Canada CAN do Dutch-style Urbanism! (Taking a train to Antwerp and the rest of my Netherlands trip.)

Thanks for watching!!

[Siranoxz]

Its not stealing, its just copying if it benefits your city my friend..
We Dutch would be honored to see Canada being inspired by our city planning and doing the same so we could see it for ourselves one day.

[humanecities]

In case you're worried as to why I didn't mention Around the Bend (my favourite restaurant) in this video: YouTube has VERY strict rules about how many restaurants can be mentioned in a 12 minute and 52 second video comparing and contrasting regions of Canada with the Netherlands. I know, it's weird... but them's the rules! I'm sorry if this has disappointed you and if this has caused you to lose trust in me and what I'm doing here. Don't worry, it will be mentioned in my next video!

[sammymarrco]

I really like what you''re doing here, a positive spin on things and a can do attitude. With people like you we can make the places we live better. Keep the content coming!

[Aidan_Au]

Speaking of climate, Dutch can ride bicycles well in winter, Finns/Finnish people can cycle well too in winter.
As for Canadians.... I hope that one day the infrastructure would be good enough for Canadians to ride in winter

[RichardMurray]

Regarding the mills - I order flour from a proper mill that grinds the wheat. There's a bunch of them that are active in non-water-pumping activities.

[Poptartsicles]

Transit taking you to places instead of parking lots? Now that's a pie in the sky idea. :P

[bararobberbaron]

At 0:53 This is probably my favorite thing the Dutch do, using trees as decoration (I mean, it looks beautiful), as traffic calming (People tend to drive slower when it feels narrower), as additional safety to the bicycle lane and sidewalk with a raised curb and trees in the way AND it provides shade for those not in vehicles. That's just great design imo, to get 4 benefits from 1 choice. AND, by building it that way, in theory, if ever needed, it can be broadened without having to demolish homes, even if digging up all these trees would be a nightmare task, at least the space for another 2 lanes is theoretically baked in, future proofing the whole thing.

[jonathandeman]

The thing I like most about living in the Netherlands is the integration of different transportation methods; I bike/take a tram to the trainstation in the Hague, park my bike in the protected parking area, walk up the steps and enter the trainstation, take a 15 minute train to Leiden, when I arrive I wait for about 5 minutes for a bus, get out at the university building, at the end of the day I do the same thing in reverse, and if I go out clubbing in Leiden till 3-4AM, I can still just take the train back since they go throughout the night.
The travel time here is only about 30 minutes and this is similar if not less time than going by car, I don't have to worry about parking space and since I study at the university I don't have to pay for any of it.
This whole process is the same for all cities in the randstad, Rotterdam, the Hague, Leiden, Amsterdam and Utrecht even have nighttrains going between them

[botks]

I can’t speak much on calgary, but Edmonton’s city council does give me hope for good urbanism in Canada (and Alberta), they’ve done quite a few good reforms like getting rid of the zoning laws and parking minimums while investing in transit and bike lanes, busing through the downtown you can already see all the new housing being built which is nice, we do still have to dig ourselves of the hole we’ve created but the last couple of years has been a good step forward for Edmonton, I hope other canadian also start investing into good urbanism

[marcogeurts]

@humane cities the train at 2:17 the train wich departs at Weert is an NS VIRMm (m=modernised and in this NS VIRMm with the number 9406) wich was departing as or either as Intercity in the 800 serie from Alkmaar to Maastricht(or if it's Friday the 2900 serie from Enkhuizen) or as Intercity in the 3900 serie from Enkhuizen to Heerlen or as if it's friday when this shot was recorded in the 2900 serie from Enkhuizen to Heerlen with an part to Maastricht wich splits and combines then at Sittard

[BlueStarDragon]

Do you know the YouTube channel "Not just bikes" ? He talks about how the Dutch do things compared to the us and canada. Interesting to see

[tammo]

I want to add that a good railway system is not only about the routes between cities, but just as well the connection to all the villages in between. Those are feeders to the intercity system. For example between Weert and Eindhoven (250k) the stopping service also stops in Geldrop (28k), Heeze (10k) and Maarheeze (5k). That's another 43k people connected, so another Weert. Between Amsterdam and Eindhoven there are only 2 major cities (Utrecht and s-Hertogenbosch, but about 20 other towns and villages that are also connected on the same line. They are individually small but those 20 add up to quite a large population too. Such systems are much more viable than a connection from Edmonton to Fort McMurray with almost no people in between for more than 400 km. Most countries in Europe do not have or would make such a connection. Except perhaps a country like Norway, a very rich country with almost endless government funding. Even Calgary to Lethbridge is already questionable. So my advice would be create a strong Edmonton-Calgary corridor with fast trains and stopping trains for the towns in between, not only Red Deer but also Leduc, Lacombe etc. This corridor is so well situated for trains that it would be a nobrainer in Europe actually!

[ezz]

Man I love your channel; you’ve got a very great way of narrating. It feels very authentic.

Keep it up!

[Squizie]

Interesting, I just came across your channel yesterday and watched part one of this series. Didn't expect to see my home town of Antwerp featured that soon, if at all!
I wonder how you got by train from Weert to Antwerp, I suppose with no less than 2 changes along the way. Fun thing is, there is a direct rail line from Weert to Antwerp but the passenger service only runs to right at the border inside Belgium. The Dutch government is dragging their feet to electrify their tiny bit of the line (only 8.5 kms) so the Belgian trains can reach Weert, while in recent years no less than 50 kms on the Belgian side were upgraded and the electrification poles literally end at the border line. Getting international passenger train projects off the ground in Europe is a comically difficult task, even despite all integration efforts and grants the EU provides. National interests usually take the upper hand in getting funded.
As for those coloured signs you saw, these are actually recreational routes. Especially the numbered one is part of a huge ever expanding network where one can plan out their own desired route from numbered point to point. It started in a small part of Belgium, but due to its huge success because of its ease of use and the high level of flexibility for making your personal route, it now spans literally the whole of Belgium, the Netherlands, large chunks of Germany and parts of northern France. Google NodeMapp to see the vastness.
Aside from that, as an inhabitant of Antwerp, I can say that I love living there. Outside the city centre, streets aren't really pedestrianised, however low 30 km/h speed limits with lots of raised intersections keep speeds low on residential streets, and decent separate bike infrastructure on major streets and roads makes riding a bike the obvious choice for lots of trips. Though, there's still lot of room for improvement compared to our Dutch neighbours to the north, I find the bike infrastructure already miles ahead of most cities outside of Flanders, with the exception of the Netherlands. Which is what can and should be strived for to achieve, and personally I'm working on projects to reach that goal.
Outside the city however, once you get into the surrounding municipalities and the rural regions, things change drastically. Car usage is dominant, and people live in detached houses randomly between villages so you don't even see the countryside anymore, which is hidden behind back yards. It's known as 'lintbebouwing' or ribbon development and really has destroyed our country's open space, but is almost impossible to undo. And while it is true that there are bike lanes on almost every road that needs it, in a lot of roads that aren't rebuilt the past say 20 years, this is mostly paint and because of that they literally are known as 'murder strips'. Things are moving in the right direction however, but Flanders has a lot of work to do there. The rollout of bike highways for example starts to be a real success even for long distance commutes.

[Paint_The_Future]

A train from Calgary to Edmonton would be sweet. I know Canadians in general aren't fussed about long car journeys but I need my legs stretched.

[MarioFanGamer]

On the point about a Calgary-Edmonton line: If feel like both cities would benefit from having a regional railway which drives on the same tracks as the intercity trains with the bonus of having a further reach than their light railways. Edmonton in particular has some satelite towns where tracks are conveniently going through them but moreover, both would greatly benefit from a cross city tunnel for general north-south services (including Calgary-Edmonton) and in turn have a major station in the central city.

[bryancampbell]

In my area of Calgary, the Greater Forest Lawn Community, the city is in the stages of writing a local area plan for urbanization. The current plan has some mixed use high density around Franklin station. Up to 24 stories if I remember correctly. That station currently has shared bikes. I'm not sure if it's a pilot program or a permanent one. So there are a few more plans for the future.

[sanderjansen]

3.02 the sidewalk is specifically made to absorb rainwater for the trees.

[shmotten]

Just to add for you, since I'm from the region. Your comparison of Weert station with light rail isn't that far off. The Sprinter that goes between Weert and Tilburg functions as one, since it connects these two cities with Eindhoven in the middel and all the towns in between. Travel times I assume, are comparible to about half of a large north American city!

[bitofvenom]

The density argument is stupid. There are trains in whole of Europe, and walkable cities everywhere. No matter how dense it is. Its a mindset. If you build for cars, you get more cars. If you built bicycle paths, public transport you give people alternatives. You don't have to take the public transport, or bicycle, but others will. So it is even better for car drivers. Now the only option is a car in north america. So everyone get in a car, with traffic jams and unlikeable cities.