Too many bikes in Amsterdam

The bike riders are in bike lanes. Yes they go fast and yes you have to watch out when you cross a bike lane, but I haven't found it to be something that would put me off visiting!

I visited in 2017 and though I was fairly aware of the importance of watching the lanes I walked in before I arrived, the number of bike riders and the, shall we say, zeal with which they ride certainly did make it something to be constantly vigilant about. I felt they obeyed their laws and overall my experience in this beautiful & fascinating city was wonderful and not at all ruined by bike riders.

Don’t go then…if locals want to use bikes in their own city I don’t think they should be restricted because of tourists I’ve been there a few times and same as cars in cities you have to be vigilant but to not recommend a place because of it is a bit mad to be honest

Thank you all. I, too, do not want to miss this beautiful city. Luckily, I reviewed my accommodations and we are very near the Museumplein.

Sounds like they didn't know to not walk in the bike lanes. But to avoid A'dam because there are too many bikes is like saying avoid Rome because there are too many xars.

I didn't find bicyclists to be dangerous when I visited Amsterdam in 2012. There were no hazards due to the number of bicyclists. Indeed, they were all respectful and careful of their fellow bicyclists and pedestrians. Amsterdam should serve as a model to other cities worldwide that want to reduce their carbon footprint and improve the health of residents.

I joined them. I rented a bicycle and used it exclusively for mobility over four days. There were no problems whatsoever. And Amsterdam's example serves as a counterpoint to the car-clogged, polluted, noisy cities and suburbs of the U.S.

The Dutch are world leaders in city infrastructure planning, and a lot of that is based around bikes as transport. Fans of Not Just Bikes on Youtube will know what I'm talking about. People in the Netherlands share their public spaces well, doing their best to avoid accidents through co-operation and consideration. It may come as a little bit of a culture shock to those from North America who are used to being in their cars.

If you choose to avoid Amsterdam because your son and daughter-in-law from your description sound like they are the ones unfamiliar with the rules of the road regarding cyclists, this will be your loss.

I was in Amsterdam for the first time this past April (age 62). You will never be outside without bikes but I would never not go there because of this. Be mindful of the bike lanes, look both ways before crossing, in a day or two you kind of get used to it. Good advice a taxi driver gave me- if you find yourself in a bike lane with a bike barreling down on you, just stand still, it’s easier for them to avoid you if you’re standing still. I had to do this once and it worked!

I wonder if your son and your daughter-in-law live in a place where no one really bikes and so all the bicycles in Amsterdam was a shock. I lived in Silicon Valley until last month and there were bicyclists everywhere. During the school year, you could see huge groups of students bicycling to school because there were no school buses and many rode with no regard to safety or road rules. Now, I live in Florida and I see maybe one 3 or 4 bicycles per day in my neighborhood. Also, your son and daughter-in-law could also just be super protective of you. It happens. Anyway, I have been to Amsterdam three or four times and as others said, there are a lot of bicycles but not going would be like not going to New York City because of traffic. In Amsterdam, the bicyclists tend to follow the rules as far as I can see . It's just that there are a lot of them and some are going very fast. Last month I was in New York visiting my overprotective adult daughter and she kept reminding me to look both ways before crossing bike lanes even though they have one way arrows and unlike in Amsterdam, I saw several bikers going the wrong way in their dedicated bike lanes.

Here's another video (from a North American) that fans of the Dutch way of doing things with streets will enjoy. This time from the excellent Active Towns podcast, based in Austin, Texas.

https://youtu.be/QOuJe6l9iJs?si=ehrJSckr2ebqlDCm

https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLG12KGQK_4xiaAzp_BIEFPTpqusNqLmDi&si=xcd5911lWOemP1Ax

Not going would likely be unfortunate, but being in a dangerous and unnerving situation, I can totally understand. At the risk of comparing Scandinavian apples to Dutch oranges, I’m just wrapping up a Denmark/Norway trip. I’m also a cyclist - have been for a long time, and I follow the rules of the road. True, bike lanes are for bikes, but sidewalks are for pedestrians. There are obvious responsible, capable bike riders (especially those wearing kits and helmets, riding single file on a busy road, but also commuters, even if wearing dresses and high heels or business suits ), and then rude, ignorant/careless clods who treat pedestrians as obstacles to overcome.

I can’t say myself what the situation truly is in Amsterdam at the moment (and respondents here can’t really say that the OP’s son and DIL were aimlessly wandering in a bike lane and ignoring safety or courtesy), but I can say that Denmark and Norway (cycling countries if there ever were any - and incubators of Tour de France and other bicycling champions), have disturbing bicycling behaviors.

Small towns aren’t plagued by inconsiderate bike (and damned electric scooter) clods. But in Copenhagen, Bergen and Oslo, pedestrians beware! Is Amsterdam similar, or are bikes where they have designated space, and not where they don’t? Bologna, Italy has bike lanes, and you expect to see bicycles in them, but nobody else. In Lucca, Italy, however, bikes take the right of way, even in extremely crowded medieval, cobbled streets. Copenhagen, Bergen, and Oslo, you’re likely going to be buzzed by bikes, on a sidewalk with no warning of their approach or passing, and the electric scooters. The scooters, if they don’t knock you down, are as likely going to be abandoned and strewn across the sidewalk as parked neatly in a designated parking space.

Maybe be Amsterdam is the same, or not, but I can appreciate places where someone walking on a car-free, pedestrian street is going to be startled by, or even hit by a bike or scooter rider. It happened to me this morning on Karl Johans Gate in Oslo. And a guide at the Oslo opera house said that collisions have been a problem all over the city. I can imagine Amsterdam also being a place where pedestrians need to be hyper vigilant for bike (and scooter?) hazards.

Maybe it’s a large student population, but the 3 cities I mentioned in Scandinavia are just swarming with bikes and scooters, slaloming around pedestrians, on sidewalks, plazas, and even the sloping roof of the Oslo opera house (which is signed for no bikes).

Go to Amsterdam, but expect challenges.

Where there's bike lanes, you need to know where the bike lanes are and not walk in them. Where you're sharing the space with bikes (or cars), you need to be aware that's what's happening and act accordingly. Whether that's moving out the way of the cyclist, or making eye contact to let them know you're using that bit of road today. As a foreigner, that's the way I see it, mostly people get along like this in Dutch cities, co-operating in using the roads with exceptions now and again.

I think the tough thing for me to wrap my head around regarding cyclists in Amsterdam is that the pedestrian never has the right of way. Even at a traffic signal when you have a "green man" and think you have the right of way bikes will barrel past you so you need to be aware.

OP, if you are near Museumplein that is good. Not only is it a really nice area but it's not as frenzied as in the narrower streets. However, having said that, this area near Vondelpark is where I nearly got mowed down when I thought I had the right of way.

It would not keep me from going to Amsterdam but I do suggest you be on alert. If there is someone who looks like a local crossing a street go with them, lol .... well only if you are going in that direction, hahaha!

The Dutch think "too many tourists". Tourists think "too many bikes". Personally I am overwrought with ambivalence but that's my problem!

I wouldn't say the pedestrian never has the right of way lol Sometimes nice people on bikes will yield to you. From my cycling and walking around Amsterdam experience, a lot has to do with eye contact and body language. You make your intent clear with yours and you soon get to work out if someone has no intention of stopping from theirs.

To answer the other question, no, riding bicycles on sidewalks blatantly isn't really the done thing in the Netherlands unless you're being really antisocial.

There didn't seem to be a large problem with abandoned electric scooters for rental in Amsterdam last time I was there. Locals notice these things more maybe.

People riding very fast electric bicycles somewhat recklessly is a problem in most major European cities I think.

The bikes do not have to stop for pedestrians like cars do?

In theory yes.

In practice, the pedestrian (who's also a cyclist) knows how hard it is to get back up to speed again on a bike so might not want the bike to stop necessarily. They'll yield to the cyclist. Stuff like that is how the Dutch share roads.

They have dedicated bike lanes and do not have to stop for pedestrians. The pedestrians should not go in the bike lanes.

"They have dedicated bike lanes and do not have to stop for pedestrians. The pedestrians should not go in the bike lanes."

To be clear....I was not walking IN the bike lane. I was crossing at an intersection controlled by a traffic signal and a pedestrian walk/don't walk light.

Laughing at trying to make eye contact with the cyclists, uh....Most of the women had the RBF on.

I did learn to get on the correct side of the street near my hotel which was about 2 blocks from Museumplein as there were few bikes on those streets.

Most of the women had the RBF on.

???

As a non-car-owner, I am very accustomed to giving anyone in or on any sort of vehicle the right of way if they are not either stopped or in the process of stopping, because I do not want to die. I found a lot of care was required in Bergen, Oslo, Stockholm and Helsinki because of the large number of bikes and powered scooters moving so fast. I can't say the riders were doing anything wrong, but there were just so many of them.

I assume the dozen or so food-delivery guys (a few on actual motorcycles) I saw barreling down sidewalks weren't supposed to be there.

I've had no collisions with any sort of vehicle in Europe, but I stepped into the path of a motorized scooter in a bike lane a couple of blocks from my apartment at home. No harm done to me or the rider, but that has made me more cautious.

Like Nigel, I had to research the term to find that RBF is an acronym for" resting _itch face"

RS system will not let me add the 'b'

Resting b*tch face, I assume.

still clueless - makes no sense to me

We don't know what sort of experiences Diane's son and daughter-in-law had. There are times when a pedestrian needs to cross a bike lane, so it's not possible never to set foot in one. When dealing only with car traffic, you know the signal will eventually change. There's not always a signal when pedestrians and bikes/scooters cross paths, and sometimes it seems there's never any break in the flow of bikes and scooters.

I wouldn't be too critical of people who are overwhelmed by Amsterdam at first either. It takes a while to get used to getting around.

Nigel, a blank expression; a face at rest where one may not look particularly cheery.

Bike lanes are clearly intended for bikes. With sidewalks and squares/plazas, it’s apparently anarchy, and you’re at the mercy (and steering skill) of the riders. With the advent in just the last few years of electric scooters and electric moped bikes, rentable via an app, it’s virtual pandemonium. It’s even more unnerving when the rider is looking at their phone, not where they’re going.

still clueless - makes no sense to me

It’s a (fairly sexist) term for the look a woman might have on her face when she’s concentrating on something and the observer chooses to think she looks miserable rather than just serious.

It’s why men are forever telling me to “smile, love, it might never happen.” Which - just don’t.

no wonder I never heard of it. I don't do sexist. I don't do divisive.

Now, about Amsterdam and other cities.

Bike paths are a distinctive colour, clearly marked and usually slightly lower than the pavement so they can cross roads without a bump. Cyclists prefer to keep going - it is easier than stop start. Cyclists have zero interest in running into each other, cars, trucks, trams or buses. Or people. They will do what it takes to prevent an accident.

Are there bozo cyclists. Yes, just like there are bozo pedestrians, and bozo drivers. Accidents can happen but the vast majority of cyclists just want to get on with their day and have no interest in mowing people down. If they fall they and their bike get hurt too.

Assume that most people are good and just go with it. Cycles have their own traffic lights at many junctions.

I remember being absolutely amazed at how many children they can transport - seemingly without effort - on a single bike! Like this?

https://www.flickr.com/photos/dilly2012/8665682776
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/390054017704982691/

Yep, we saw as many as 5, and nary a helmet on any of the tykes.
LOL, hauling that much weight around, who needs a gym membership?
I would imagine once you get a load like that moving, you don't want to have to stop!
Oh, and yep, pedestrians, stay in your designated lane. They can be sort of ornery about that.

I always find it strange when people go to a new place, don't understand and don't make an attempt to understand what is going on, process it through their home country's eyes, get angry about the way things are done, make wild proclamations like "Doesn't sound like Amsterdam cares" and then think they are "traveling."

It's amazing to me how many people travel with so little information about where they are visiting. Is it just to say that they've been there...no interest, only status building? One of the things that makes The Netherlands so wonderful is the biking culture. How did they not know that before they went there? Once there, how is it one doesn't stop and think, "Oh, this is clearly a road for cyclists, I won't walk in it"?

The Netherlands is one of my favorite countries and Amsterdam is great. As you are also a cyclist, I suspect you will come home wishing US cities had the same interest in cycling...

Contrary to common belief, Amsterdam is not Disneyland nor is it an open air museum. Amsterdam is a living city where people work in, live in, go to school in etc. Likewise, the Amsterdammers (male and female!) you come across in the streets are not Disney-characters participating in a Parade, smiling and waving to everyone as they make their way thru the city. They are real life people on their way from home to school, work etc etc. And the way a lot of them do that is by bike. So while you have all the time on your hands to aimlessly wander around, to stop to take a photo, to look up to the gabled houses etc etc. the cyclists in Amsterdam don’t have that luxury. They only care about getting from A to B as fast and safely as possible.
So please, familiarize yourself with the signs that indicate the cycle lane and avoid it. And always look both ways before crossing a street.

And for those who, per the title of this topic, feel there are too many bikes in Amsterdam; imagine if all these thousands of bikes were replaced by cars. Would you still enjoy the Canal Zone if it was one big traffic jam???

I think the tough thing for me to wrap my head around regarding cyclists in Amsterdam is that the pedestrian never has the right of way. Even at a traffic signal when you have a "green man" and think you have the right of way bikes will barrel past you so you need to be aware.

I agree with Pam, this was our biggest issue. We stayed a couple blocks south of the Museumplein this summer. We often had to cross the very busy Van Baerlestraat in front of the Concertgebouw. It has 6 lanes- bike, car/bus, tram, tram, car/bus, bike. The first time we crossed when we got the green man assuming on such a main street that the bikes would stop for the lights. Got across 5 lanes and no bikes nearby until a speed demon came racing across the intersection through the red light. On the Museumplein side there is a red brick median between the car and bike lane- unfortunately it makes the bike lane blend in instead of standing out and it is easy to forget you have another lane to cross and it is the most dangerous lane. We got in the habit of stopping on that median and looking carefully. I'd chant "bike,car,tram,tram,car- STOP" LOL

Elsewhere we didn't really have a problem, just always keeping an eye out for the bike lane so as not to inadvertantly wander into it.

Thank you everyone for your variety of responses. Yes, I did know that the red lane is the bike lane, However, there is a saying about the Amsterdam biking lane, "Red is dead!" Lovely. We will go to Amsterdam but we have to accept the fact that Amsterdam residents have weaponized their bikes.

It's a difference in public attitude, isn't it? In my suburban American neighborhood, many car owners hate bicyclists, and there are frequent reports of violent confrontations over road usage. Even with a lot of designated bike lanes, people (on both sides) just dont want to share the road. But more pertinent to the OP, more people seem to side with the car drivers as to who owns the road. Opposite of what you described. Pedestrians have to beware of both.

“ We will go to Amsterdam but we have to accept the fact that Amsterdam residents have weaponized their bikes.”

I’m sorry but this simply is not true. It’s also, in my opinion, the wrong mindset for a visit to Amsterdam or any other city in the Netherlands.
Cyclists are not the enemy, cyclists are not out to get you. Cyclists are fellow road users who, like you, want to get from A to B safely.

I’ve been to Amsterdam a bunch of times. I’ve never thought twice about the bikes. Never felt threatened by bicyclists in the least. Same for my 10 year old. Even children can understand the meaning of bike lanes. What a storm in a teacup!

“Amsterdam residents have weaponized their bikes”…

Wow. Just wow. I find this mentality incredibly ignorant and offensive.

Particularly after all the posts trying to reason with the op and explain the culture.

Amsterdam is beautiful and very enjoyable. Yes, be alert, but we encountered many friendly, courteous and helpful locals when we were out and about and needed assistance, such as double-checking tram stops, directions, etc. A young man at the grocery we frequented took to my husband and me and was of immediate assistance and greeted us each time we saw him (we’re seniors and my husband LOVES to interact with locals so he was delighted to have some conversations; this young man also seemed to enjoy the opportunity to ask questions about the US) Enjoy their culture!

Syd- I was about to pull up Mapquest for Amsterdam to find the area you mentioned, because that’s where we stayed and that was really the only place we had a difficult time mastering street crossing. Somehow we always managed and loved Amsterdam. One of my favorite memories was seeing parents take their kids to school with kind of a wheelbarrow looking contraption on the front of the bike. We’d see them going one way with the kids and then back again with an empty box.

“Yes, I did know that the red lane is the bike lane,”

If this is what your son and daughter-in-law were thinking then no wonder they ran into trouble with cyclists. Bike lanes come in all sorts of colors, they certainly aren’t all red. A cycle lane is marked out by a dotted line and bike symbols painted on the road, but the color of the pavement can be anything from grey, black to red.

One of my favorite memories was seeing parents take their kids to school with kind of a wheelbarrow looking contraption on the front of the bike. We’d see them going one way with the kids and then back again with an empty box.

An interesting article which covers the phenomenon of the bakfietsmoeder, and some other Dutch cultural issues.

https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2018/06/cargo-bike-moms-are-gentrifying-the-netherlands/562475/

Here, in Marin County, California, i often see bikes configured for kids the way they are in Europe, including the large box in front. There’s a bike shop here, in Mill Valley, that specializes in selling these bikes. People here are catching on to how useful and practical they are.

I was in Amsterdam with friends 2 weeks ago. We took a walking tour with a local guide our first morning. At first navigating the bike lanes seemed intimidating, but we felt we had the hang of it by the end of the walk. On the way back to our hotel we were walking through the Rijksmuseum on the pedestrian walkway which is adjacent to a bike lane. A quartet was playing on the walkway, a crowd had gathered and blocked the walkway. Without thinking (I was listening and watching the quartet) I stepped into the bike path and passed the crowd, I turned to see following me my friend as they were pushed out of the way by a passing cyclist. It certainly wasn't malicious in any way, instead a hand on the shoulder to turn my friend, moving them out of the way avoiding a collision. It happened so fast my friend said "What happened?". I think the cyclist took the only action that avoided an accident and I was impressed by their biking skill.
We were only there for 2 days and even with our "incident" I found the all the cyclists fascinating. Waiting for friends on a canal bridge in a quiet neighborhood I watched a young woman ride by sitting side saddle on the back of a friends bike with such ease and grace it could have been out of movie. I hope to go back, I think you can enjoy it as well.