Not Just Bikes | Stroads are Ugly, Expensive, and Dangerous (and they're everywhere) [ST05] @NotJustBikes | Uploaded April 2021 | Updated October 2024, 1 week ago.
Watch this video ad-free on Nebula: nebula.tv/videos/not-just-bikes-the-ugly-dangerous-and-inefficient-stroads-found-all-over-the-us-canada-st05
Stroads are streets that are designed like roads and in doing so, fail at being good at either one. They are too sprawling and hostile to be good streets, and they are too busy and complicated to be good roads. Stroads are inefficient, unsafe, expensive, and ugly.
This video introduces the concept of Stroads, and talks about why you will (almost) never find these kind of places in the Netherlands: because here all roads need to have a single purpose as either a motorway, connector road, or end-destination street.
The name "stroad" was invented by Strong Towns as a way to explain why road design in the US is fundamentally broken.
To donate to Strong Towns, visit: strongtowns.org/membership
Watch the rest of the Strong Towns series here:
youtube.com/playlist?list=PLJp5q-R0lZ0_FCUbeVWK6OGLN69ehUTVa
Sign up to Nebula and watch ad-free and sponsor-free: go.nebula.tv/notjustbikes
Patreon: patreon.com/notjustbikes
Twitter: twitter.com/notjustbikes
Reddit: reddit.com/r/notjustbikes
One-time donations: notjustbikes.com/donate
NJB Live (my bicycle livestream channel):
youtube.com/channel/UC9v57F4xz46KaDsvWfCv8yw
Thumbnail image by Edward Burtynsky (used with permission)
Check out the whole gallery of "Oil" photos:
edwardburtynsky.com/projects/photographs/oil
---
More reading
The Stroad
strongtowns.org/journal/2017/10/30/the-stroad
The Stroad [2013]
youtube.com/watch?v=F6jFnOnjzrk&t=110s
What is a Stroad? [2018]
youtube.com/watch?v=OZ1HhLq-Huo
Example of a Stroad:
youtube.com/watch?v=IK22JKFH5-8
---
References
Thumbnail image from Strong Towns:
strongtowns.org/journal/2018/3/1/whats-a-stroad-and-why-does-it-matter
City streets safer than suburban roads, study finds
whyy.org/articles/study-city-driving-often-safer-than-the-burbs
Do Denser Neighborhoods Have Safer Streets? Population Density and Traffic Safety in the Philadelphia Region
journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0739456X19845043
Vital Signs: Motor Vehicle Injury Prevention — United States and 19 Comparison Countries
cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/65/wr/mm6526e1.htm?s_cid=mm6526e1_w
U.S. car crash deaths increased in 2020 despite pandemic
msn.com/en-us/news/us/u-s-car-crash-deaths-increased-in-2020-despite-pandemic/ar-BB1cJzOb
Early Estimate of Motor Vehicle Traffic Fatalities for the First 9 Months (Jan–Sep) of 2020
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
crashstats.nhtsa.dot.gov/Api/Public/ViewPublication/813053
60 Years of Urban Change
http://iqc.ou.edu/urbanchange
Designing to Move People
National Association of City Transportation Officials
nacto.org/publication/transit-street-design-guide/introduction/why/designing-move-people
Principles of Sustainable Safety in the Netherlands
Vision Zero UK
visionzerouk.wordpress.com/2016/11/15/principles-of-sustainable-safety-in-the-netherlands
More about the 3 types of street/road/highway in the Netherlands:
nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erftoegangsweg
https://www.wegenwiki.nl/Erftoegangsweg
nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gebiedsontsluitingsweg
https://www.wegenwiki.nl/Gebiedsontsluitingsweg
nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stroomweg
https://www.wegenwiki.nl/Stroomweg
---
Chapters
0:00 Introduction to Stroads
0:41 What is a road?
1:31 What is a street?
2:30 What is a stroad?
2:50 Stroads are bad streets
3:08 Stroads are hostile
4:05 Stroads are ugly
4:26 Stroads are bad roads
4:38 Stroads are inefficient
5:26 Stroads are unsafe
6:41 Stroads are expensive
8:43 How to fix our stroads
8:55 Turn a stroad into a road
9:26 Turn a stroad into a street
9:47 The Netherlands does it properly (as usual)
10:17 Stroomweg
10:55 Gebiedsontsluitingsweg
11:24 Erftoegangsweg
11:40 Streets in the Netherlands
12:26 Dutch street and road examples
13:28 A street becomes a road - Amsterdam
14:37 A street becomes a road - Amstelveen
16:31 Conclusion
17:39 Patreon shout-out
17:50 Outro
Watch this video ad-free on Nebula: nebula.tv/videos/not-just-bikes-the-ugly-dangerous-and-inefficient-stroads-found-all-over-the-us-canada-st05
Stroads are streets that are designed like roads and in doing so, fail at being good at either one. They are too sprawling and hostile to be good streets, and they are too busy and complicated to be good roads. Stroads are inefficient, unsafe, expensive, and ugly.
This video introduces the concept of Stroads, and talks about why you will (almost) never find these kind of places in the Netherlands: because here all roads need to have a single purpose as either a motorway, connector road, or end-destination street.
The name "stroad" was invented by Strong Towns as a way to explain why road design in the US is fundamentally broken.
To donate to Strong Towns, visit: strongtowns.org/membership
Watch the rest of the Strong Towns series here:
youtube.com/playlist?list=PLJp5q-R0lZ0_FCUbeVWK6OGLN69ehUTVa
Sign up to Nebula and watch ad-free and sponsor-free: go.nebula.tv/notjustbikes
Patreon: patreon.com/notjustbikes
Twitter: twitter.com/notjustbikes
Reddit: reddit.com/r/notjustbikes
One-time donations: notjustbikes.com/donate
NJB Live (my bicycle livestream channel):
youtube.com/channel/UC9v57F4xz46KaDsvWfCv8yw
Thumbnail image by Edward Burtynsky (used with permission)
Check out the whole gallery of "Oil" photos:
edwardburtynsky.com/projects/photographs/oil
---
More reading
The Stroad
strongtowns.org/journal/2017/10/30/the-stroad
The Stroad [2013]
youtube.com/watch?v=F6jFnOnjzrk&t=110s
What is a Stroad? [2018]
youtube.com/watch?v=OZ1HhLq-Huo
Example of a Stroad:
youtube.com/watch?v=IK22JKFH5-8
---
References
Thumbnail image from Strong Towns:
strongtowns.org/journal/2018/3/1/whats-a-stroad-and-why-does-it-matter
City streets safer than suburban roads, study finds
whyy.org/articles/study-city-driving-often-safer-than-the-burbs
Do Denser Neighborhoods Have Safer Streets? Population Density and Traffic Safety in the Philadelphia Region
journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0739456X19845043
Vital Signs: Motor Vehicle Injury Prevention — United States and 19 Comparison Countries
cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/65/wr/mm6526e1.htm?s_cid=mm6526e1_w
U.S. car crash deaths increased in 2020 despite pandemic
msn.com/en-us/news/us/u-s-car-crash-deaths-increased-in-2020-despite-pandemic/ar-BB1cJzOb
Early Estimate of Motor Vehicle Traffic Fatalities for the First 9 Months (Jan–Sep) of 2020
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
crashstats.nhtsa.dot.gov/Api/Public/ViewPublication/813053
60 Years of Urban Change
http://iqc.ou.edu/urbanchange
Designing to Move People
National Association of City Transportation Officials
nacto.org/publication/transit-street-design-guide/introduction/why/designing-move-people
Principles of Sustainable Safety in the Netherlands
Vision Zero UK
visionzerouk.wordpress.com/2016/11/15/principles-of-sustainable-safety-in-the-netherlands
More about the 3 types of street/road/highway in the Netherlands:
nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erftoegangsweg
https://www.wegenwiki.nl/Erftoegangsweg
nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gebiedsontsluitingsweg
https://www.wegenwiki.nl/Gebiedsontsluitingsweg
nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stroomweg
https://www.wegenwiki.nl/Stroomweg
---
Chapters
0:00 Introduction to Stroads
0:41 What is a road?
1:31 What is a street?
2:30 What is a stroad?
2:50 Stroads are bad streets
3:08 Stroads are hostile
4:05 Stroads are ugly
4:26 Stroads are bad roads
4:38 Stroads are inefficient
5:26 Stroads are unsafe
6:41 Stroads are expensive
8:43 How to fix our stroads
8:55 Turn a stroad into a road
9:26 Turn a stroad into a street
9:47 The Netherlands does it properly (as usual)
10:17 Stroomweg
10:55 Gebiedsontsluitingsweg
11:24 Erftoegangsweg
11:40 Streets in the Netherlands
12:26 Dutch street and road examples
13:28 A street becomes a road - Amsterdam
14:37 A street becomes a road - Amstelveen
16:31 Conclusion
17:39 Patreon shout-out
17:50 Outro
![Stroads are Ugly, Expensive, and Dangerous (and theyre everywhere) [ST05]](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/ORzNZUeUHAM/hqdefault.jpg "Stroads are Ugly, Expensive, and Dangerous (and theyre everywhere) [ST05]
Watch this video ad-free on Nebula: https://nebula.tv/videos/not-just-bikes-the-ugly-dangerous-and-inefficient-stroads-found-all-over-the-us-canada-st05
Stroads are streets that are designed like roads and in doing so, fail at being good at either one. They are too sprawling and hostile to be good streets, and they are too busy and complicated to be good roads. Stroads are inefficient, unsafe, expensive, and ugly.
This video introduces the concept of Stroads, and talks about why you will (almost) never find these kind of places in the Netherlands: because here all roads need to have a single purpose as either a motorway, connector road, or end-destination street.
The name stroad was invented by Strong Towns as a way to explain why road design in the US is fundamentally broken.
To donate to Strong Towns, visit: https://www.strongtowns.org/membership
Watch the rest of the Strong Towns series here:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLJp5q-R0lZ0_FCUbeVWK6OGLN69ehUTVa
Sign up to Nebula and watch ad-free and sponsor-free: https://go.nebula.tv/notjustbikes
Patreon: https://patreon.com/notjustbikes
Twitter: https://twitter.com/notjustbikes
Reddit: https://reddit.com/r/notjustbikes
One-time donations: https://notjustbikes.com/donate
NJB Live (my bicycle livestream channel):
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC9v57F4xz46KaDsvWfCv8yw
Thumbnail image by Edward Burtynsky (used with permission)
Check out the whole gallery of Oil photos:
https://www.edwardburtynsky.com/projects/photographs/oil
More reading
The Stroad
https://www.strongtowns.org/journal/2017/10/30/the-stroad
The Stroad [2013]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F6jFnOnjzrk&t=110s
What is a Stroad? [2018]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OZ1HhLq-Huo
Example of a Stroad:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IK22JKFH5-8
References
Thumbnail image from Strong Towns:
https://www.strongtowns.org/journal/2018/3/1/whats-a-stroad-and-why-does-it-matter
City streets safer than suburban roads, study finds
https://whyy.org/articles/study-city-driving-often-safer-than-the-burbs/
Do Denser Neighborhoods Have Safer Streets? Population Density and Traffic Safety in the Philadelphia Region
https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0739456X19845043
Vital Signs: Motor Vehicle Injury Prevention — United States and 19 Comparison Countries
https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/65/wr/mm6526e1.htm?s_cid=mm6526e1_w
U.S. car crash deaths increased in 2020 despite pandemic
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/u-s-car-crash-deaths-increased-in-2020-despite-pandemic/ar-BB1cJzOb
Early Estimate of Motor Vehicle Traffic Fatalities for the First 9 Months (Jan–Sep) of 2020
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
https://crashstats.nhtsa.dot.gov/Api/Public/ViewPublication/813053
60 Years of Urban Change
http://iqc.ou.edu/urbanchange
Designing to Move People
National Association of City Transportation Officials
https://nacto.org/publication/transit-street-design-guide/introduction/why/designing-move-people/
Principles of Sustainable Safety in the Netherlands
Vision Zero UK
https://visionzerouk.wordpress.com/2016/11/15/principles-of-sustainable-safety-in-the-netherlands/
More about the 3 types of street/road/highway in the Netherlands:
https://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erftoegangsweg
https://www.wegenwiki.nl/Erftoegangsweg
https://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gebiedsontsluitingsweg
https://www.wegenwiki.nl/Gebiedsontsluitingsweg
https://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stroomweg
https://www.wegenwiki.nl/Stroomweg
Chapters
0:00 Introduction to Stroads
0:41 What is a road?
1:31 What is a street?
2:30 What is a stroad?
2:50 Stroads are bad streets
3:08 Stroads are hostile
4:05 Stroads are ugly
4:26 Stroads are bad roads
4:38 Stroads are inefficient
5:26 Stroads are unsafe
6:41 Stroads are expensive
8:43 How to fix our stroads
8:55 Turn a stroad into a road
9:26 Turn a stroad into a street
9:47 The Netherlands does it properly (as usual)
10:17 Stroomweg
10:55 Gebiedsontsluitingsweg
11:24 Erftoegangsweg
11:40 Streets in the Netherlands
12:26 Dutch street and road examples
13:28 A street becomes a road - Amsterdam
14:37 A street becomes a road - Amstelveen
16:31 Conclusion
17:39 Patreon shout-out
17:50 Outro")
![How Suburban Development Makes American Cities Poorer [ST02]](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/VVUeqxXwCA0/hqdefault.jpg "How Suburban Development Makes American Cities Poorer [ST02]
Watch this video ad-free on Nebula: https://nebula.tv/videos/not-just-bikes-how-suburban-development-makes-american-cities-poorer-st02
For centuries, cities followed a common pattern of development, that can be seen in the design of cities all around the world. This pattern was not accidental or even inevitable, but came about over years of evolution. In the mid 20th century, America threw out all that, and started down a drastically different path - the Suburban Experiment.
This video introduces the concept of Traditional vs. Suburban development patterns, and shows some of the financials behind why suburban development simply cant compete.
Watch the rest of this series here:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLJp5q-R0lZ0_FCUbeVWK6OGLN69ehUTVa
Thanks to Strong Towns for the work they do. If youd like to donate, visit:
https://www.strongtowns.org/about-membership
Sign up to Nebula and watch ad-free and sponsor-free: https://go.nebula.tv/notjustbikes
Patreon: https://patreon.com/notjustbikes
Twitter: https://twitter.com/notjustbikes
Reddit: https://reddit.com/r/notjustbikes
One-time donations: https://notjustbikes.com/donate
NJB Live (my bicycle livestream channel):
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC9v57F4xz46KaDsvWfCv8yw
More from Strong Towns:
The Cost of Auto Orientation (the original source for the data in this video)
https://www.strongtowns.org/journal/2012/1/2/the-cost-of-auto-orientation.html
Traditional Development - #6 in the Strong Towns Curbside Chat Video Series
Strong Towns (YouTube):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AGxni1c-klM
What is Traditional Development?
https://www.strongtowns.org/journal/2019/6/14/traditional-development
The Power of Information Equity
https://www.strongtowns.org/journal/2019/10/8/the-power-of-information-equity
Americas Suburban Experiment
https://www.strongtowns.org/curbside-chat-1/2015/12/14/americas-suburban-experiment
This is the End of the Suburban Experiment
https://www.strongtowns.org/journal/2020/4/27/this-is-the-end-of-the-suburban-experiment
Traditional Development is Not Retro. Its Timeless.
https://www.strongtowns.org/journal/2019/9/25/traditional-development-is-not-retro-its-timeless
The Mailbox: Tower Historic Harbor Renaissance
https://www.strongtowns.org/journal/2010/5/5/the-mailbox-tower-historic-harbor-renaissance.html
The Cost of Development, Walker Industrial Park
https://www.strongtowns.org/journal/2010/3/17/the-cost-of-development-walker-industrial-park.html
Taco Johns (Thumbnail Image)
Highplains-scout, Wikipedia:
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Taco_John%27s_Drive_Thru_Restaurant,_Cheyenne,_WY.JPG
Give Yourself the Green Light (1954) (Public Domain)
Henry Jamison Handy
https://archive.org/details/GiveYour1954
Shopping Can Be Fun: A New Concept in Merchandising (1957) (Public Domain)
Kelley (George H.)
https://archive.org/details/Shopping1957
Taco Johns review by Cynthia Endriss
https://goo.gl/maps/YiFxopiwyrbF2RNT9
Closed Taco Bell
Bradley Gordon (Flickr)
https://www.flickr.com/photos/icanchangethisright/3693952684/
Aerial footage from Google Earth Studio:
https://earth.google.com/studio/
Street photos from Google Street View
Chapters:
0:00 Intro
0:17 Introduction to Traditional Development
1:18 The Suburban Experiment
2:36 Taco Johns Case Study
5:31 Big Box vs. Downtown Case Study
5:53 Fragility vs. Flexibility
6:49 Conclusion
7:36 Outro")
