What it's Like Living Low Vision & Car-Free in the U.S. (Seattle)

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What is it like to navigate the city without the ability to drive? For folks with low vision or other disabilities that force them into car-free living, it takes effort to do the simplest tasks. Now is our chance to redesign roads to provide space to people walking, biking, or rolling by default or by choice.
Chapters:
00:00 Introduction: Navigating Seattle When You Can't Drive
00:30 Part 1: Living with Low Vision
02:53 Differences in Mobility Access Across Seattle, San Francisco, & Paris
05:26 Dangerous by Design: A City of Archipelagos
06:27 Part 2: The City from a Different Perspective:
07:20 Abundant Parking
07:35 Missing Sidewalks
08:24 A Minimal Disjointed Bike Network
09:06 Part 3: Interacting with the City as a Non-Driver
10:07 The Reality of Collisions & Our Unsafe Streets
12:23 Part 4: Connecting the Archipelago
14:39 Hope & Conclusion
#carfree #mobility #urbanism
Amazon Affiliate Links (I get commission if used):
My everyday camera: amzn.to/3vnq8NV
My everyday lens: amzn.to/3Ptrs94
Bike camera: amzn.to/43iVOAR
Studio microphone: amzn.to/3PsbN9M
On-the-go microphone: amzn.to/492yYym
My everyday backpack: amzn.to/3Tl6nhZ
Sources:
American Foundation for the Blind
www.afb.org/blindness-and-low...
City of Seattle GIS Maps
seattlecitygis.maps.arcgis.co...
Seattle Urban Villages Racial Equity Analysis
www.seattle.gov/Documents/Dep...
Seattle City Council Transportation & Public Utilities Committee meeting - June, 21st 2022
www.seattlechannel.org/videos...

Опубликовано:

16 июл 2024

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Комментарии : 560

@RoidedGay Год назад

I live in the University District. I am not disabled, and I own a car, but when the light rail station opened last October it genuinely changed my life. I HATE driving and I am now passionate about public transportation. I mean I was always a fan and knew we needed more but I wasn’t personally aware of just how critical and life changing it could be. Since the light rail opened, I have ALMOST completely stopped driving. I’ve lost 90lbs and gotten in shape by not sitting in a car all day. We really need to change how we think about transportation.

@mechizawa Год назад

Another reason for me to move out of Alaska...

@موسى_7 Год назад

@@mechizawa Alaska has nothing but (really cool) wildlife. It's for tourism, not for living.

@djbabymode Год назад

The 3 new stations have been a life changer for me, too!

@mechizawa Год назад

@@موسى_7 I agree with you, it's not like I had much of a choice of where I was born - trying to GTFO

@nerium.nerium Год назад

Wow, reading your comment was like looking in a mirror! I also hate driving, and I recently visited Bergen, Norway where they have a light rail system and it was so amazing. We need to rebuild our world for human beings, not cars.

@MsIsetan Год назад

I was born and raised in London (UK) but now live in The Hague. I can’t get my head around the stupidity of designing a city based on the needs of people with cars. I spent a long weekend in London in the summer before heading to Athens for a week. Getting to London from The Hague took 4 hours by train, high speed train (Eurostar) and metro (The Tube). I don’t even run to catch the Tube because I know there will be another one in 4 minutes or less. In the land of the ‘free’, freedom means having a car and too bad if you don’t.

@yvrelna Год назад

In the land of the free, you have the freedom to get stuck in traffic.

@mathijsvann Год назад

Eyyy also living in The Hague. Hollands Spoor here

@GTAVictor9128 Год назад

There is a distinction between negative freedom (freedom from restrictions) and positive freedom (freedom for). The US thus has a lot of negative freedom, but very little positive freedom.

@davidw2739 Год назад

Freedom to buy an expensive car, expensive gas, and expensive insurance, and freedom to take your place in the infrastructure designed to make sure you’ll always have to have those things to function so you’ll always be spending money.

@dark_winter8238 Год назад

Guessing you only specified UK because of not just bikes

@rjfaber1991 Год назад

As a European, the phrase "I didn't have to worry about dangerous drivers" is not one I'd personally associate with Paris. 😄 But I guess it's all a matter of perspective, and I'm glad to live somewhere with roads safe enough that Paris drivers seem very reckless in comparison.

@KasabianFan44 Год назад

That just proves his point even further to be honest - if one of the worst cities in Europe for driving etiquette is still seen as a real-life depiction of heaven for American pedestrians, then they must have it REALLY bad over there.

@weepingdalek2568 Год назад

There's a reason American roads are statistically the deadliest in the western world

@rjfaber1991 Год назад

@@KasabianFan44 Exactly.

@momusufan964 Год назад

@@KasabianFan44 But let´s be honest, Paris is fine for a pedestrian : it could of course fare better in security and accessibility (compared to Germany or Northern Europe), but southern Europe cities (Napoli as a prime example) feel way more dangerous, with worst and more expensive public transportations and access to facilities.

@AnnaEmilka Год назад

@@weepingdalek2568 tbh USA is only classified as a western, first world country because it uses english and it has a big military budget and influences world events. In most things that are important to citizens, USA is more like a second or even third world country

@TalwinderDhillonTravels Год назад

You don’t need to be disabled to feel not welcomed in America, you just need to be on foot/bike. Not driving feels like a disability. Great video 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻

@michelleishimitsu7704 20 дней назад

So true!

@blaborde Год назад

This is a really fantastic video. Your point about how the system we have now was intentionally designed this way to move autos without regard for the safety or convenience of people is spot on. This next couple years is an opportunity to accelerate the shift to a transportation (and land use) framework that serves people more than vehicles but, as you say, City officials - elected and appointed - need to hear from constituents that they really want a better future.

@devinsilvernail Год назад

Thank you for your comment. 100% agreed. There's already a lot of interest from people for more calm and safe spaces, which has come up recently in polling, but we need to be engaging more w/ constituents who cannot drive or low income constituents who are being forced into debt or worse because they must own a car to get groceries, take the kids to school, go to work, etc. That's a perspective that I don't see in City Hall often.

@carkawalakhatulistiwa Год назад

@@devinsilvernail Soviet microdistrict vs usa sub urban

@delsold16z6 Год назад

We need cars to get places.

@backalleycqc4790 Год назад

What I've learned about Americans is how much they don't care about you if you don't have a car. Nice video, and you're right, however it's not going to make one little bit of difference.

@oscarosullivan4513 Год назад

The DART is a nightmare from what I have read for those who need the ramps. It likely wasn’t a problem when every station was manned but since mass demanning there are stations without staff and the ramp is no longer in the station office but outside on the platform vulnerable to thieves and vandals. People have to ring up three or more hours before. The existing fleet is anywhere from just below twenty years old to just below fourty years old without ramps with the new fleet likely to be here at the end of the decade. The only solution is to put Railway Guards on every train.

@TregMediaHD Год назад

Not just bikes brought me here .. your story made me stay ❤️

@GreenLarsen Год назад

Great vid. A point worth mentioning is that designing a city with better walking/bike and public transit infrastructure in fact also is cheaper and bring in higher taxes (in the long run). So even the "but who is going to pay for all this extra infrastructure" is a poor and factually incorrect argument. If anyone want more information on this topic, then I can recommend "Not just bikes", "Strong Towns" and "Urban3". To start off, check out "Not Just Bikes" video called "Suburbia is Subsidized: Here's the Math [ST07]" A better designed city will help everyone btw. not "just" people with low vision.

@krispy777 Год назад

When the mixed use urban centres bring in more tax revenue than the suburbs 💁🏻‍♀️

@carstarsarstenstesenn Год назад

Many people also don't realize that encouraging walking, transit, and biking benefits drivers too. I find it baffling when drivers have hostile attitudes towards public transit and bike infrastructure that would reduce traffic and make it safer to drive. Drivers should be supporting more transit options but a lot of them are too braindead to realize how it benefits them as drivers.

@UniquelyUnseen Год назад

I'm a legally blind person in the US and I seeriously appreciaate your perspective. More people need to understand just how frustrating and difficult it is to live without a car, our voices as people w/ visual disabilities are often brushed aside. Thank you for lending your voice to this, Devin.

@emmabenson2546 Год назад

Lived in Seattle my whole life, my dad and brother are both cyclists, and they have had way too many close encounters while on these roads... My brother was once hit by an old woman at 30mph and flipped over her car. She didn't stop to check on him... Also for many years we've asked the city to install stop signs at the intersection in front of our house, but they have yet to do anything, even though it's right in front of an elementary school and daycare. My dad was working from home one day and heard a crash and then screaming. Long story short an SUV sped through the intersection and collided with a motorcycle. Motorcyclist lost her leg... And still to this day that intersection continues to see waaaaaay too many close calls with kids, bikers, and other cars. Seattle drivers are truly among the worst I've seen.. makes me wish we all had to retake driving tests every few years. I'm sorry you have to adapt so drastically in order to just live a normal life.. Is there anything I can do as a Seattle voter to help change the system?

@joebob3683 Год назад

Yea, I have a strong feeling it's a cultural thing. Some places have the worst drivers. Heck when he said that he had to be hit 3 times to learn defensive biking makes me think it's a Seattle thing. You don't learn AFTER THE FACT, you start before. You don't have a roll cage, and it doesn't take a fast car to cause lasting problems. I've biked good and bad roads, any time a car has a reason to cross your path your at risk. I always assume that they may not see me, because I don't want to die to some old grandma. But really how do some areas churn out horrible drivers regeraly. I'm not even talking about the aggressive, just plain bad. In San Diego drivers always try to give me room (so at least I know they seen me and i'm safe crossing a driveway), really the worst thing is about half the drivers don't use turn signals.

@tiffanyferg Год назад

This is such an essential discussion, thank you for sharing your firsthand experiences. Ps this is the first I’ve heard the phrase “15 minute neighborhood” despite watching a ton of urban planning videos so I’m excited to find my next topic to dig into!

@devinsilvernail Год назад

Thanks so much for your comment! We're having a lot of discussion about 15 minute neighborhoods in Seattle. Primarily how to increase services and access to essential needs to neighborhoods that are resource deserts or resource light, while simultaneously working to stitch them all together to turn Seattle into a city of 15 minute neighborhoods. It's definitely a cool idea that really takes it's cues from the movement for 15 minute cities

@ComradeCovert Год назад

@@devinsilvernail I actually looked this up before coming to the comments and one of the first results was Seattle's plan to increase the amount of 15 minute neighborhoods. I had already been interested in moving to seattle (I originally come from Las Vegas, one of the car capitals of the west) and was wondering what your thoughts were on seattle vs other american cities. When I visited over the summer, I was under the impression that it had pretty good public transit, but considering my home town and my limited exposure outside of the downtown I would appreciate your perspective

@kylespevak6781 Год назад

"I had to take two busses, so there were days I'd be working 4 hours, and commuting 5" I've been there so I felt that

@LordAJ12345 Год назад

I can drive (but don’t own a car) and I live in Europe, yet I‘m still annoyed by car-centered infrastructure. I can’t imagine how bad it must be for vision impaired or otherwise disabled people in the US. Thanks for sharing your perspective.

@jorikrouwenhorst7220 Год назад

My dad has Usher-Syndrome (which for the unfamiliar means he slowly loses his eye sight and hearing over time). when I was born he already didn’t drive anymore, around 2016 he stopped using a bike and around 2018-2019 he started to use a cane to indicate his handicap. Watching your, Not Just Bikes and other channels videos about safe infrastructure makes me happy that we live in the Netherlands we’re he can still safely walk to work without worrying for his safety.

@Blakmagic88 Год назад

I live in Texas… it is near IMPOSSIBLE to make it here without a car and urban sprawl is a nightmare.

@EmmaCat15 Год назад

I live in Seattle and I get around mostly by walking and transit. I used to live in district 5 and the lack of sidewalks made it anywhere from unpleasant to scary to get around or just to go for a walk. Now I live in a more central neighborhood and it’s easier, but of course it’s much more expensive to live here, and I still have to take Ubers sometimes when the transit options aren’t good. My grandma lived near Northgate and didn’t drive. I was always so worried about her walking around the busy streets there using her walker because the lights at the pedestrian crossings are SO short for streets that wide so she would be maybe halfway across before the light turned green and you’d just have to hope that all the drivers are paying attention and can see the tiny old lady in the road.

@devinsilvernail Год назад

We really need to be designing our cities for people like your grandma. Elders deserve to safely cross the street, to have sidewalks to walk down the block to get groceries, and good transit to connect them with loved ones. You also touched on something that I think I missed in this video. Living in a central neighborhood is easier in terms of mobility, but not for affordability. Hopefully we can all work together to make all neighborhoods more well connected, well resourced, and accessible. Thanks for your comment!

@enjoyslearningandtravel7957 Год назад

Also in the main city where people have to cross, there should be signs that prevent drivers from turning right because that’s a very much a danger to walkers crossing. I was a walker was almost hit by a driver turning right and I was correct I was right in the crosswalk and in the signal is green.

@NickCBax Год назад

In the analysis of Seattle’s focus on streets, the big thing missing is that there are multiple auto industries that have pushed the supremacy of the car…

@rachelicate Год назад

I'm car free by choice in Seattle and live in capitol hill. It's way ahead of where I moved from (Oklahoma) in terms of walkability and transit, which has more to say about the sad state of transportation in most US cities. It really is frustrating at how bad an inconsistent the bike and walking infrastructure is all around the nation. Also, Sundays are a pain due to how reduced the buses run. I've basically turned into a transit advocate since moving here.

@enjoyslearningandtravel7957 Год назад

Please keep advocating. Many things to need to change better for walkers and public transport. Not everyone can drive or wants to.

@LordBeef Год назад

Also, small note: the overlays can be hard to see if you’re colorblind, like myself. It wasn’t impossible, but it was definitely difficult. My minor impairment definitely doesn’t affect me as much as low vision individuals; just a little :)

@AK-ih3hx Год назад

It was hard to see on a phone screen as well.

@NickCBax Год назад

TBH, I've got good corrected vision, and it was also a bit difficult on my modest TV. And I have a general gist of the map, since I've lived in Seattle for the last 15 years... And here's the fun thing, a lot of that has gotten better. All of those bike lanes? Pretty much every one was added in the last 15 years, often with howling and screaming from the car owners, "But my gas taxes pay for the road! Why should I give up part of it to the bikers?" (Which is incorrect, in Washington state most local roads are majority paid for by sources other than gas taxes. Usually property and sales taxes.)

@corvicore6813 Год назад

I'm in Ballard. You mentioning the "archipelago" design of Seattle ignited a light switch in my brain. 5 minutes on the 40 bus shows the staggering difference between the walkable and historic old Ballard and the sprawled out depressing sight of Leary Way... until you get to Fremont and it's a lush bustling downtown again. I never understood why that was the case, I can't believe it's all by design. thanks for making this video !

@danieldanguilan9490 Год назад

Wow. You really nailed it. I’m low vision as well and although I don’t bike around I feel like you articulated this predicament with great detail. I think it explains it very clearly with people who are sighted just how tedious as well as precarious it can be for blind and low vision people have to experience in order to complete even the most mundane errands.

@laurenditmar2776 Год назад

I found you courtesy of NJB. Been watching a lot of his (and other urban planning) videos to prepare for a paper I’m writing on relaxing zoning laws to encourage more mixed use neighborhoods. A lot of what you shared will help inform my writing, specifically as I discuss the importance of accessible neighborhoods for those who can’t drive. I don’t know exactly how to reference RU-vid videos in an academic paper, but if I can figure it out, I plan to at least add some sort of acknowledgment section to content creators I watched but didn’t necessarily directly reference. I’ll be sure to add your channel to that list. Thank you for sharing your experience!

@lolli_popples Год назад

Honestly, Seattle’s transport systems is terrible. Even if you can drive a car, the roads are very maze-like and hard to navigate. I can’t imagine how difficult navigating the public transport would be.

@andrewphillips6083 Год назад

I am legally blind and have to go without a car, until my mid 20s I have lived in rural areas and never appreciated how much of a better life I could have in a dense walkable area. I now live in a small city built well before cars, and as a result I can get everywhere I could possibly want to go. It makes such a difference in dignity and quality of life. Walkability helps everyone, but it especially helps those of use left out of the car centric development model

@szczupak011 Год назад

Being eastern european I always thought that US is my American dream. After videos like this i must admit my appreciate where I live more and more. I used to walk from office to home all summer for 5 miles and not even once I've had to go by the street without pedestrian walkway. Cheers mate, very intresting video.

@Kevin15047 Год назад

In the words of George Carlin, "it's called The American dream because you have to be asleep to believe it."

@szczupak011 Год назад

@@Kevin15047 I mean for my parents who lives their childhood behind the iron curtain America and overall western countries were really another world but right now it is quite good.

@GTAVictor9128 Год назад

From your profile name I'm guessing you're Polish, so it's interesting to see you referring to yourself as eastern European rather than central European as most Polish people do. Public transport may be much better in Poland today compared to the US, but it is actually much worse than the days of the PRL. Since the collapse of the PRL, thousands of km of rail were torn out while more roads were being built. If I were to guess for the reasons behind this transformation, I wouldn't be surprised if the car industry lobbied for it, as well as politicians and regular people looking up to the US and blindly wanting to be more like them.

@LordBeef Год назад

I spent time in Russia (which definitely doesn’t have the world standard of public transportation) and coming home I really missed the ability to go everywhere without driving Edit: this was before the war, of course

@NickCBax Год назад

Yeah. The US has good marketing of a mediocre place.

@common_ground Год назад

I just moved away from Seattle for this reason, though I lived in the walkable neighborhood of lower Queen Anne. The problem was leaving my neighborhood. Even though I could drive, I usually didn't due to the soul crushing traffic. At first I would do things like drive out to the mountains to go hiking on the weekend, eventually though I learned it was too frustrating fighting traffic around peak hours and I did less and less. Seattle is surrounded by water, has some gems like Discovery Park, and is actively building out a modest light rail network. Maybe in another century or two, Seattle land use will be better. However, I decided that life is too short to spend frustrated in a car.

@democracydignityhumanrights Год назад

Where I’m at now, a different city in Washington, it’s a 10 minute walk to the bus stop and a short ride to down town. It definitely could be improved, like there’s a few places that don’t have sidewalks that I think should have them, like some places with bus stops even 😂 but it’s way better than where I’m from, Arkansas which has nothing.

@democracydignityhumanrights Год назад

Yeah man fuck driving it’s bad anyway. It’s better for the environment and your health if you walk.

@NickCBax Год назад

I'm curious where abouts you moved to?

@common_ground Год назад

@@NickCBax Boulder, Colorado. Transit could be better but biking around is great and you can get to the mountains without driving

@ThePandafriend Год назад

I live in Germany and this video shows me how thankful I should be for my current situation. I also am in the position that I can't drive, even though for me it's a different medical reason, but I feel not many limitations in my everyday life.

@Zronium Год назад

Back in 2016 a friend and I traveled from Victoria to Seattle for a convention. We had an airbnb up aurora near Northgate. Bus to and from the city was a straight line from where we were so that wasn't a problem. On our first night we wanted to get a bus pass so we could pay for our weekend, cause we didn't have a pile of American change. The closest place to buy a card was a grocery store near the mall. Google maps said it'd be a 20 minute walk. We didn't have data, so we couldn't actively check maps, but it was fairly straight forward in theory. I screenshotted the map and we left. Very quickly we got put on a tiny sidewalk adjacent to a very fast and busy road, and then we had no sidewalk at all. Maps suggested hugging the side of this busy street. We didn't want to die, so surely there's an alternative route? No, that was an overpass, and there was no visible way we could find to get across without walking really faaaar away to find some pedestrian bridge. We evaluate our options, then eventually see a possible way under the overpass, so we start heading to do that. It takes us into a townhouse complex that was completely fenced off. To get under the overpass, we had to jump the fence, then walk across to the other side. We finally made it, our 20 minute walk took about an hour. Got our bus pass, however we did NOT want to walk back after, so we called an Uber. The Uber took 4 minutes to the house...

@WAMTAT Год назад

Not Just Bikes sent me here, great video.

@0WierdAsHell Год назад

I hope one day the world becomes more walk-able.

@carstarsarstenstesenn Год назад

@@toniderdon He just means other countries outside of the US could become more walkable as well. The UAE, Canada, Mexico, Thailand, AUS, New Zealand, Argentina, Colombia, even portugal could use a lot of work. Even countries that are considered walkable still have room to improve. As an American it's embarrassing how bad it is here, but it's ignorant to act like the U.S. is the only country that could become more walkable.

@railroadforest30 Год назад

@@toniderdon if more cities in different continents had good public transportation( trains, trams, gondolas, streetcars) they could become a lot more walkable as you could walk from one part of the city to another

@darkforestwarriors Год назад

I really felt this. My eyesight is pretty bad (-10 in my good eye) and although I technically have a doctors note that allows me to drive while I'm wearing my glasses, driving has always been uncomfortable for me. A few years ago when I was faced with "get a job or become homeless" I finally got my license, and that autonomy you mentioned was incredible. Yet if I had any option for that other than driving I would still take it in a heartbeat. I'm only in my early 30s but my eyes get worse each year and I'm sure one day ill hit the point where I can't legally drive anymore and its so scary. We need to do better for people who can't drive, we really do.

@TheRJRabbit23 Год назад

Yeah there needs to be more reliable public transportation that’s frequent and efficient

@kylespevak6781 Год назад

Things to consider: Children can't drive, so this is their life

@Ranman242 Год назад

This video warmed my heart! Many in the urbanism and transit communities recognize how hostile most places are for people outside a car in North America, and most of us are still able-bodied people who would willingly choose not to drive because of it. You give an important perspective here, thank you for highlighting those who don't get the choice!

@devinsilvernail Год назад

Thanks for your comment! I really appreciate it.

@Ranman242 Год назад

You're welcome!

@lesliengo8347 Год назад

Hello from Metro Vancouver, your northern Canadian neighbour. There was a car that didn't see me walking across the street and almost hit me, I wasn't hit because I kept my eye out and noticed a car approaching when turning left and I stopped walking. That was also in front of a civic facility. Also, joining an advocative organization that fight for people-first streets is an option. One example in LA is Streets for All where they gather like-minded people and invite political candidates to discuss how they will make streets safer, accessible, and desirable for pedestrians, cyclists, and transit users.

@devinsilvernail Год назад

Wow I'm glad you're okay after that near miss! We have some great advocacy organizations in Seattle. We also have some elected leaders and department staff that are listening too. It's a slow process, but I'm hopeful that it will get better - even taking a page out of Vancouver's book from time to time. 😀

@jens_le_benz Год назад

Vancouver still has a ways to go, but I have good faith in our improving transportation systems

@vircervoteksisto5038 Год назад

Even though I wish Seattle was less car-centric, I don't see it happening until a majority of people who live and work in Seattle choose to get around without the use of personal automobiles. And this is coming from someone who spent a year living in Seattle without a car.

@AdmitthatijustdiditX Год назад

"If you build it, they will come." We need to stop building car infrastructure, that encourages driving, and build public transit infrastructure that encourages people to give up their cars. It's not an individual or personal failure but a societal.

@jodyssey9921 Год назад

People won't choose alternatives unless they're made viable first.

@kaylawalker4475 Год назад

This is an amazing video, as a kid who walked everywhere I found myself in danger pretty often going from point a to point b and growing up and being more informed it makes me so angry to learn the danger it puts others in by design

@fridayhunt7075 Год назад

I hear you. I get chronic migraines and I couldn’t drive at all for 7 years. I am so grateful I can drive now, but only in the best of conditions, not at night, not in the rain, not very far,and only places I’ve been before. I am in Rainier Beach (Seattle metro) now after moving up from the SF Bay Area. I’ve lived in 4 of the 9 separate counties. If you aren’t going to or from downtown SF, it takes hours to get anywhere - if you can get there at all. One of the 4 bridges didn’t have public transit until the 2000’s. Now there’s one bus - not one route- just one bus. Please vote for better public transit and safer conditions on roads, you never know when you might need them your self.

@coey2 Год назад

Thanks for this video, I really relate as someone who can't drive due to disability. I think what many people fail to realize is that we're forced to become advocates by simply existing. I'm not an "annoying cyclist" for the sake of inconvenience, it's because it's the only way I'm able to get around on my own terms. We don't have the option of giving up or hopping into a car if things don't work out. Safe, accessible, and affordable public transport along with safe pedestrian/bike networks would be life-changing for so many people.

@dreadshells5611 Год назад

I really sympathize with your experience with transit. For about 5 weeks, I was transiting from Federal Way to Bellevue for work, and every day was 2+ hours of transit each way, because my dad is visually impaired and my mom was too busy working. Every day was a slog. The transit centers were dangerous and dirty. I felt like general mobility was ruined. I'm glad that during my time at UW, everything will be at my fingertips.

@weepingdalek2568 Год назад

Yeah For work I had to give a class schedule including travel time Most of what I gave is travel/waiting for the ability to travel time because I don't wanna pay the insane gas prices that we have right now And I live in an area of North America that has (by North American standards anyway) good public transit

@freedangit Год назад

Quite informative. Have a family member who has similar constraints. Thank you for making it clear and giving suggestions for being proactive. I had reached out to our local city council 12 years ago asking for sidewalk near where we live. It took them 12 years to make it happen. This year we got our sidewalk....late in coming to benefit our family but am sure its helping many others.

@devinsilvernail Год назад

Thanks for watching and for fighting the good fight to get sidewalks on your street. Even though it took a long time, your effort illustrates the power of community engagement, and as you pointed out, though it may not be as beneficial for you now as it could have been 12 years ago, it will benefit countless other people. That's really great.

@spcxplrr Год назад

fellow seattleite here, i think its really amazing that people are finally talking about the issues that plague our cities' urban planning. i hope videos like this can get more attention to them so that the local government can finally fix these issues. i live near a residential street that used to have a streetcar line on it (so its pretty wide), and people consistently go way too fast on it. its genuinely concerning, especially since there are children who live on that street.

@brandonm1708 Год назад

Thank you for explaining this problem so well! I always get frustrated when people say that the world needs to be built for cars, when so many people can’t drive cars specifically

@fleurmk Год назад

The fact that Paris was one of your best experiences with public transit and walking in the city speaks volumes about the low standards in American cities. I'm French and we usually think that Paris has a lot of work to do on its métro system, sidewalks and bike lanes, as it's not that accessible (especially for people with mobility issues). I never thought of streets without sidewalks in a city, and all you describe. That is, before I tried to visit LA without a car ... I hope you can organize and get your local government to change its ways.

@devinsilvernail Год назад

Thanks for sharing. The métro was the most glaring area for change that I saw in Paris. When I lived there, there were few lines with elevators, so many stairs, and simple transfers between platforms. In the 10 years since then, I have seen progress while visiting (my old station now has elevators even) but it's still definitely a gap in accessibility. I really appreciate your comment!

@EricLS Год назад

My friend has a similar condition. Our friend group was so indoctrinated by American transit design, that we didn’t even put together why he was such an angry man, with weird need for control and planning. Truly criminal in the “best country in the world” that as soon as you can’t drive, you may as well be in hospice.

@anngrayson1482 Год назад

Thank you for this video. I gave up my car three years ago and I can honestly say that all the points that you make are true. Every day that I go out I am taking my life in my hands. I am painfully aware that this is a car culture that cares little about those of us who must take public transportation and had mostly given up that the city would recognize that there was a population of non-drivers that needed consideration. Your video has validated my concerns and I intend to take whatever action that I can to help.

@orderfirst8907 Год назад

Welcome to my life here in Seattle. I also have a disability. I have damaged feet so walking long distances is not viable for me. My life is very limited here in Seattle. Also many of us are being priced out of the commutable neighborhoods. That is why working from home is so Important. I live in North Shoreline. 1.5 hours including the light rail to downtown. I depend on UBER and not leaving my apartment complex very often

@inuendo6365 Год назад

This is great, there needs to be more attention brought to this problem for disabled and elderly! My grandpa moved back to the US after grandma passed; he can no longer drive. When I visit he says he feels trapped and now relies on my mom to drive him everywhere. That loss of independence seems so depressing, you are so correct that cities need to allocate more options for people without cars!

@stephensterling1874 Год назад

As someone who's lived in Seattle his whole life and some one who hates driving, I finally have a video to explain to my therapist my pain. Every time I mention trying to bike and use public transit in Seattle, he tells me "just learn to drive lol"

@mayam9575 Год назад

i also think that the way bus system work affect children too. When I went to middle school my mom got me a refillable bus pass so I could get home from soccer practice and hangout w friends who didn't live in my neighborhood. I could also bike as well. I was really fortunate to live in a city with good buses by American standards; 15-20 min head ways depending on the line and bus stops at or very close to all locations I needed to go to. However, if I needed to transfer a trip could end up taking a really long time. I feel bad for children who live in suburbs or places without good buses because they are unable to experience that freedom.

@EnronnSierra Год назад

I live in Seattle, but coming from a country like Jamaica where there non-existent public transportation, getting around Seattle by foot and bus and lightrail is a dream. But, after 5 years, I am starting to experiencing the challenges of getting around more timely. My job is now starting to pressure me to get a car because of the need to move between different sites throughout the day. I can’t do that using public transportation. With the high cost of living, I can’t take on the added expense of owning a car. Where do I park it, where do I keep it safe? The amount of car break ins that happens in my neighborhood leaves me in dread. My focus is finding an affordable apartment in the new year, but I believe the fully be autonomous, I will need to have a car.

@democracydignityhumanrights Год назад

I’m from Arkansas and I just got to Washington, we have no public transport or sidewalks where I’m from either, and I’m in love with the public transport. I guess in 5 years I’ll have more stuff to complain about too 😂 I already have one complaint, the bus doesn’t run on Sunday where I live -_-

@neeag4112 Год назад

Absolutely astounding how americans builders/planners can get away with not putting in sidewalks. What do they think an urban center is for? Thanks for sharing your experience on urban mobility!

@jodyssey9921 Год назад

Cars, they think it's for cars.

@khushigarga2137 Год назад

Hey!! I’m also visually impaired and cant drive so this is SO lovely to see cause this is a something that i think about so often ! I live in Amsterdam right now and i cant imagine living anywhere else because i won’t ever be able to drive

@marikramer4962 Год назад

Oh my gosh, I grew up in Seattle with nystagmus and I’m so so happy to see this video! I’m in college right now and I’ve been thinking (worrying) a lot about what my life will be like when I graduate. This resonates with me so much, thank you for making this ❤

@kimberly740 Год назад

I have swedish & american citizenship and am forever grateful my parents decided not to live in the US. My little brother is also legally blind and I can't imagine how much worse his life quality would have been in the US. I feel so sorry for all non drivers in the US, it can and should be better!

@hotcellardoor4628 Год назад

Devin this is fantastic, a really interesting topic that can easily be part of the greater discussion on who has the right to a city and what that right entails. It’s great seeing more content about urbanism coming from the states and your perspective is exactly what we need. Thank you!

@onepetalleft Год назад

What a great video! I got my bachelor’s degree from UW-Seattle and living in the U-District was really my first exposure to being able to live without a car. It makes a huge difference to be able to live in an area that is designed and built to a human scale.

@JootjeJ Год назад

I got here by recommendation from the channel "Not just bikes". If you've ever seen his channel you can see that it doesn't need to be like in the US. I won't say that my country is perfect, but in The Netherlands mostly roads are designed for the target users. That includes bikers, pedestrians, elderly, parents, visually impaired, etc. We aim to reduce accidents not by preventing non-motorised individuals but by accommodating them. I really hope you can eventually achieve the same in Seattle

@aaronhow3932 Год назад

Hi Devin :) Your story hit home for me. I can relate a bit to your situation. The only difference is that my disability is my anxiety. You make really great points about the way that these cities were not planned well for people with disabilities.

@demembree Год назад

We studied this in geography in high school (I am French). To us it was so strange to see cities centered around cars only. I grew up and lived all my life in Paris suburb. I have my driver licence but never used it since public transport works quite well and is quite meshed. Also from economic point of view paying for public transport only is cheaper. It is really interesting to see the differences between countries. Being able to walk is also good for health. Paris sidewalks are not the best (sometimes really tiny) but at least we can walk everywhere.

@johnb2476 Год назад

Autonomy! Yes, spot on. People complain about younger generations not getting driver's licenses bc it signals dependence, but to me cars are an isolation trap. On the other hand, walkable neighbourhoods make me feel like I can go anywhere anytime.

@mk-oc7mt Год назад

Thanks for bringing light the difficulties of transit in cities like San Francisco. I think that often cities like these get broadcast as transit friendly, but the folks speaking the loudest live in the most transit dense areas. There are many parts of the bay and neighborhoods in SF where transit is unreliable and communities have been left out of the 15 minute paradigm. My commute from Pacifica to downtown San Francisco became 2-2.5 hours when I lost my car.

@vacafuega Год назад

Finished the video - I really appreciate the clarity of your editing, how you layer the topic up and present your point in stages. I hope many people see this and are inspired to actuate change. Cities that are people-centric are so alive, everyone deserves that.

@Lmpy Год назад

Recently been working at a job only 7 minutes away! I will actively avoid driving a car as long as possible. The best part is that even if I have to drive, the commute is through quiet fields and a small neighborhood.

@diegoarmando5489 Год назад

Hence why I live in Montreal. Rents are lower than in Ontario or in much of the urban USA (though that's starting to change) and public transit is very good for North America. Gatineau had mediocre public transit. In Montreal, downtown and the inner suburbs have the best service because of the metro. The wealthy communities on the West Island tend to have the worst service, but that's also the area with the lowest organic demand.

@peterlopinto Год назад

This is an important perspective for people to hear. Speed is not more important than human lives and safety

@vacafuega Год назад

Fascinating video. Paris is a great city for walking, I wish every city could be like that. It's a joy.

@JuniorWA Год назад

The lightrail is awesome. When I was 14, I got my first ORCA card and used it to take Tukwila International Boulevard Station to Westlake. I got my driver's license at 16, and still took the lightrail and metro everywhere. I'm now twenty, and since I enrolled at UW, their student ID cards also serve as a subsidized ORCA card--awesome. I unfortunately don't live in Seattle anymore, and instead a car-dependent neighborhood where I have to drive everywhere. It sucks.

@Droftals Год назад

Thank you for making this video, Devin. This hits close to home because I also moved to Seattle seven years ago and never owned a car since then. I was also low vision due to some idiopathic disease and lived in the Central District. My feet and ability to run both liberated and confined me in a single stroke. On the dense streets downtown, I could outpace cars. Almost everywhere else was a desert, turning short trips into bizarre adventures. Traversing SoDo on foot verges on the surreal as you cross the unremarkable slabs of asphalt where other pedestrians die to collisions. It's my dream that someday we can share a single, interconnected arterial system connecting pathways like the Burke Gilman, Elliot Bay, and Ship Canal trails. I want to see the city increasing vehicular resistance where roads cross these paths. For example, by keeping these paths at grade - an inconvenient speed bump for cars and huge improvement for people with personal mobility devices.

@Roanmonster Год назад

The cynical thing is that increased car use hasn't even sped up anything. Rather, people will commute further, but people still spend the same amount of time in a car. And then I'm not even considering the traffic jams, the hassle of finding a parking space, the time and money it takes to maintain the car (I've heard figures indicating the first 2-3 hours of paid work in the US is only covering the commute on a workday, so only then you start earning some money). I am so grateful for being able to just look up how to best get to my destination via transit and (99% of the time) not having to wonder if there even is transit.

@agtranchina Год назад

Excellent video! Thank you for pointing out how car centric cities are ableist and dangerous for everyone. I live in Denver, CO. While it’s better than a lot of other American cities for cycling, it is still a car centric city with sub par transit and pedestrian/cycling infrastructure for most of outside of downtown. For instance a lot of the older, inner ring suburbs are lacking sidewalks ,reliable public transportation , and protected cycling infrastructure that connects people to places they want or need to go. Although, improvements are pretty slow around here, I’m hopeful ( With an upcoming change of Mayor & City Council) infrastructure will become less car centric in the near future. I have also shared this with my Denver friends and groups!

@drivers99 Год назад

I bike commute in Denver but I don't think the infrastructure is that great, but I see improvements. The bike lanes going one way on 14th street and the other way on 15th street still have a lot of conflict points with cars turning onto other streets or going into parking garages, and they just end part way through downtown. Cherry Creek path is good except it's also a busy MUP (multi-use path) and it's pretty narrow (and it floods when there's rain). I was excited about the protected bike lanes on 13th/14th AVE (south of Colfax, south of Downtown) but then I realized a plastic pole isn't going to stop a car. They just added a bike signal so cars can't turn right onto Speer from W 13th Ave but cars run the red right arrow anyway.

@karinaesposito1588 Год назад

Thank you for taking the time to make this video I truly appreciate it I am a person also with low vision and I am challenged by my living conditions everyday . Simply working to work with NO sidewalks is putting my life in danger by speeding drivers.

@violetsnotroses3640 Год назад

I am also a non-driver in Seattle, I'm sorry that I didn't see this earlier! It's true that it's pretty rough out there, I can only imagine how much more dangerous it is with low vision. I'm lucky enough to have a super direct bus commute to work, but you best believe I am on high alert during the half-block I have to walk that has no sidewalk, and cars parked on both sides of the road. I actually really like taking the bus, it's great to have the buffer time between work and home for reading/napping, which I couldn't do if I was driving. I really think a lot of people would learn that they prefer not driving, given better options.

@questioner1596 Год назад

As an able-bodied car and motorcycle enthusiast, I am still not a "sitting in traffic" enthusiast! I'd rather walk or bike to work, and miss my days of living on a university campus where everything was within a 15 minute walk. Cars are great for long distance travel and stupid for short trips. We just need to redesign North American city planning - making other modes like transit and walking more appealing saves money by not having to widen roads, reducing parking demand allows more property tax from the same land area, a fitter population can increase productivity, etc.

@SCrYteX Год назад

I'm really glad to live in a german town that decided on improving bicycle infrastructure a few years ago 😊 But there is still a long way to go for most other places 😥

@krob9145 Год назад

I don't live in the USA. My parents didn't drive. One of them couldn't because of poor eyesight. Fortunately we had a bus service and taxis to use as well as being used to walking on the pavements provided. The service did get strained at peak times so there was room for improvement. I'm now in a UK city with lots of transport options. I mostly get around by walking or cycling. No need to stress over traffic or finding car parking or getting squashed up at peak hours in public transport. Things aren't perfect since there are some places I wouldn't walk to or cycling as yet. My neighbourhood is a 10 minute neighbourhood. We're hoping for more improvements.

@meganhenry13 Год назад

Fantastic video! Thank you so much for putting together this research, sharing your perspective, and making a call to action.

@Josukegaming Год назад

Thank you so much for sharing your perspective with us! I can really see the level of work you put into this video, so grateful to have you in the transit community!

@paddy1198 Год назад

Videos like these are necessary and feels like the first steps towards change, thank you for making it.

@franknbeanz_9970 Год назад

thank you so much for such a wonderful video on this topic ! So important !!

@criticalhit009 Год назад

Great video! Thanks so much for bringing your perspective to this topic.

@jg6551 Год назад

thanks for making this video. we need more people pointing this out

@scttcmrn Год назад

I lived in capitol hill for 4 years, and had the luxury of walking to work in 10 minutes, but once or twice a week I'd have a close call with a car barreling down broadway not paying attention. It's a miracle I never got hit, but I've personally witnessed a handful of incidents where other people weren't so lucky. Seems crazy to me how so many cars are allowed in one of the city's most pedestrian-busy neighborhoods.

@RobertoFischer Год назад

I loved your video. It's so relatable, even without having a vision impairment, because as soon as I opt out of a car, I feel a lot of it.

@avantgardener7493 Год назад

I loved this video. Really interesting perspective, thanks Devin.

@BikeLaveen Год назад

Thank you for making this video.

@darkslayr1 Год назад

Its not just Seattle that has this problem, Most states.. most countries arent equipped with walkers or bikers in mind.. sadly they are all centered around cars being the vehicle of choice and thats just not right or fair

@_Matt_Matt_365_ Год назад

Thanks for sharing you experience Devin! City planners must take note!

@Titanic_Tanuki Год назад

As a studying transportation engineer in college right now. This fires me up and makes me realize my goal to make public infrastructure more available in North America is more and more serious and needed every day.

@advvo9880 Год назад

Really enlightening, thank you

@DanPackard Год назад

Right on! Excellent points in making streets safer, healthier, and more equitable.

@brogains9584 Год назад

Great video, thanks for taking the time to put it together.

@matthewbutner8696 Год назад

Great video. Very well put.

@jiffyb333 Год назад

Oh good gods that's a frightening perspective. Thank you for sharing. It's so incredibly isolating.

@hilaryweiner893 Год назад

When I started losing my vision, I made the intentional decision to move to an area with good public transportation so I would not be car dependent. There are sidewalks or multi-use paths that allow me to walk safely to places within a couple of miles of my home, but some are too narrow in places for bicycling, forcing you onto a street with a 40 mph speed limit. There is a comprehensive plan to connect safe bike paths, but I probably won't be around when it is built out. I hope you have better luck in getting Seattle to fix its accessibility issues for pedestrians and cyclists who cannot live in the central city.

@laakkonen6847 Год назад

I'm glad the algorithm picked your video. It was really great!

@LordBeef Год назад

Wonderful video! I live in Salt Lake City right now, and I’m planning to move to Seattle after I finish my degree. I bike and take transit as much as I can, and it’s really been life changing. Thank you for sharing your perspective and highlighting the problems of the place you live. Keep it up! You’ve got a sub from me :)

@madmachanicest9955 Год назад

I just like to point out that as dystopian as this map to Seattle looks like in Paris into other cities like mine Jacksonville Florida this is a paradise.

@cfloster Год назад

Hey I’m low vision and live in Chicago!! I love our public transit system

@karlInSanDiego Год назад

Really appreciate hearing your perspective, Devin, and appreciate that it's a challenge for many people including those with disabilities and without the means for personal vehicle ownership. Seattle is lauded as a leader, but you've done a good job of showing just how far they (and all of our cities and communities) have to go to create mobility equity.