Haarlem-based Traffic Advisor delights over Austin's Dutch-inspired cycle network (Part Three)

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3 ай бұрын

In Part Three of my Austin bike infrastructure tour with Steffen Berr, Traffic Advisor with the City of Haarlem, The Netherlands, and the creative force behind the ‪@buildthelanes‬ Channel, we make our way into the Mueller neighborhood, meet up with Preston Tyree, a resident of Mueller, and explore some of the Dutch-inspired cycle network in this "New Urbanist" community that has emerged out of what used to be our airport.
It's worth noting that the city of Austin has had a very productive ongoing relationship with the ‪@cycling_embassy‬ which has been instrumental in helping bring about this activity promoting transformation.
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Helpful Links (note that some may include affiliate links to help me support the channel):
- Part One of my ride w/ Steffen: • First Impressions of A...
- Part Two of my ride w/ Steffen: • Haarlem-based Traffic ...
- Part Four of my ride w/ Steffen: • Haarlem-based Traffic ...
- Part Five of my ride w/ Steffen: • Final thoughts of Haar...
- My Previous interview with Steffen: • A look inside Dutch st...
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Credits: Video and audio production by John Simmerman
Music via Epidemic Sound: bit.ly/3rFLErD
Resources used during the production of this video:
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Background:
Hi Everyone! My name is John Simmerman, and I’m a health promotion and public health professional with over 30 years of experience. Over the years, my area of concentration has evolved into a specialization in how the built environment influences human behavior related to active living and especially active mobility.
Since 2010, I've been exploring, documenting, and profiling established, emerging, and aspiring Active Towns wherever they might be while striving to produce high-quality multimedia content to help inspire the creation of more safe and inviting, environments that promote a "Culture of Activity" for "All Ages & Abilities."
The Active Towns Channel features my original video content and reflections, including a selection of podcast episodes and short films profiling the positive and inspiring efforts happening around the world as I am able to experience and document them.
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Creative Commons License: Attributions, Non-Commercial, No Derivatives, 2024

Пікірлер: 39

@Bramfly 3 ай бұрын

Love to see the enthusiasm and real changes in Austin, great opportunities well done 😊

@ActiveTowns 3 ай бұрын

Thanks! It's a very big city, and there is a lot of work yet to be done, but we're getting there gradually. I really appreciate you tuning in. Cheers! John

@reneolthof6811 3 ай бұрын

This is excellent food for thought. What I appreciated especially is your counterpart providing the ‘Dutch’ solution and you elaborating on the ‘American’ counter-arguments. This is fascinating, since it is clear that simple copy and paste of Dutch policies won’t work in any foreign country, including the US. You always need to take into account local considerations.

@ActiveTowns 3 ай бұрын

Precisely! Thanks so much for tuning in. I really appreciate it and hope you find the other episodes entertaining as well. Cheers! John

@curtvaughan2836 2 ай бұрын

I lived in the Cherrywood neighborhood for nearly 30 years (1991 - 2020). We moved there when Mueller was still the old airport, so got a good deal on our house. During those 30 years, much change occurred in central Austin, one of which was the moving of the airport to Bergstrom, after the Air Force vacated it, and the development of the Mueller subdivision. I used to walk all over Mueller during the lockdown, so got to know it well that year as a pedestrian. We moved to Pflugerville at the end of 2020, and I'm amazed at how much Mueller has changed over the last 3-1/2 years. I'm going to bring my bicycle to Austin soon and check out a lot of the areas you have explored in your videos. Nice work!

@ActiveTowns 2 ай бұрын

So glad you enjoyed this glimpse... it's way better in person. Enjoy the ride!

@gingermany6223 3 ай бұрын

The protected bike lanes on Tilley are also part of a safe routes to school network. From that perspective it makes a lot of sense to over build it (this is the same argument we make to overbuild roads that only get traffic twice a day)😅

@ActiveTowns 3 ай бұрын

Exactly! Hehe 🤣 And safe routes to parks, too, as we'll see in the next edition. Cheers! John

@stephensaines7100 3 ай бұрын

@4:00...it's serene. I feel comfortable just 'looking around' on-screen, let alone if I were there cycling. It's also a wonderful place for families with kids. I can't get over how much Austin looks like a northern city, and I mean as far north as Canada. That could be mistaken for Toronto suburbs, albeit even more laid back.

@ActiveTowns 3 ай бұрын

Yeah, I hear ya. Hey, thanks a bunch for tuning in. I appreciate it. 😀

@colleenharrison2942 3 ай бұрын

Really like the changes made in the Mueller area.

@ActiveTowns 3 ай бұрын

Yeah, we're really lucky to have Mueller as an example for North America. I'm working to spread the word that this place exists. Cheers!😀

@nunyabidness3075 2 ай бұрын

Of course, everyone in aviation knows it was one of the most brain dead moves ever deleting that airport. The jobs destroyed in the area of legacy airports, both in the local areas, nationally, and internationally, have been terrible. General Aviation is an important part of our economy in many ways. While it may make sense to move the noise of airline flights away from populated areas, airlines are not the only airspace users. The problem is the long term costs are not seen by voters, while the short term profits and obvious changes are quickly realized by developers, politicians, and nearby land owners. Beyond all that, the infrastructure is invaluable in emergencies, and no one knows what services an airport will be offering in the future.

@DougWedel-wj2jl 3 ай бұрын

It looks like the process of winning people over went: Cycling advocates asked for initial bike lanes. They convinced city planners of the value of good bike infra. Other cities started catching the wave to cycling. Now we’re at the point where the thunderous opposition to cycling infra is down to a dull roar. NEXT STEPS ?? Win over the neighbourhoods with cycling infra, so high rates of cycling are achieved first in the neighbourhoods and then spread across the city. Get organized with things like cycling fallacies, bike lane bingo (reasons against bike lanes listed together with the reasons for, which reveal the opposition as myths and paper tigers). We use these arguments to encourage cycling advocates but we can use them to slow and stop nimby residents. We really haven’t done that full on. Learning what Chris Voss calls the Accusations Audit and building our listening skills can now win over the most stubborn nimbys. Typically cycling advocates still get upset at community meetings discussing reasons for and against bike lanes. Learning the listening skills means we no longer get so upset we walk out of the room or yell back. We can stay curious, patiently listen as long as it takes, then share our side’s position. That is a big step that can’t be underestimated. We haven’t fully linked and enabled environmental groups. John, I would love to see you interview groups like Fridays For Future. They still don’t support cycling despite cycling advocates supporting them. They will say they don’t oppose cycling as something good for the climate but I’ve spoken to their leaders and they absolutely forbid actively supporting cycling. (They say countries in the west support Ukraine but don’t actively support that they win. Same kind of thing.) Cycling advocates still support environmental groups. And we still would appreciate their support for cycling. Sharing our platforms on social media is a solid way to build these bridges to benefit all of us. Our communities are slowly changing from being openly hostile to cycling to accepting it. Now we can win them over so we embrace cycling. It’s such a big transition. Keep up the great work!

@ActiveTowns 3 ай бұрын

Yep, pretty much! Thanks so much, Doug. Cheers! John 😀

@bobbieboothroyd8531 3 ай бұрын

What is it with people and Radios.when somebody's got a radio they seem to think they have to turn the place into a Glastonbury music Festival. That place you went seemed so peaceful. And Relaxing. And clean and well kept. Great video. John. I couldn't help seeing Tom Cruise Next to you. But that maybe just me.

@ActiveTowns 3 ай бұрын

Hehe, 😂 human behavior… just like revving an engine it’s pretty much a desperate attempt for attention. Thanks so much for tuning in. 😀

@PieterPatrick 3 ай бұрын

Important lesson the Dutch learned: Most people will stay in a car if the route is faster. Building bike-lanes is 50% of the solution if you want people out of their cars.

@ActiveTowns 3 ай бұрын

Yes. Good point. Thank you so much for watching and for contributing to the conversation. Much appreciated. I hope you are enjoying the Channel. Cheers! John

@har234908234 3 ай бұрын

10:48... Music box dancer? Is that an ice cream van? (slightly distracted!)

@ActiveTowns 3 ай бұрын

Yep! Good catch. 😀

@lexburen5932 3 ай бұрын

Hello from the netherlands, i want to point out that in the netherlands we are not going to make everything 30km/h km/h. When there is 50 km/h most cycle paths are seperated wich stays this way. we only make 30 km/h zones in urban residential areas and/or where the space is shared with motorists. main roads and straight through traffic all stay 50 km/h within city limits, outside city limits the speed is 80 km/h where all cycle paths are seperated. So far good progress has been made in austin, keep up the good work!

@ActiveTowns 3 ай бұрын

Thanks so much for tuning in! We're slowly making progress, but honestly, it is going to take decades to catch up with y'all. Yeah, the Dutch national report I saw from last year (I believe) indicated that the crash rates of the 50 km/h streets within the urban areas are considered to be unacceptable, and I suspect you'll see many municipalities across the country (certainly, not all) taking steps to transform many of these streets into slower, safer streets in the future. Really appreciate you tuning in. Cheers! John

@lexburen5932 3 ай бұрын

Yes we already do this. But only in urban residential areas, everything outside it stays 50 km/h

@ActiveTowns 3 ай бұрын

@@lexburen5932 Yeah, that was how I read it. 👍

@NL2500 3 ай бұрын

They all look very nice, almost Dutch. But what is it with the yellow posts on the cycle path? If you were to imagine that on the street where the cars drive, it would be seen as an unacceptable obstacle. Everyone would think you are crazy to put them there. But it's somehow okay on the cycle path???

@ActiveTowns 3 ай бұрын

Unfortunately, if they are not there, motorists will drive or park in the bike way. Thank you so much for watching. I really appreciate it. Cheers! John

@nunyabidness3075 2 ай бұрын

I’m glad to hear bike infrastructure advocates that realize things like 15mph aren’t going to sell right now. It will sell if we have more successful bike infrastructure which gets ridership and less bad bike infrastructure which doesn’t get ridership, aggravates drivers, and becomes ammunition to kill every new bike infrastructure project. Unused bike infrastructure is actually worse than no bike infrastructure, and we all need to realize that.

@ActiveTowns 2 ай бұрын

Yep, more people feeling safe and comfortable riding is key. Thanks so much for watching and commenting. I hope you are enjoying the Channel. Cheers! John

@barryvandertas2234 3 ай бұрын

Great infrastructure. Question, it seems hardly used in your video. Is this because of the time if the day or is there still a lot to do on education, promoting?

@ActiveTowns 3 ай бұрын

Yeah, it's pretty much a function of the time of day and a roll of the dice. I've definitely shot plenty of videos in the past in this neighborhood with lots of people in the bike lanes. Here's the entire Mueller playlist of videos here on KZfaq and I have others that I haven't released yet: bit.ly/MuellerCommunityPlaylist Thanks so much for tuning in! I really appreciate it. Cheers! John

@GiblixStudio 2 ай бұрын

me: "what horrible asphalt" AT: "yeah so this is a new recent build...."

@ActiveTowns 2 ай бұрын

🤣 I aim to entertain. Thanks for watching!

@ar134_ Ай бұрын

Around the sixteenth minute. Why those flexpoles around intersections in the middle of the two way bike paths? Stupid dangerous.

@ActiveTowns Ай бұрын

Unfortunately, these are deemed necessary in the United States to prevent motorists from driving or parking in the two-way bike paths. This practice is now common due to several tragic fatal incidents; therefore, it is far less dangerous than the threat of a wayward driver. Thanks so much for tuning in and for the question. Cheers! John

@ar134_ Ай бұрын

@@ActiveTownswow, that’s a total different take on how it should be. It’s an ignorance of simple traffic rules. Too bad that car owners still think they’re more important than other users of streets and roads

@ActiveTowns Ай бұрын

@@ar134_ Yep, the car-brain mentality and sense of entitlement very toxic and is part of the reason why we have over 42,000 deaths annually on our roadways. These bike lane installations represent an incremental attempt to transform the environment and create more viable mobility options, but the reality is that they still exist in these challenging contexts and overall conditions.