Howdy Neighborino, we are hosting a Strong Towns National Gathering May 30-31 in Charlotte and would love to see you there! Visit www.strongtowns.org/national-gathering to check it out and see if you might be interested
Driving in the city was seen as such a scary thing when I was growing up in the suburbs. But now living in Chicago, it is just forcing you to be in system 2 and assume there are pedestrians and cyclists. System 2 seems more “stressful” but driving should be stressful! You’re in charge of heavy machinery that could kill multiple people
@@strongtowns weird connection, maybe, but because I've been engrossed in a video game lately and have observed the way parts of it encourage/allow me to go fast and other parts encourage me to slow down and explore, i wonder if there's things video game design can teach traffic infrastructure design XD
I’ve had a similar experience even here in Tulsa! Driving isn’t stressful until I reach the post-1960 sprawl part of the city, where there’s higher speeds and wide stroads The historic core neighborhoods are much more enjoyable to drive in.
@@theonlymegumegu most of those design tricks are well known in both traffic and video game design - the people entrenched in car centric design just dont want those methods to be used but yes, since those tricks work off of human behavioural psychology, quite a few of them are very much applicable (though not necessarily every option available to game design are possible in street design... the laws of physics are a little less forgiving in real life^^)
I live in one of the largest cities in the Netherlands. Most of our towns and cities are already designed for system 2. It keeps you alert. But I don't find it stressful, probably because I'm used to it. We learn to anticipate the wrong-way driving bicyclist without bike lights who runs a red light. And because of lower speeds, we have time to brake. I do find it very stressful though when I'm abroad and have to drive in cities that have street design that gets you in system 1. Because I notice every so often that I started to drive on autopilot-mode again in a place where I really shouldn't.
The experience of the Dutch reminds us that having equivalent, even superior, alternatives to driving makes things better for drivers too. Long ago, people were writing books about how the automobile is inherently a luxury product whose value diminishes as more people use it. When it comes down to it, it's about addressing an economic inefficiency; too much money and other resources have been spent on automobile infrastructure, at the expense of everything else. It's time for some balance.
Agreed. My favorite local urbanist advocacy group, as much as a love them, spend too little time beating the drum that improvements to street design, signaling, and transit access all work hand-in-hand to improve the driving experience and safety by reducing *unnecessary* cars on the road. They need to figuratively pump the brakes on their explicitly anti-car messaging because it's simply not realistic to expect totally car-free cities. Cars aren't going away. People will still have to drive, and designing smarter cities and streets so less people *have to drive* will actually make driving more efficient. Edit: Another thought popped into my head about Strong Towns messaging and what makes it effective: they don't waste time pointing out that walking or biking to stores and restaurants is convenient, but instead point out kids playing in the street as the sign of a good street. It's effective for parents of course but really invites anyone listening to broaden their perspective on what makes a good street.
@@matthewgladback8905 Thee are people who think any bit of change will lead to their cars being banned. I've also spoken to so many many people who value parking spaces over anything. They cannot live without their parking spaces, even when I try to explain that removing parking and widening sidewalks would improve the safety and well being of everyone.
Not Just Bikes has brought me into this world of urban planning, and I can't thank him enough. I used to live in London, and have moved to Paris, and although by american standards they might both seem great, so many of the things I dislike about the town are similar issues to those discussed by Strong Towns.
Nothing is perfect and everything can be improved. That's nothing negative; it's an encouragement for people to find better ways to live and shape our world.
@@AnotherDuck agreed, we should always be improving thing, although you would be surprised how many people are actually against this sentiment in my town
the standards are so low in my car centric american suburb that london felt like transit heaven with its multiple modes of transport, comparatively narrow roads, and jaywalking habit of locals😅
I would say the single most influential person in making changes in your community to improve safety is the mayor. In the cities and towns I've visited that are redesigning streets to be pedestrian and bike friendly have all been the result of their mayors. Think about that when mayoral elections are being held in your community.
Local elected officials are often overlooked, when they have the most power over local policy regarding the built environment. Alderpeople/Councilmembers also have access to the mayor, so if you get to know your alder you can advocate regularly for the changes you want to see in your communities! (edit: spelling)
I agree with you that city Mayor's have a strong influence on how much priority and funds are allocated for pedestrian safety. In Ottawa where I live we have elected a mayor who wants to end " The war on cars" and keep property taxes down. Pedestrian safety is obviously a priority for him. Montreal on the other hand has pro pedestrian safety mayor. You can see the difference a mayor makes.
Yes, but how so you get the major of a 650000 inhabitants municipality interested in a neighborhood with 30,000 people on the outskirts and not the city center? - and should we / should they ? -
"Even though we've invested tons of money to move cars, the cars don't move." Wonderfully said! Puts into perspective that we can't keep fueling the cycle of car dependency.
Something that should be mentioned (maybe a future video) is how much more dangerous vehicles are for people outside of them nowadays. Large SUVs and trucks sit so ridiculously high now and have so much sound proofing, drivers are truly isolated from their surroundings. Not to mention how many are texting and driving, or fiddling with the giant tablet built into the dashboard. Vehicles are built to keep those inside of them safe in a crash, but it is making them far more dangerous for those outside of them. (In North America at least)
This is a problem where I live (in Australia) too. It's particularly noticeable when you go to older car parks: a lot of the new excessively large cars don't even fit in the spots anymore. Cars are just getting bigger and bigger, and a major reason seems to be that the more people have oversized cars, the harder it gets to drive and the less safe you feel in a regular-sized car. It's an escalation problem that can only really be solved by regulation (eg, stricter limits on the size of cars, or banning large cars in urban environments), but there's such a culture of entitlement among drivers that politicians are unwilling to make the needed changes.
@@ButzPunk It's the same problem as guns. You feel unsafe because so many people have guns, so you buy yourself a gun as "protection". And it just escalates like that.
@@ButzPunk My 2013 Honda Civic is about the same size as my previous 1996 Accord, even though the Civic is supposed to be the more compact model. And when I was debating leasing a newer model in 2016 I looked at the recent Civics and they were enormous. The salesman insisted they got bigger because regulations required even more airbags and other safety features all over which I called bull. How is it that other countries can make their cars just as safe but significantly smaller than the US ones? Yeah no, it's just because they can make more money on bigger cars here so they insist on only having bigger ones. He wasn't pleased that I decided to buy out the lease on my 2013 model instead of trading it in and I said too bad, maybe find me a model that isn't a friggin tank and then we'll talk.
"Now most American developments are dangerous places to experience outside of a car". So true! And they're also dangerous to experience inside of a car as well!
You got me with your hook. I have literally always wondered to myself "why are there signs telling me children are at play, but kids NEVER play in the street?"
Content aside, it makes me really happy to see other people my age are caring enough about this issue to make content on it. It makes me really hopeful that our generation will be known for how we saved our cities.
As a proud grassroots member of Chicago, Bike Grid Now it's amazing to see the political power that the organization has built in less than a year, and to see the conversation change on the local level so quickly. Now the challenge is to ride this wave of enthusiasm through the election cycle, hold city leaders accountable, and create real and lasting change.
We have been doing this in Cleveland, and now the main drag in my neighborhood (Franklin Ave.) went from a 35mph road with stop lights at every cross street (Cleveland doesn’t have a traditional grid so the cross streets are fairly few and far between) to a 25mph street with widened bike lanes, and roundabouts at the cross streets instead of lights. The project just wrapped up and it has already been a game changer for pedestrian traffic and safety. Small steps for sure, but still incredibly welcome when it comes to giving the streets back to the people.
I love Cleveland and more specifically the eastern streetcar suburbs. I lived in Shaker Heights and it's probably one of my favorite places I ever lived. UH/CH/SH were just designed really well.
Thank you Strong Towns for advocating for better cities for more than a decade. I got introduced to you guys back in 2020 i think with the Stroad video from NJB. I'm happy to see that these movements are getting more traction and that there are a lot of people who are unsatisfied with the way our cities are built (Dangerous and bleeding money). I appreciate that you guys have started making some high quality professional videos this year :)
I live in Stroadland, aka Torrance, California, a city that was built up and around an oil refinery in suburban Los Angeles. I desperately want to ditch my car but it's a virtual impossibility here in my neighborhood (and no I can't move away just yet, I'm a caregiver to my mother here). In the midst of all this, is Olde Torrance, a charming oasis that was designed by Frederick Law Olmsted, Jr. It's everything you want in a town - narrow streets, big trees, quaint old buildings, coffeehouses, restaurants, art galleries, etc. Whenever I'm there, I can feel my muscles relax and my blood pressure level out. And then I get mad when I remember my own neighborhood and the rest of greater Torrance and how it feels so inhospitable. As this city runs on the economic powerhouse that is the refinery, I don't think things will change here anytime soon though I give props to Torrance for building a fancy new, soon-to-be-opened transit center. I'm hopeful.
Howdy neighbor. I'm in Hawthorne just north up and walking up and down Hawthorne Blvd is easy enough until I gotta cross it. It's pretty much a 2nd/3rd highway in parallel to the 405. I wish the city and it's neighbors can transform the street to be more walkable. There's tons of business and stores lined up on the street that I think could benefit more from a trolley that replaces the dividing parking lots to make it more accessible by local residents. Honestly I think change in LA is going to be a snail pace since there's so many factors to consider.
@@jakfolisto Hi, neighbor!👋 I live in a neighborhood that is right off of Hawthorne Blvd. I'm incredibly fortunate that the nearest store to me, just a 5 minute walk, is Trader Joe's, but it means crossing Hawthorne without getting mowed down. My kingdom for a pedestrian bridge!
LOVE NOT JUST BIKES! He & climate town have really good info & presentation style! I used that info the other day at my very 1st town hall (I was the youngest there and speaking, 21yrs) talking about how my city isn’t walkable & how public transit doesn’t go where you need to/ how its barely in my area. To my surprise at least 5 different people came up to me (including legislator’s) and gave me resources, groups to join, and were impressed by how young I am! I’m feeling very happy & I can’t wait to learn/do more!
This reminds me of the quote from Gremlins 2: "...maybe it wasn't a place for people anyway. It was a place for things. You make a place for things... things come." I know it's silly, but there is an interesting point, urban centres should be built for people but were not, they were built for things, in this case cars, so when you make a place for cars, that's what will come. It's time we design something in favour of people, perhaps the world would not be so lonely, if were were not through in rolling metal caskets.
Lived most my life in Texas. First time flying to Europe, I couldn't sleep so decided to wonder the streets at night. Was just amazed how I can walk around the downtown streets and how I felt safe.
@@PradedaCech Because the US gutted its cities with highways while focusing all its development into sprawl and suburbs. This created a situation where many cities collapsed financially and became associated with poverty and crime.
This was exactly my experience on the first visit to Chicago in the mid-1990s. Earlier I studied in the US, in New England, in what was strictly "don't even think of it" area. NYC was quite a mess then, but Chicago was a most unexpected surprise. This was well before the redevelopment of downtown park area, it's surely better now.
The thing is, resistance to "traffic calming" is rather strong. Just recently, my town repaved and repainted its main street, widening the lanes in the process. However, this encroached into the parallel parking and now cars are parking on the pedestrian sidewalk just to be "out of the road". When this was brought up in the town council meeting, the reason given for widening the lanes was that it was required to have the state pay for the repaving (since the street is also a state highway).
The video of meeting up with Stewart was very cringe inducing. He was polite, but it seemed that you crossed a line. Gotcha street video interactions are for 60 Minutes bad guys, not RU-vidrs you respect.
Great video! One super-clear example is in Boulder, CO: the Boulder Creek Path vs Folsom Street. I biked to work in Boulder (eventually had to leave because the rent was so high!) and if my work commute took me on the Boulder Creek Path, completely removed from cars, I could fly. The only thing I had to make sure of was pedestrian safety, and an argument could be made that people taking a stroll and having a chat should be separate from super-fast bikes. When my work commute took me down Folsom Street, however, it was super busy with cars turning in and out, angry & aggressive drivers, an unprotected painted bike lane with a large lip between the asphalt and the gutter that could make your bike swerve. No one was happy there. It was very dangerous.
I do often encounter pedestrian conflicts when biking along the multi-use path in San Francisco's Panhandle. It's a pretty busy park, and the last redesign to the landscaping created a multi-use path running along one edge and a ped-only path on the other. But at times it feels like everyone wants to use only the multi-use path, and just yesterday I found myself in a position where I had to bike onto the grass to negotiate complicated cross-traffic - an off-leash dog and owner running across while people were passing in the other lane. The paint says you're supposed to yield to the cross-traffic, and I usually do, but I'm riding the city bikeshare, and this one had some weak brakes and kept rolling downhill. In the moment my reaction was the automatic one, and only afterwards I was like, "that was a bit dangerous". At a higher speed, maybe deadly for someone. There is a bike lane in the adjacent street, but it's flanked by parked cars. I never take it, I don't want to be doored. A lot of the city is just unsafe for bikes and I end up taking sidewalks in low gear instead, legality be damned.
I live in a cul de sac and I was walking my baby almost no cars ever drive through there and my neighbor was backing up and almost hit us. and it reminded me of the adam ruins everything episode about suburbs and street design being dangerous.
I’m currently staying in my grandparents’ subdivision and I’m always confused why there are no sidewalks here despite presenting itself as a safe place where families can raise their kids. If it’s so child-friendly then why are kids (and people in general) having to walk on the road with cars anytime they want to go anywhere?
@@peggedyourdad9560 If the street is tight enough, having no sidewalks is no problem - Germany for example has some streets where cars are only allowed to go walking speed and pedestrians share the space, not to mention full on pedestrian only areas (with some exceptions for deliveries)
@@peggedyourdad9560 ah damn... Here there width of the street is decreased on alternating sides along the length of it, so even going the signed 30km/h / 18.75mph feels fast enough. The more passthrough streets have sidewalks instead of the width changes.
I live in Aarhus, Denmark, which has been limiting car access within city limits and made more walkable spaces and a light rail the last 20 years. So I know for a fact that the points you are making, actually are crucial for city to be enjoyable. Keep up your good work.
@@strongtowns thanks. I’ll check his channel out! My partner and I are actively involved with the Vice Mayor and District 8 Councilman as well as Phoenix Streets. It’s a slow, tedious process.
The thing I appreciated about this video is the tone. Sometimes people making these arguments can be condescending or mean-spirited. Not only is that a questionable way to live your life, it's not good for persuading people to listen to your point of view. The positive tone of this video allows people that aren't yet convinced to open themselves to the ideas. Nice job!
Agreed! And even for people who do already agree, it becomes exhausting to listen to so much negativity. Sure, it’s informative, but videos from channels like NJB leave me more frustrated and miserable than inspired to get out there and make some change (I mean he literally gave up and moved to Europe, what kind of message does that send? Definitely not a hopeful one lol)
I live in Chicago so it's good to see a high quality Chicago based urbanist channel. It's mostly New York New York New York here on RU-vid. Gets tiring. Also good to be reminded of what Chicago is doing right rather than feeling like it's not good enough.
I recently moved from Hong Kong to Vancouver and just got my BC driver license. Although I am grateful that Canada took me in and gave me an opportunity to start a new life here, I have to say, the transport infrastructure is kind of lazy. It relies heavily on individual drivers to keep other road users safe instead of a comprehensive system designed with padestrian safety in mind.
This video will be a great way to help explain some things to my neighbors here in the NW Chicago exurbs. Its too easy for them to brush off non local/regional examples they have never seen or experienced. Thanks Mike!
The “full package suburbs” of Chicago (thriving and interesting downtown, great schools, kids walk to school, actually fast access to Chicago) have a barrier to entry that’s wildly expensive. For people who can’t afford to buy in Elmhurst, Oak Park and Evanston, it’s good to know there are other suburbs making great steps to improve their design and built environment.
I lived in South Florida for eight years. It would have been a great walkable place, with warm weather and flat terrain. I lived about a block from the main business district in my small suburb. One day, as I was walking home along a stroad with 45 mph limits and two lanes each way with a full center turn lane, a car was speeding up after the intersection but decided at the last second to turn right from the left lane into a CVS and directly into me as I crossed the entrance on the sidewalk. Fortunately, they had a low hood and I did not get killed or even hurt badly. But it was scary as hell. If only that suburb had put in level sidewalks to act as a speed bump into the parking lot as well as center medians with trees or even one lane to start to slow the traffic down.
My city’s currently working on re-designing a major arterial to add a BRT line and make it safer for bikes/peds. It won’t be perfect by any means, but we’re pushing as hard as we can to make sure it keeps moving in the right direction and is configured so that the next generation of advocates can build on our work to make it even better
my citys downtown sucks and they aren seeming to understand the fact that its cut off from most of the city by a stroad and has roads far bigger than they need to be
It's impossible to live comfortably in San Antonio, Texas without a car. even close to downtown, my 30-minute walk to the grocery store from my university is so uncomfortable that I'd rather ask someone with a car for a ride. fast roads, tiny broken sidewalks (if there is a sidewalk)... plus waiting ages to cross the street makes you feel like a second class citizen
Those road redesign images are incredible. Amazing what can actually change with some effort. This channel (along with NJB and several others) has inspired me and several friends in the Racine/kenosha area of SE Wisconsin to start some petitions and letter writing campaigns to local officials to try and improve traffic calming and pedestrian safety efforts, here's hoping we have some success 🤞. Great video as always!
Nice work here, Mike! I'm happy to see some twenty-somethings teaching the concepts needed for each city and neighborhood to repair the damage. I think you will invite new audiences to think deeply about the issues and hopefully, take action.
If Villa Park wants to increase accessibility for out of towners, they can simply find a way to reactivate that old train station that is on the edge of the area the town wants to reinvigorate.
@strongtowns I think the OP is referencing the old Chicago Aurora & Elgin interurban that shut down in 58. Unfortunately if the CTA hadn't been dragging their feet with the transfer at River Forest and got the one seat ride restored the Prairie Path would be home to rapid trains rather than bicycles
I really love the discussion of System 1 vs System 2 thinking. I hadn't thought before about how it applies in this context, but it is such a good lens for so many contexts. one of the things that came up when I was talking to my sister about interpersonal problems in her last job was a variation on Hanlon's Razor (Never ascribe to malice something you can explain with stupidity) for the System 1/System 2 distinction: *Never ascribe to System 2 something that you can explain with System 1.*
I developed fobia to driving "fast" (not very fast really) in bike due to an accident caused by my panic of seeing a fast car driving towards me. The car did not crash me, but still caused part of the problem. I want appropiate space for bikes too.
This video is so informative and inspirational. Phenomenally well-made! Great work, Ned! I also really love the lore that this is Ned Flanders' day job
As a fellow Chicagoan, I want to see this city become the best version of itself with a robust biking infrastructure that keeps people safe. A friend of a former coworker was hit and killed near Logan a few years ago in an area that scares me in a car, let alone on a bike.
I live in Louisville KY where I’ve lived in various 19th c. neighborhoods. In most ways they are ideal; built before cars, they are people centered with lots of trees, charming architecture and plenty of corner shops interspersed among the houses. But people are still car trained. Traffic is very slow during rush hours and when someone turns left from a major street. Turning onto a narrow residential street you are as likely as not to see a SUV barreling down the center of the street forcing you to pull over and stop. Then when it passes you can move into the center and barrel toward the next unsuspecting car: Stop-and-fly driving. There is actually plenty of room for 2 opposing lanes but only at low speed. How do we get people to drive that way though? These small streets usually have no lanes painted. Would painting in the lanes help? Would city leaders scoff at the cost of such a thing? How do we change ingrained habits without being overly disruptive?
I've spent the last few weeks binging urban planning videos... and this is the first one that made me stop and really think about my local town (Bloomington/Normal, IL) and what it would take to make it walkable. We have a good start with a converted rail to trail program, but there's some very vital city pieces that are not connected, not the least of which is the Rivian plant on the west side of town. I think I'll take your advice and look into local advocacy groups on this front.
Love the video, NED 😂😂 Couldn't put my finger on who it was you resembled. I'm also flabbergasted that there is a bike gutter at the Tamiami Trl and River Road intersection from 2:07. WHY?
shout out to Grapevine, TX. I used to work a couple blocks from Main St. Walking to lunch was always a frustrating experience, because of the huge road and lack of crosswalks.
I love urbanism videos ! I used to live in a cool city and then moved for college to the capital city. My experience there felt different, the streets felt unsafe, the design felt wrong and oppressive. And I lacked a reasonable explanation for why the cities looked and felt different. I wanted to know the right and rigourous approches to making great cities and I found that in urbanism videos and in channels like this one. Urbanism videos gave me an answer to figure out what makes a good city and what to change to make a liveable city that promotes well-being.
You say you lived in Phoenix As bad as it is I believe the city can change. I am really tired of myself or my friends bike riding to/from work fearing for our lives
I grew up in Lincoln Square, and it blows my mind how many things that were excellent about it which I didn't even notice growing up. All I knew was that everywhere else felt kinda similar but just less.... good, in some way I couldn't put my finger on. I spotted the inconvenience of not having a train stop 5 minutes from my front door, or not being able to walk to a grocery store within 15 minutes, or having to drive somewhere to go see the dentist, but I didn't notice anything about the street itself. I had no idea how significant that raised crosswalk was until this video pointed it out. I had completely forgotten it was there. I just remember feeling safe crossing the street pretty much wherever I wanted, and especially by the fountain across from the bookstore in that little Lincoln Square commercial/residential area. Wild that such a great place to raise kids is illegal to build in most of the US.
I just moved to Chicago and decided not to bring my car to save money and challenge myself. It's surprising how fast people drive in my neighborhood, and I didn't realize how scary it can be to cross the road. It's funny how different you see everything once you no longer have a car
I honestly think that one of the biggest problems with urban planning isn't designing streets, or zoning or anything like that. It's actually working near where you live. The need to drive vast distances to commute to work, etc. is a huge problem in terms of logistics, but also in terms of quality of life. The consequences of heavy traffic/stress are not good. My neighborhood where I grew up had a few roads (mine) that led into the neighborhood, that everyone was constantly driving in and out of. They drove really fast through it, because they had to travel deep into the neighborhood everyday. Unfortunately, my dog was hit and killed, and the driver (Lexus) never even stopped. BTW, they were most likely taking their kid to school, because they lived too far away to walk, unlike us. I think it's probably best if people work near their home instead of making long commutes. It sounds obvious, and it is, but unfortunately, economic incentives have caused us to compromise our values. I think it's a major part of the solution to not need long commutes, instead of just designing roads differently. (Think big picture) Merely placing road blocks will only exacerbate the problem of stressing people out. The solution is to not only design roads differently, but to not need roads to be designed in such a problematic way. Forcing people to drive "safer" isn't going to work. It's just going to frustrate people. If the goal is just to discourage/stop people from driving, then the solution of stifling the roadways works. But if the solution is to live in a better community, you really need to think bigger than the road itself. After all, it's just a part of the overall system, and it's a symptom of a broader concern.
Exactly. The big picture is to live where you work. This is not always easy though. It's a systemic problem involving zoning and real estate investment trends. Everything only treats the symptom until this is solved.
@@gregoryford2532 highways do enable the suburbs existence. But that doesn't necessarily mean long commutes. It just means major transit hubs along the road. It's not bad to have highways, as long as they don't interfere dramatically with people's lives, which they often do.
Nice Ned Flanders joke XD I live in Germany and watching these videos helped me understand how lucky I have it here, but that Germany also still has some problems. I currently plan to ask my neighbours if they would like "Freiwillig 40 km/h" signs (translates to "Voluntary 40 km/h") to be placed on our street which would hopefully reduce traffic noise. The current speed limit is 50 km/h. I would love to see how the average joe can cause chance with simple ideas like that (except gluing yourself on asphalt). I hope this channel grows to it's well deserved 1 million ;) Just keep making great content, it worked for NotJustBikes and Adam Something.
@@ozAqVvhhNue replying to them gives them "engagement" and promotes their comments. I report the channel for impersonation, then report the comments as either spam or misinformation.
Hi from Portland! They've done a bunch of stuff with the streets here: medians, sorta-protected bike lanes, and a high frequency bus line (at least, there's plenty of other improvements). I like the bus line (it gets special right-of-way that pauses traffic in both directions so it never has to stop) and the bike lanes are fine, though how actually useful they are is anyone's guess (even with these improvements, busy roads are not appealing to bike next to) but the medians I gotta say are hella annoying! Sure, for me it's just a few extra minutes to find a work around when I can't get somewhere directly, but for those that drive large semi trucks and other related vehicles it's sometimes abysmally difficult to get into/out of a business parking lot. In short, the idea wasn't necessarily bad but it was implemented waaaay too freely.
glad to see you mention grapevine. The downtown has such amazing potential but is held back by the strode dividing it in two and taking away space for wider sidewalks, or outdoor seating.
The Christmas lights there are magical! Being herded like cattle on the tiny sidewalks is not. They’ve got a TON of potential to be a walkable Dallas suburb. -Mike
@@strongtowns I remember during christmas time, they put up some barriers to limit the road to two lanes. there was much more room for pedestrians to walk, if i remember correctly more outdoor seating, and the traffic was barely affected. hopefully the city learns from this.
Doesn't it get to like 40c with 80% humidity in the summer in that part of Texas? Who in their right mind wants to walk or bicycle in that kind of heat?
The recent Not Just Bikes video also highlights the kind of vehicles that are on the road more often that also includes increases the fatalities in recent times.
THis was good to see. I visited Phoenix 20 years ago, and it was awful. Ever since then, I've seen that awfulness echoed everywhere. And, often, that awfulness is enforced by law. In my isolated small town of 1500 I see echoes of that awfulness. The hardware store and grocery store that once stood on Main Street are now on the outskirts of town. Sure the buildings are more modern, and parking is better, but I can't easily walk to them. I moved to a town that had clothing, hardware, food, and pharmacy all on a walkable Main Street. Now, I can still walk to work, but I've lost everything but the pharmacy in a walkable distance. Almost everything I loved about this town is gone.
I was in Muscle Shoals, AL recently for work. US-43, which realistically could be a street is a dystopian stroads. There are LITERALLY no sidewalks or crosswalks at lights.
I see all the old photos of kids playing baseball on the streets of Manhattan and Brooklyn, and then see how busy those streets are now with moving traffic and parked cars. When you insist on making streets friendlier to pedestrains or cyclists or kids, the automatic NIMBY/Car driver/Boomer response is "Cities were built for cars". ......Ummm, no? Last time I checked, cities have been around for hundreds of years.
A big issue is that buying out businesses and residents on stroads is expensive, they need to be paid off for their existing site and paid to relocate to a new site. The normal approach to stopping speeding in the UK is frequent automatic speed cameras, often *average* speed cameras.
We can't use those in the US because they are illegal in many states and many times a court will just throw out the ticket because the ticket is supposed to be tied to the driver not the owner of the car
the only people who would vote to have safer roads is people that don't own cars, people who own depreciating assets will never vote to make them less usable
While I usually support Strong Towns 💯 this time I would like to interject a mild criticism. At absolutely NO time is sipping on your coffee while driving a good idea. It is distracted driving, which includes eating and drinking, that is the number one reason for traffic accidents. Agreed, there's a difference between taking a quick sip while cruising alone on a highway with no other cars around and miles of visibility into every direction; or there's the sipping on coffee while in ANY kind of built up area. Guess which one could be considered less distracted and therefore less dangerous? If you said, number one, you'd be correct. Don't drink and drive should be expanded from including alcohol to don't drink ANYTHING WHILE driving. Simply don't do it! Period. If you need to eat or drink, stop, have a rest. Germany has the rule if there are spilled open comestibles in the driver's foot well after a crash that driver is held at least partially liable for distracted driving. You have to give your two-ton weapon , called a car, the full attention it requires.
Funny you mentioned Lincoln Square: As a fellow Chicagoan, it's insane to me that that little stretch of Lincoln Avenue hasn't been pedestrianized. It's just *begging* for it. Also fun fact, Giddings Plaza used to be a side road in the 70s and conversion to a plaza had a huge NIMBYs backlash. And look at it today :)
Road design in most of North America sucks. DC has been improving its road infrastructure, and it's clear why the speed limits are lower. Fairfax County, VA also is making strides in improving its road network and lowering speeds. I loved what I saw of roads in the Netherlands in Rotterdam and in Haarlem, and I was on transit and foot my whole time there.
A as a 70 year old Navy Seal i live in town of 3000 two blocks from school i showed the kids in foot ball how strong my legs were by lifting 1200 pounds, cycling keeps me strong i set up for them to get mountain bikes if they ride i pay for the bike one out of the team had to pay for his own bike now more kids are learning bikes are transportation
Denton resident here, Grapevine, Denton, Lewisville, Frisco, Mesquite, literally any non Dallas/Fort-Worth enclave is a nightmare to exist nearby. When the roads are pedestrian friendly (around the UNT campus for example) theyre so low quality that biking is an active risk to safety.
Come to the Netherlands and try driving -- it's very un-fun. You need to give way to your right at every junction, give way to cyclists and give way to pedestrians - at almost every intersection. There are shared spaces and lots of road furniture. This has made it a joy to be in a Dutch city as a pedestrian or cyclist.
And yet the Netherlands is considered the best country to drive a car in. Probably because you can actually drive your there car most of the time, without being stuck in traffic jams 24/7, mainly because those annoying cyclists and pedestrians are not clogging the raods with more cars. And btw, driving a car in places where you have to interact with cyclists and pedestrians is not meant to be fun, it is meant to be safe. You want fun too? Get out of that metal box and use your legpower to transport yourself.
"Every junction".... in a traffic calmed neighbourhood... which are always accessed by a street that has marked priority (so no priority for the right) and therefore faster flow of traffic. Roads going up in the speed hierarchy and then back down as you reach your destination is normal. Designing a neighbourhood street with car-first priority is insanity.
I live in an old neighborhood near the old downtown. People tell me I am crazy. Transients and trash abound here. The traffic is horrendous on main street.The city is trying to redevelop the mainstreet.
Someone who lived only a couple blocks away from me in my quiet, costly neighborhood ran a stop sign and totaled my car… They did it on purpose to avoid inconvenience of slowing down for only a few seconds. Imagine if I was riding my bike. Stop signs simply aren’t good enough.
My driving instructor said that if the road invites me to drive 50 and there is a 30 sign (kph btw) and I get a ticket because I missed the sign: Always fight it, not for the reduced ticket price but then the municipality will be forced to alter the road to meet the lower speed limit or put back the old sign and the people will complain about it. Ymmv since this depends on law.
Ashland or Western Ave would have made a nice contrast to the nice neighborhood streets in Chicago. Walk down Southport from Addison to Irving, then do the same on Ashland. The difference is pretty staggering.
I planned to do a comparison between Western, Clark, Halsted, and Belmont but from behind the wheel of a car, they all kind of look the same 😅 you certainly feel it when navigating those streets on foot.
I’m in Las Vegas. One of the most dangerous cities in the US for pedestrians/cyclists. I really aspire to try to make this city a more pedestrian friendly as i can’t drive and have to walk/bike. I was already hit a couple of months ago. Not just bikes brought me into the city planning world and then I found strong towns. and I couldn’t be happier. I will find a way to make Las Vegas a little safer.
Chicago? I visited Chicago twice last year on business. It's one of the last places I would ever live in the United States. I could see maybe one of the areas at least 45 minutes out of down town, but even then you're still stuck in Illinois. Anyway, yes please to better walkability and natural pedestrian destinations.
When I clicked this video the thing that started playing was an advertisement for a car 😢 The commercial that interrupted the video was for car parts 😭
Am I the only one who feels the impatience of the driver as these giirls at 5:24 cross diagonally taking the longest possible route to cross the street :D
