Skip to Content
Streetsblog New York City home
Streetsblog New York City home
Log In
Bicycling

Think Cars Will Always Dominate Because ‘New York’s Not Holland’? Well, Neither Was Holland!

This is what many New York streets could be like. Photo: Clarence Eckerson Jr.

This one's for all you politicians and community board types out there who reject street safety plans because "New York's not Holland."

Video Valkyrie Clarence Eckerson has just returned from Delft — and his latest mini-doc for Streetfilms shows again why it's foolish to protest life-saving road redesigns on the grounds that New York can't be as nice as The Netherlands. The reason? The Netherlands weren't even The Netherlands until they were The Netherlands.

With expatriates Chris and Melissa Bruntlett as his guides, Eckerson reveals the hidden history of the canal-ringed western Holland city sandwiched between Rotterdam and The Hague. Decades ago, Holland was the Detroit of Europe — filled with cars and roadways designed exclusively for their use. (See below)

This is what the road to the local university once looked like. Now, it's a bike and busway.
This is what the road to the local university once looked like. Now, it's a bike and busway.
This is what the road to the local university once looked like. Now, it's a bike and busway.

But with political will — and the desire to bring livability back to their car-choked streets — the Delfites fought back. It was a 20- to 30-year process to get the cars out of the city center, Chris Bruntlett says in the film. "They did it one street at a time."

That's how the revolution will start here. New Yorkers will simply get sick of roadways with 225,000 crashes per year and 61,000 injuries per year, and 200-plus deaths per year. So, no, maybe we're not Holland yet.

But why not aspire to become better than we are now? Cars are a lifestyle choice that is destroying our city. Can we just make other choices easier?

This was another murderstrip before the Dutch fixed it.
This was another murderstrip before the Dutch fixed it.
This was another murderstrip before the Dutch fixed it.

Stay in touch

Sign up for our free newsletter

More from Streetsblog New York City

DOT Warns City Council Against Letting Taxi Drivers Park in Loading Zones

A Council bill to let for-hire vehicle drivers park in delivery zones will cause more double parking and congestion, city officials warned.

September 16, 2025

MTA Employees’ Personal Cars Create Dirty, Hazardous Environment In East New York

MTA employees completely disrespect residents of the neighborhood with cars that they never move.

September 16, 2025

Tuesday’s Headlines: ‘Gridlock Gov’ Alert Edition

Blame New York City's "Gridlock Alert Day" traffic next week on Gov. Kathy Hochul and the New York Post. Plus more news.

September 16, 2025

Possible Adams Veto Looms Over Renewed Council Push for Universal Daylighting

The bill will need two-thirds of the Council's support to overcome a resistant Mayor Adams.

September 15, 2025

Delivery App Companies Oppose A City Council E-Bike Safety Bill … Again

Delivery workers want protection from being fired from their app jobs without a reason. True to form, the app companies don't want them to have it.

September 15, 2025

Parks Dept. to Canal Street: ‘No Trees for You!’

The Parks Department wants to plant more trees — it does! — but so many things are conspiring against the agency on Manhattan's worst street.

September 15, 2025
See all posts