerate and decelerate very easily and quickly with negligible extra effort. This is not the case for a bike.

[@TheJan1101]

Bikes make up 1% of the commutes, in NY 3% and in my home town in Germany its 38 % (!). Not to mention the Netherlands...

[@simonkraemer3725]

Your from Münster? I'm from Berlin and even we have 18% although it's sometimes not the greatest experience to ride your bike here ^^

[@Rockster1989]

CLIFF NOTES: Adding bike lanes with a buffer, allows for making a separate left turning lane for the cars, which otherwise would hold up the traffic.

[@vincenthellsing5655]

all those pedestrians walking on the bike lane..... I don't bike myself and would often like to punch pushy/needy bikers on the walkway. but those pedestrians on the bike lane trigger me just as much. I'd like to allow spikes and blades on bikes driving on the bike lane >:)

[@SurprisinglyDeep]

@Mycel If people in both Amsterdam and NYC are both dumb enough to walk in bike lanes, they deserve to be startled. Here in British Columbia Canada most people here have the good sense to know not to walk in bike lanes like they are sidewalks

[@MilwaukeeWoman]

Are the sidewalks overcrowded? Maybe that needs to be addressed.

[@SurprisinglyDeep]

@@MilwaukeeWoman Unfortunately because of how New York is built, unless they demolish some buildings to make more walking paths or turn some car lanes into large sidewalks theres little that NYC can do to make itself more pedestrian friendly

[@AnthonyBrusca]

@@SurprisinglyDeep Yes, you remove another car lane for a wider sidewalk to go along with the bike lane and bus lane.

[@SurprisinglyDeep]

@@AnthonyBrusca Yeah, exactly

[@lucymarie8611]

We need this where I live. We’ve had way too many bike vs car related fatalities because we don’t have bike lanes and the bike lanes we do have are hard to see. We’ve also have had an increase of pedestrian vs car fatalities.

[@erp2000]

Most of it comes from careless bike riders that don't follow the rules of the road I see it every day blow though red lights and stop signs then they want to cry when they get hit

[@bstephan5224]

We need to free our cities from cars. and roads. and bridges. and concrete. We need high class public transportation.

[@johndonaldson3619]

AMERICA - we want FATTER cars for our FATTER bodies!!

[@fatted3004]

Please add more bike lanes in Brooklyn. (Especially Nostrand Ave and Rogers Ave). Thanks!

[@tomdevries4655]

Dutch ppl.watching this like 🤭 👁️👄👁️

[@kazimir8086]

I live in Europe, and we have a pretty neet public transport system.

[@DanuProductions]

Well we have a functioning one

[@learnmyname123]

I like the idea of public transportation, but it only works well within a medium sized city or bigger, or when connection two or more cities. In the US we have many many small towns and isolated towns that would be uneconomical to put light rail or even a huge bus system.

[@archdukefranzferdinand567]

@@bulldozer8997 no it isn't. European public transportation is miles ahead of America's

[@archdukefranzferdinand567]

@@bulldozer8997 I literally explained it in the next sentence

[@archdukefranzferdinand567]

@@bulldozer8997 You stated that transportation in the Midwest was "no problem at all.", despite the fact that the best American public transportation infrastructure pales in comparison to European public transportation.

[@DiegoMartinez-ti1vd]

52% of all car trips are 3 miles or less in the U.S. 75% less than 10 miles. We each roll around in a giant 2 ton bubble and we wonder why we have horrible mental health, pollution, traffic, kids don’t want to go outside, financial burden, etc etc Cars are a huge catalyst for many of our problems

[@trebledc]

Only disable should use motor vehicles all other should ride a bike to work.

[@iamadrien460]

in the netherlands this problem was solved 50 years ago

[@Oli4Post]

If you want real change, you have to change the paradigm. Don't talk about "cars" and " bikes": It's the throughput of people using various ways of transportation. Now, look again and you see low throughput of humans using all the space (in cars) versus high throughput of humans using almost no space (bikes). I see a clear winner, and without using health or green environmental arguments. Just logic. So, yes, I'm Dutch and have 4(!) bikes but I also have 4 (!) cars (though 3 of them are oldtimers). I'm not at all against cars but it doesn't make sense to go to the city center in a car. I go on a bike. And it doesn't make sense to go through a city center in a car. I go around it.

[@Lunavii_Cellest]

And thats how it should be, cycling for near destinations except when you need a car like going to ikea and for destinations that are just illogical for cars, like city centers

[@jjc5475]

protected bike lines? where are the metal poles and concrete ridges...

[@thenoicemango1827]

john pardon Bruh. It just means it’s designated for bikes by the law. Just like we have protected left turns and unprotected left turns.

[@emily-pg2bi]

For a lot of bike lanes in Canada, there’s ridges on the ground so cars can’t drive in the lane.

[@thenoicemango1827]

Yellow Penguin Yes But bikes also share the road with cars so when their isn’t a protected bike lane they have to share the road with cars.

[@jjc5475]

@@emily-pg2bi yeah in the Netherlands we have concrete ridges and poles.

[@siegosaurus4957]

@@jjc5475 ja he? Ik d8 't ook al ik woon in Twente en we hebben gewoon een aparte weg met iets van 2 meter gras ertussen.

[@micklumsden3956]

Urban planners should visit the Netherlands! So many people cycle here that there is much less congestion from motor-vehicles. The cities are quieter and less polluted, and fewer children die.

[@sbl17jackson37]

Protected bike lanes should be mandatory on every street.

[@Lunavii_Cellest]

That would cost alot of money and is sometimes not needed, in the netherlands there is a rule where any road/street with a speed above 50kmph needs seperated cycling infrastructure, and with 30kmph its not needed altough if its busy they will ad cycling lanes and sometimes even protected cyclung infrastructure, but on less bussy streets they will just ad loads of speedbumbs and raised crossing so that if a crash would to happen it won't be a fatal one

[@Marco_Onyxheart]

Call me Dutch, but this seems pretty obvious. Every bicyclist is a car off the road. Total volume of traffic decreases. Less obvious is that adding car lanes actually increases traffic.

[@Lady_Caster]

A couple of seconds into the video * Hey it's Actionkid! :D *

[@yoitsniam]

Could be much better but love the progress NYC is doing so far. They should look at places like the Netherlands and emulate that experience is great! NYC bike lanes is by far prefect thru out the entire city and I’m not a fan of the all of the road’s supporting both cars, buses and bikes instead do what places like Amsterdam does & have a car network and a bike network and replace buses w/ a tram line that’s fast & efficient & doesn’t get stuck in traffic. There are areas in cities like Amsterdam where some roads are exclusively for cars and other roads exclusively for bikes (and trams in the middle) because they have separate networks for cars and bikes. Sharing is great & love the protected bike lanes but not a fan of the constant sharing is a very awful inefficient way to do things-the Dutch way is just better for everyone.

[@noytelinu]

I wish I had more bike lanes around me. I do not dare to go in traffic without them. And riding on the sidewalk is "illegal"

[@macaroon_nuggets8008]

@Mycel um...

[@SurprisinglyDeep]

My rule of thumb: 1) Ride on sidewalks in areas with few or no pedestrians on them 2) Only ride between 5 and 10kmph 3) Ride in the right lane whenever possible when biking in a downtown area with lots of pedestrians on the sidewalks. Riding in and around Vancouver BC Canada there have been at least 5 times where a cop driving by saw me biking on sidewalks with few or no people on them and didn't do anything about it. I'm grateful to those cops. In contrast, one time I ended up on the sidewalk on the main drag. A cop was called in and gave me a verbal warning within 5 minutes.

[@kippgoeden]

Living in the Midwest where cars rule the road, and heading to NYC where there are hundreds of cyclists really made me hate the Midwest. I fucking despise owning a car that I have to constantly maintain, draining my funds every couple months. If my city were designed around bikes it would be wonderful, but I don’t see that happening anytime soon with my broke as a joke neighborhood. Thought America was supposed to be innovative. In reality it’s all about money and selling you a car.

[@HuLou]

Brilliant! We could use the entire road for a bike lane, so there wouldn’t be any car traffic!

[@matieking]

Would actually work wonders, car traffic is mostly banned in inner city Amsterdam and Copenhagen, and the cities are better for it.

[@MilwaukeeWoman]

In the United States the companies would relocate their offices to the suburbs.

[@revimfadli4666]

@@MilwaukeeWoman good, moves traffic from criss-crossing the city to ringroad/perimeter/bypass traffic instead

[@likira111]

Also known as the entire city of Copenhagen.

[@ixlnxs]

There's no point in allowing cars into all streets at all times. Where I live the whole neighbourhood is for pedestrians, cyclists, and playing children for most of the time. Cars and trucks are allowed in for deliveries from 6 to 10 in both the morning and evening from monday to saturday. House prices were double those of the surrounding "carfriendly" districts until they switched too.

[@LarsaXL]

Look at a bike, then look at a car, then look back at the bike. Now think of how many bikes you could cram into the space occupied by one car. And we are surprised that bikes causes traffic to go down?

[@jizzlecizzle1388]

Kudos for integrating SI units.

[@kal6650]

Cycling for 2 years in manhattan, i see lot of new bike lanes, but the trucks are still blocking the bike lanes and pedestrian are walking on bike lane especially on 8th ave between 42nd and 56th street.

[@aldeenatar4147]

Come on Florida! Let's get with the times! Who am I kidding. I'm just some spoiled workout cyclist who just wants a protected lane lol. But the traffic improvement though.

[@kookamunga2458]

Painted bike lanes are a joke . The only solution are protected bike lanes . We need bike lanes with seven inch concrete barriers separating the cyclists and the lazy slobs in the stink- mobiles and yes I also own a stink-mobile .

[@MultiKwolf]

if the dutch people kept New Amsterdam then the traffic would have been much better

[@JarrodBaniqued]

As I see it, traffic is kind of like water. There are studies that show congestion is caused by wave-like patterns of bunching, for example. Maybe narrower car lanes increase car speeds for a constant volume, the same way narrower pipes lead to faster flow.

[@AgentOracle]

It was the left turn lane. The narrower lanes allowed NYC to put in a left turn lane, which allowed people to turn left without clogging the left lane.

[@farazr2]

Narrower pipes lead to faster velocity, but slower flow. It decreases the volume of fluid per unit time, in spite of that volume moving more distance per second. It would lead to more congestion ahead of the narrowing

[@hatedumb]

It's settled We just need a motherfucking Sun that evaporates all the traffic GOT IT

[@JarrodBaniqued]

AgentOracle Faraz Rahman I got that from the video pretty well, thanks. In essence, more space for left turn lanes = “relief valves”. Still, my point stands for a “big picture” view of traffic management.

[@alexpro8843]

@@hatedumb with the vapor created from that evaporaration, create a turbine that bases of steam pressure in order to work, then make the turbing feed into a catapult that yeets cars into a destination instead of using highways. Its infinite energy.

[@kennethalarcon440]

There’s nothing more beautiful than riding a bike in nyc. Everyone should try it it’s an amazing experience

[@elonmush4793]

never trust and edited comment

[@F1ll1nTh3Blanks]

Bike lanes in cities like here in London create a TON of congestion because they eat up road space and are physically segregated from the roads so commerce and public transport can't access them when cyclists are not using them. Personally I think they should have stayed with the variable public transport and cycle lane hybrid system, if necessary close it during rush hour and peak times but other than that.. Less hold up and standing pollution should be the goal surely.. 🤔 It is good for me because it makes it easier for me to get around when I am cycling but when I am not getting around can be a nightmare at times.

[@kmturley1]

Also safer bike lanes mean more people biking instead of taking cars/taxis/ride-sharing...

[@curlyvideos]

Unlike the bike lane's buffer, no purpose is served by all the empty filler in this video

[@cristiansoutside]

Wish my city would implement this. I would love to bike to work

[@Coastfog]

Make yourself heard in your city, you have agency. :) They're changing a lot about traffic flow and bike lanes in my city and I love it. Now I rarely even use public transport anymore because I have a bike sharing flatrate and it's getting a little safer to ride every day.

[@TorontoDrops]

Riding downtown here is like a death trap. Glass on the bike lane floor everywhere thrown by people that hate cyclist. Bad bumpy broken roads. Constant UBER and delivery guys parking in the bike lane making you have to overtake in the vehicle lane. Drivers speeding by missing you by inches.

[@airgunningyup]

the one way it does work is by making vehicle drivers more miserable in the city.. This way , theyre more prone to taking the subway

[@red2theelectricboogaloo961]

okay dude. or it takes riders off of cars because there are less people in giant metal boxes thus making it more space efficient

[@elliotcowell3139]

I have not sat stationary while travelling on a bicycle for more than about a minute and a half (Traffic lights...) ever. Whats the point of having a vehicle capable of 100+mph if you can only ever go 5, my 20 mph leg wheels can go full blast all the time

[@daviddavidson6278]

Truuuuue. Cars in the downtown was a crazy experiment and I think we all see how disastrous it has been.

[@nosson2842]

Thanks New York

[@christianbarnay2499]

So the initial problems were: 1. no buffer lane for turning vehicles in a highly congested area, 2. lanes that were so wide that there was in fact enough space for 2 more lanes (bike lane + buffer area). And people complain about the lack of living space in modern cities. Let's start by reducing all roads to reasonable widths and recover all that wasted land to increase our living space.

[@archlinuxrussian]

Meanwhile my city is having some protesting voices over going from a 4 lane to a 2.5 (.5=centre turn lane) lane street with bike lanes in downtown xD on a street that in no way needs four whole lanes.

[@NZH00]

Which city is that?

[@brycehins206]

Is the 0.5 of the 2.5 the bike lane? Or, are people driving half-cars?

[@archlinuxrussian]

@@brycehins206 as in one lane going one way, another going the opposite, and a centre turn lane (sorry for the confusion). It'll have parking still, along with bike lanes.

[@dbclass4075]

@@archlinuxrussian Do you mean a reversible lane, or turning lane?

[@archlinuxrussian]

@@dbclass4075 turning lane. Has the dashed yellow lines on each side :)

[@laurakoelling]

I can only speak to my experience, but it’s been a total fail. When I travel in St. Louis on Choteau, where they took two lanes and took away one and made one into a bike lane traffic is backed up all the time. Oh, and I’ll add it I’d like to know all the zeros of bikers I see riding down Chouteau every day. 🙄

[@catprog]

Does the bike lane connect to other bike lanes?

[@maikstegeman9223]

Why is this so logical to western Europe but not the rest of the world

[@apapods]

It is logical for every cities in the world. No one just wants to invest in the time and effort it will take to make it successful.

[@Lunavii_Cellest]

@@apapods expect the netherlands

[@siriosstar4789]

Very good video . there should have been more emphasis on travel times for bikes compared to cars , hopefully resulting in more bike riding and less car driving . To focus only on the cars travel time legitimizes the continued use of cars in cities when the goals should be to reduce ICE travel .

[@RudieObias]

NYC drivers are the worst! I'm always afraid I'm going to get hit by a car and the driver is just going to drive off because they're in a rush.

[@aeiouaeiou100]

For anyone interested in what is possible with cycling infrastructure if you heavily invest in it, have a look at 'BicycleDutch' KZbin channel. It may blow your mind. Make sure to upvote this comment after checking so more people will be able to see.

[@mattcollins4550]

So the bike lane had nothing to do with impoving driving times, it was just the addition of a left turn lane

[@benjiblading2548]

Every person on a bike is also one less car on the road

[@canaanpryor7145]

Don’t let the Koch brother see this.

[@hendrikdependrik1891]

Well, maybe they should. Thanks to their anti-streetcar lobby downtown America is so full of cars. The rise of the bicycle would be the ultimate karma, because bikes use even less fossil fuels than streetcars.

[@ElectricGlider2016]

The biggest reason for the decrease in car traffic travel times is because as more people bike then that's less cars on the road.

[@roccpro5021]

They should hire a designer from the Netherlands. Instead of trying to reinvent the wheel.

[@AgentOracle]

Okay, I'm 4 minutes in, I keep hearing the changes, but I haven't heard why anything changed ... Got any hypothesis? Narrower lanes made driver's more mindful? Anything? ... Okay, so the reason speed increased was because it added a left turn lane. Bikes had nothing to really do with it, they could hace just expanded the sidewalk, and the left turn lane would still ha e filled the same role. Okay. Thank you Cheddar.

[@JSolisHD]

Wow that was very confusing. New York got a long way to go before it is just as efficient like AMS and CPH.

[@Wileyg4lify]

I wish they would do that in every city

[@rachel22cute]

85% of this video was spent explaining what and not the how or why bike lanes make commutes faster... poor and massively misleading video title