This Dutch Street is Brand New

[@flubsche]

Even when seeing the side-by-side picture of the before and after, it's really surprising how you can make the street appear so much wider!

[@MrAronymous]

What I think is important to mention is that parking "on the sidewalk" is not considered bad because if a car is not there, the sidewalk magically gets double as wide on that section, rather than the former situation where a piece of (for pedestrians unusable) part of the "roadway" got slightly wider (the parking bay). This theory is not just about actual physical use of that space, but also about how the space is deleniated when there is no parked car present. The slight bits of unused space in between parked cars (like between car and curb) that in the new design are more usuable space can really add up too.

[@buildthelanes]

I agree. I think it’s also a good long term strategy to make locals realize just how much “sidewalk space” car parking can eat up. It presents car parking as intruding in pedestrian space.

[@dylanryall]

It looks like there is plenty of room for someone in a wheelchair to go down the sidewalk with many cars parked here. In most US residential street designs the sidewalks are so narrow that if anyone parks up on the sidewalk, even a little bit, it can become a major barrier for pedestrians. Especially if there is a fence or bush right up along the edge of the sidewalk.

[@Paul_C]

​@@dylanryall Ah, great misconceptions abound. Someone with a mobility scooter or wheelchair is seen as cyclist, that basically means any car needs to drive to avoid an accident.

[@mrjules1982]

I just happened to cycle there this morning for the first time since the overhaul and it struck me how much more inviting and comfortable it feels now as a cyclist. And then I randomly saw this video pop up in my feed tonight, such coincidence! Very interesting to see in your comparison that the basic dimensions of the different functions on this street haven't really changed much, it's mainly just other materials used. A great example of the power of suggestion in street design!

[@thomaswarrenr]

Wow I just subscribed and you make a video about how great my own street turned out, what a coincidence

[@kailahmann1823]

That's something I see in redesigns here in Germany as well: The first step is to make the car lanes as narrow as possible, which then frees up space for better uses and reduces speed. You simply so not want freeway lanes in a residential area.

[@buildthelanes]

you're a super commenter :)

[@micosstar]

@@buildthelanesconcur

[@rogerwilco2]

7:32 that F-150 really sticks out like a sore thumb. Imagine if that was the smallest car on the street, like it would almost be in the US.

[@kailahmann1823]

And yet it still fits, despite everything being so much narrower than in the US.

[@MarijnRoorda]

The owner of that F-150 is paying 8x the taxes and fuel usage of the car behind it. And with the dutch being known for our frugal nature, it isn't hard to understand why we prefer cheap and small.

[@baronvonlimbourgh1716]

Luckilly they are extremely rare here.

[@roderickvannoorloos1967]

@@baronvonlimbourgh1716 I've got 2 of those F-150's in the street I live. One I tolerate, the other I detest. One is owned by the owner of a tree nursery business. Often used in combination with a trailer to haul even more in addition to the stuff he puts in the truck bed. I find its size out of place but at least it's used as a pickup truck should be used! The other is simply spotless and kept as shiny as possible, merely a reflection of the ego of the person driving it wanting to have the biggest vehicle around. The truck bed is never used, he only drives in it by himself, no passengers to ever share that space.

[@baronvonlimbourgh1716]

@@roderickvannoorloos1967 yeah, if you need a big truck, you need a big truck. But those usually a company cars that are parked on company grounds anyway. Having tem as a normal daily driver is just a hassle honestly. Can't go anywhere useful with them.

[@hngldr]

Wow, what an amazing example of how not just what space is matters, but how it is delineated changes how the space feels!!! I'm blown away by the difference that sections that seem to have "purely aesthetic" changes make! One of many reasons I think America needs to copy more than merely how space is physically distributed from the Dutch, but take queues about how it is visually distributed. Amazing work!!! Thanks for sharing! I found this channel thanks to Not Just Bikes' most recent stream btw. Now I'm subscribed!

[@ronaldderooij1774]

One slight correction. Het Spaarne is not a canal, but a river. And the only neuter river (HET Spaarne) in the Netherlands.

[@RealConstructor]

Het IJ ?

[@ronaldderooij1774]

@@RealConstructor Is not a river, but an inlet/bay, just like HET IJsselmeer.

[@letheas6175]

Het Scheur, Het Meppelerdiep, Het Merkske, Het Peizerdiep, Het Krammer, Het Gein, Het Ganzendiep (just a few quick ones, there are probably more). So I think you are wrong about that. Oh and het IJ is a remnant of the river system that formed the area, it is by the way still called a river according to most sources I could find online. Although it isn't a sea estuary anymore since it is closed from the sea. But this one is a bit more difficult to define, I would totally understand it if you were like ''no in my opinion it's still not a river''. Guess to each their own:)

[@RealConstructor]

@@ronaldderooij1774 According to Wikipedia it is a river and a former inlet.

[@shamstanvir4759]

Great video! What guidances do they use for local street redesign?

[@buildthelanes]

Municipalities need to follow the ASVV and can draw on the knowledge bank from CROW. Haarlem also has a document for the priority of uses of public spaces and a general vision for 2040,

[@arthurhagen3826]

The Haarlem manual for design of public spaces is the main guideline. It implements all other (national) guidelines. Handboek Inrichting Openbare Ruimte ... www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=gemeentebestuur.haarlem.nl/bestuurlijke-stukken/2019370873-3-Bijlage-B-HIOR-Oost-en-Waarderpolder-Visiedeel.pdf&ved=2ahUKEwiYsMn317r9AhWSgP0HHUHaAHEQFnoECBQQBg&usg=AOvVaw3HNBHdhFHnErw4ya3wY-bi

[@NetroYT]

it's still quite a big parking lot, especially the part at the beginning (look like it didn't change design)

[@steffenberr6760]

Agreed, they kept most of the car parking but it’s much better

[@MihoshiStreamz]

Yeah, the cars are still and eye sore

[@MarijkeBT]

Well of couse, you still have to park your car if you live there! But I think the total look and feel of the street are so much better.

[@infj4w511]

So, if the wanted to improve American subrbian access streets, is this what they'd have to do? They'd probably not be willing to go for bricks like these, but I suppose narrowing the street by widening the sidewalk, bringing the on-street parking upto sidewalk height, and adding trees should be possible

[@LexyTube2007]

I live in the building on the left @ 7:53. Our windows are just being cleaned.

[@buildthelanes]

Cool! How do you like the new design

[@LexyTube2007]

It took 10 months, but it was worth the wait.

[@HenryLoenwind]

@@LexyTube2007 My first impression was, "This is so much wider, inviting cars to drive faster". Has this happened?

[@LexyTube2007]

@@HenryLoenwind Officially this is a 30 km. road. There are many speed bumps. Driving faster feels really uncomfortable. BTW, I saw your Baljuwslaan video. So much history there. Until the 80's there was a Post Office, next to the Mail Trains. There was also a Motorcycle Club HQ.

[@nicolasblume1046]

To me it looks like the new street still has too many car parking spaces, no significant reduction to be seen. Because of this, I doubt that the sidewalks in the narrowest sections are any wider (except for the underpass)

[@jellees]

The car parking spaces are there because people that live there need to park their cars somewhere.

[@thesenamesaretaken]

​@@jelleesperhaps, but what % of people living there own cars? Where I live there are a bunch of streets where 40-50% of the households don't own a single car but you would think everybody was a motorist from looking at the street.

[@gitmoholliday5764]

the somewhat tilted parking lanes probably create some extra space

[@jasonfisher693]

Is that a Ford Raptor pickup in the left corner of the last few seconds of this video? That’s crazy they allow those there if so.

[@nathanhind]

Do you happen to have any photos uploaded of this street? (otherwise I'll print some screenshots haha)

[@unusedTV]

A little annoying to have the text mirrored on the signage :(

[@mnrbrt]

Supposedly there is another reason to chose paved roads over asphalt. The latter encourages cars to drive faster, while paving has the effect of slowing traffic down, making these streets safer as well. In Utrecht I´ve seen some pamflets protesting that the municipality there would take out their paved road and replace it with asphalt, somewhere around Weerdsingel Oostzijde.

[@Loanshark753]

Maybe just make the cycle lanes of asphalt and make the car lanes out of bricks if the road is wide enough.

[@nonya3259]

Interesting

[@co7013]

This example mainly shows how big of a problem all those parked cars are, before and after the changes made to the street. There's just way to many cars in that narrow street. Also there is very little place for plants or for rainwater to filter into the ground. And, as you mentioned, bicycle parking. Not a nice street.

[@wolllie]

You forget that there are now vowels and they therefore absorb the water better. Then the asphalt before this.

[@co7013]

@@wolllie vowels? Thank you, I will look into it!

[@wolllie]

@@co7013 Sorry bricks. The road is now made from bricks. That's for the water absorption.

[@co7013]

@@wolllie I don't think brick roads necessarily do much better in this regard. Maybe a bit. The main reason to use them is to slow traffic down.

[@bigwheelsturning]

Is that paved with brick, or is it textured concrete? Doesn't look that inviting.

[@buildthelanes]

Pavers

[@bigwheelsturning]

@Roberto_o Who cares about cars. It looks like an accident for bikes in wet weather.

[@novulet]

@@bigwheelsturning bricks are used and have been used for hundreds of years all over this country. It rains a lot here. They are just fine to bike over and won't get slippery.

[@veziculorile]

How did you move there from the US?

[@buildthelanes]

I have a german passport and I moved during Covid.

[@veziculorile]

@@buildthelanes You are very lucky. Good move!

[@Stadtionalist]

There is also this idea that streets in European cities are designed like this out of necessity, as houses were built before everybody owned a car and the streets are therefor narrow. Maybe it would be interesting to show how newly developed areas on the outskirts are being build and/or how the big boulevard roads heading into city centers used to have 6, 8 or even 10 lanes for cars back in the '50s but got redesigned to have less lanes, more greenery and more walkable areas

[@Loanshark753]

Not Just Bikes has a video about why Dutch suburbs are good for cycling, it is a good video because it argues for why narrow streets aren't the best and why space is important when given only to cars.

[@seanprior4574]

Great video! Is the cyclist at the end of the video (8.22) cycling against the flow of traffic?

[@steffenberr6760]

yes

[@steffenberr6760]

this is 2 way for bikes one way for cars

[@rogerwilco2]

Almost always, cyclists can go both ways on one way streets.

[@kailahmann1823]

That's also why there was that odd painted bike lane in the tunnel.

[@QemeH]

@@kailahmann1823 Yeah, probably an old contra-flow bike lane from the times before contra-flow became the norm in any ETW in the Netherlands.

[@eddie5484]

Thi is now a one way street. Didn't it used to be two wy?

[@KiloWattPlays]

Very good...Show what we Improve not what we have. Somehow people don't know we ALSO had sh*tty roads in the 70's . we just made tge changes long ago. it's not impossible. we're just 50 years ahead of north america. doesn't mean that's impossible in the north of america.

[@bengarland]

I'm surprised that as progressive as the Dutch are with their streets being designed for multiple uses, that they still waste public space on street parking. Even Japan does not do this -- you are required to prove that you have secured off street parking (such as a garage or private parking facility) before you are allowed to register the car. Street parking is an abomination and should only be used for disabled people who truly cannot get around by any other means than an automobile. It also seems like the travel lane is much wider than it needs to be, given that this appears to be a one-way street. Compared to the width of the parked cars, it looks like the street could be narrowed by 1 meter and still have plenty of space for car travel.

[@buildthelanes]

The Dutch actually aren’t progressive. All they’ve done is find an answer to the question: “how do we build car travel surfaces safely?”

[@jellees]

The street is build mostly for the people who live there, and not for your aesthetic. These people need to park their car somewhere, and most people in the netherlands don't have the space or money to have big personal parking lots like americans do.

[@MssIAMNOBODYSPECIAL]

Because the VVD carparty led by mark rutte has been in charge of our country for the last 10 years sadly.

[@americanrambler4972]

No imagine this no street we’re 2 out of 3 vehicles is a 4 door ford F-150 or F-250 pickup or a Chevrolet Tahoe or Suburban. It will get real crowded real quick.

[@frankhooper7871]

No offence to Haarlem, but it looks like they've taken a very ugly street and turned into a fairly ugly street. I really expect better than this from Dutch design.

[@MssIAMNOBODYSPECIAL]

You should really work on your pronounciation if your going to name more dutch roads in your next videos. You butchered the word "Weg" (meaning road). The e in weg is pronounced as the e in "egg". Though the G is not as in egg, but the more typical dutch, harsh sounding ggguh. (Though you are forgiven if you pronouce the g as a k)

[@jUQMtDmf]

Girl, please. He is clearly trying and that's already great. I hope if you're ever abroad people don't treat you like you're treating him right now.