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.
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 ? -
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.
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.
"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.
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?"
So relevant to my city! 2ish years ago they lowered default speed limits from 50 to 40km/hr unless otherwise posted. They've also done some pedestrianizing pilots on downtown streets which have now become permanent. Recently budget was passed for expanding the bike lane network. Last summer I noticed some piloting of temporary traffic calming infrastructure in areas I frequent. I made sure to write my councillor to let them know how much I appreciate those changes as a driver and when I'm walking. It's all super slow but I'm very proud of my town for taking these steps!
lowering the speed limits only feels like a feels good measure to me, with no change to the street layout, why would YOU change the speed you drive on ? its like shifting the blame on the drivers. WE lowered the speed limit, why aren't YOU slowing down ?
@CedriCo it's an important part of the solution. Not the entire solution. I've noticed it makes me a more cautious driver (it's easier to slow to 30 in a school/playground zone from 40 than from 50...). It's more comfortable driving 40 in my dense downtown residential neighborhood. It's not intuitive to drive at lower speeds in the burbs but redesigning those roads is a longer more expensive process.
@@coced you're right that lowering the speed limit alone isn't enough, but there are other things mentioned in the post - traffic calming infrastructure and adding bike lanes (which usually means narrowing car lanes) help reinforce the safer speed limits
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.
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!
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.
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.
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 :)
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!
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.
"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!
I had the same pipeline that you did. I saw watched the “Why we won’t raise our kids in suburbia” video by not just bikes and then proceeded to city nerd. These videos helped me finally be able to understand why I hated where I grew up. I am such a huge fan of what Strong Towns is doing and you guys have convinced me to get involved in local government too!
I watched that video too. Before I knew car dependency was a thing or problem, I felt like driving seemed inefficient for short trips and that our roads felt unnecessarily dangerous. I never knew why until seeing videos on the subject. I didn’t hate where I lived just never understood why our roads were like that.
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 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.
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 TH-camrs you respect.
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 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)
@@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.
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.
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 TH-cam. Gets tiring. Also good to be reminded of what Chicago is doing right rather than feeling like it's not good enough.
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 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.
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
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.
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.*
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.
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.
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
Grapevine's downtown deserves much more credit, in my opinion. It's a suburb in a part of the Metroplex that tends to be Very Hostile to anything non-sprawlish. Colleyville was slated to get a station on TEXRail but loudly (& absurdly) rejected it. IIRC, there was also supposed to be a Haltom City station, but that never happened either. So the fact Grapevine "bucked the trend" by, along with North Richland Hills, joining Trinity Metro & embracing TEXRail + TOD is commendable, and a great first set of baby steps for the NE Tarrant Mid-Cities, as we in DFW call them. It's not perfect - the sidewalks could indeed be better, & also better feeder buses - but don't let perfection be the enemy of the good. Grapevine has embraced TEXRail from the start of planning in the early '00s, because they saw the massive benefits involved in having a beautiful downtown + surrounds, centered around rail. They are the oldest municipality in Tarrant County, even predating Fort Worth by almost a decade... so it makes sense they want to keep that old-school vibe & blend it with the new. Sure enough, they been bringing in a lotta bacon from being both a local & tourist destination; comparatively almost no one wants to simply look at single houses & strip malls all day, even if they are "high end" like Southlake ("ooh look baby, they got a Sephora!" 🤣) I love my locale - I'm a Fort Worth south sider - and my state, but we especially went hard on the mistakes of that 'biggest misallocation of resources in human history' thing. It's a much more uphill battle making Texas cities/towns strong for real, but by talking turkey in the right way, it can - and has been - getting done & getting better here. I'm a dude at the rock bottom of society - disabled, outcast, a whole set - & a cornerstone of my advocacy is indeed The Strong Towns Way. I'm also conservative (in the "Eisenhower", "stand against bigotry", "pro-social" sense) & shine a light on how quality development is the most fiscally responsible way & is key to getting back to that Biblical, old-school community way where there wasn't the atomization & disenfranchisement so common today. Also, reducing hostility/bigotry through sociality. I'm too broke to be a member but I'm definitely rah-rah about Strong Towns & use a lot of y'all's material in my civic involvement & advocacy. Local government is now part of my life's passion & we are blessed with (since 2011!) awesome leadership here in the City of Fort Worth that is definitely looking to better our development, advance transit & bike infra, & all that good stuff. The Mayor takes this seriously. & me, personally - I take her slogan ("It's Go Time!") seriously as well. ~ Mesyn
Thanks for the comment- I think Grapevine is a bright spot in the DFW metroplex, and has tons of potential. If I were to end up in DFW, I certainly think grapevine would be a top contender. I thought of it because I was so enamored by the station after exiting the train that we took from Fort Worth when seeing the lights a couple years ago, but was disappointed with how hard it was to navigate the sidewalks with our grandmother’s wheelchair. Thanks for sharing your thoughts!
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.
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 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.
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?
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.
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
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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
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
Yep... police forces have long used speed limits as BOTH a funding source and, unfortunately, as a vehicle for race-based oppression and violence. Thank you for bringing up that point, because it reminds us that a Strong Town where travel speeds are controlled better through community forces is also a safer town for all of its residents, and therefore less prone to race-based violence.
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.
Hello and warm greetings from Germany, unlike most American cities, road traffic in Germany already seems to be quite pedestrian and cyclist friendly. But even here there is a lot of catching up to do - especially in big cities like Cologne, Berlin or Frankfurt. We Germans can also learn a lot from our neighbors, the Netherlands. The automobile-oriented 1960s caused a lot of damage here that now has to be painstakingly put right. But we are on the right track; climate change in particular is finally forcing us to think about individual transportation, to reduce road traffic in favor of public transportation, and to promote alternative transportation options such as bicycles, car sharing, and so on. I hope and wish that you in America will also find a way to make your cities more people- and climate-friendly. Thank you for your valuable film! Regards: Martin
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
Within about 2-3 miles of the center of my city (San Diego), we have suburban neighborhoods once built with the notion that people here had dirt roads, undeveloped canyons, and sagebrush surrounding them at all cardinal points; that said, these suburban neighborhoods were built to be a small world within the city; front porches used to be business fronts, backyards had granny flats and all of them had alleyway access, relieving the streets, cable cars had stops located near "trolley bungalows" that were complexes of 6 or more bungalows/cottages, with one of them being a small diner, or a barbershop. The relative laxity of regulations and zoning, would make neighborhoods a latticework of single family homes, mansions, townhouses, apartment complexes, tiny mixed-use buildings, and a thriving "alley culture". All this, at a time when the automobile was already overtaking the road (1910s, as we're a pretty young connurbation).
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
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!
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.
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.
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 :)
Great video with an excellent conclusion! Call to action in the form of a thought provoking question. Hope to see more content like this from strong towns, keep up the great work.
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
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.
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.
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
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
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
The design isn't doing us any favors. If only the design itself slowed us down, rather than the fear of enforcement or hitting someone!
@@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.
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
@@nerdwisdomyo9563 Nah, it's much too common for people to become complacent and start thinking it can't get better.
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😅
Paris has some wide boulevards where cars zoom by at high speeds.
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 ? -
@@strongtowns 1:50 I was like : his name is Ned Flanders ? What the ... But his name is Mike . What is that? A moustache and a green sweater ?
@@KingThallion If you watch the video, it says that both have made relevant policy commitments that Strong Towns Favors.
What is great about Strong Towns is that they are not anti-automobile they are just pro-sanity.
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.
They are pro humans and pro functional city business
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.
@@carstarsarstenstesenn Tell them to just pay for their valued parking spaces.
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.
Which city did you visit, if I may ask?
I was amazed when I learned that some people in some cities in the US DON'T feel safe walking through the centre..
@@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.
@@taoliu3949cities have been associated with poverty and crime for thousands of years.
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.
"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.
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?"
So relevant to my city! 2ish years ago they lowered default speed limits from 50 to 40km/hr unless otherwise posted. They've also done some pedestrianizing pilots on downtown streets which have now become permanent. Recently budget was passed for expanding the bike lane network. Last summer I noticed some piloting of temporary traffic calming infrastructure in areas I frequent. I made sure to write my councillor to let them know how much I appreciate those changes as a driver and when I'm walking. It's all super slow but I'm very proud of my town for taking these steps!
This stuff matters!
lowering the speed limits only feels like a feels good measure to me, with no change to the street layout, why would YOU change the speed you drive on ?
its like shifting the blame on the drivers. WE lowered the speed limit, why aren't YOU slowing down ?
@CedriCo it's an important part of the solution. Not the entire solution. I've noticed it makes me a more cautious driver (it's easier to slow to 30 in a school/playground zone from 40 than from 50...). It's more comfortable driving 40 in my dense downtown residential neighborhood. It's not intuitive to drive at lower speeds in the burbs but redesigning those roads is a longer more expensive process.
@@coced you're right that lowering the speed limit alone isn't enough, but there are other things mentioned in the post - traffic calming infrastructure and adding bike lanes (which usually means narrowing car lanes) help reinforce the safer speed limits
@@coced Studies find that lowering the posted speed limit does reduce speeds somewhat. It's not enough by itself, but it's not useless.
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.
The problem is that we're basically allowing *tanks* - full-on military grade vehicles designed to take on any and all terrain - on our streets.
@@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.
NotJustBikes just came out with a great video about this problem.
@@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.
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!
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.
I feel that bike lanes should have some form of barriers to protect cyclists. No more ghost bikes.
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.
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 :)
We appreciate you tuning in!
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!
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.
"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!
All of the US is dangerous, inside or outside.
It's difficult to fathom the difference even between Germany and Canada housing/build environments
I had the same pipeline that you did. I saw watched the “Why we won’t raise our kids in suburbia” video by not just bikes and then proceeded to city nerd. These videos helped me finally be able to understand why I hated where I grew up. I am such a huge fan of what Strong Towns is doing and you guys have convinced me to get involved in local government too!
I watched that video too. Before I knew car dependency was a thing or problem, I felt like driving seemed inefficient for short trips and that our roads felt unnecessarily dangerous. I never knew why until seeing videos on the subject. I didn’t hate where I lived just never understood why our roads were like that.
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 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.
You and Hicks should absolutely collaborate. You can have a contest to see who can out-Flanders whom!
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 TH-camrs you respect.
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).
Sounds like your town council found a new source of income: parking tickets!
@@hendman4083 The town never did write parking tickets in the past. But they are collecting a lot of extra on speeding tickets now.
Not Just Bikes, Citynerd, Stewart Hicks... you guys have got us pegged, don't you?
🤷♂️
Where's City Beautiful???
@@angellacanfora indeed, city beautiful is another great channel that needs a shout out.
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)
As a current resident of Phoenix, I can relate to the desire to move to a better urban environment!
You should connect with Thomas Y! He’s making some great content and is based in the valley.
@@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.
Didn't Phoenix got voted as one of the "most unsustainable cities" in the USA?
@@electric7487 I can't read this comment without remembering that one King of the Hill line.
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.
100% correct, there's a term for this, it's called 'induce demmand'
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 TH-cam. Gets tiring. Also good to be reminded of what Chicago is doing right rather than feeling like it's not good enough.
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)
@@MegaBanane9 unfortunately no, and the speed limit is 25mph with people regularly going 30.
Sounds more like a problem with the driver not paying attention or just not caring. It's ok to acknowledge that human beings are imperfect.
@@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.
No Strong Towns group in my town, and I'm hopefully moving away soon, but I did bug my local officials about walkability!
Yay for advocating for changes to the people in the rooms where decisions happen!
The name card calling out Mike as “Ned Flanders” made me laugh out loud
Ned Flanders lmao
👀
Sometimes, you just have to lean into it. :)
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.
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
Please share this video with your local elected officials. So many good points and inspiration to help them make positive changes in your community.
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.
So glad to see the growth on the Strong Towns channel, it seems like the subscribers have doubled over the course of a year or two.
It’s awesome to see you putting out this high-quality media!
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.*
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.
These videos are SO good. I'm really happy to see Strong Towns making videos of this level of quality.
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.
The Ned Flanders joke was amazing. Well done. Also, just, absolutely amazing work! Thanks for all you do, from Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada.
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
Grapevine's downtown deserves much more credit, in my opinion. It's a suburb in a part of the Metroplex that tends to be Very Hostile to anything non-sprawlish. Colleyville was slated to get a station on TEXRail but loudly (& absurdly) rejected it. IIRC, there was also supposed to be a Haltom City station, but that never happened either. So the fact Grapevine "bucked the trend" by, along with North Richland Hills, joining Trinity Metro & embracing TEXRail + TOD is commendable, and a great first set of baby steps for the NE Tarrant Mid-Cities, as we in DFW call them. It's not perfect - the sidewalks could indeed be better, & also better feeder buses - but don't let perfection be the enemy of the good.
Grapevine has embraced TEXRail from the start of planning in the early '00s, because they saw the massive benefits involved in having a beautiful downtown + surrounds, centered around rail. They are the oldest municipality in Tarrant County, even predating Fort Worth by almost a decade... so it makes sense they want to keep that old-school vibe & blend it with the new.
Sure enough, they been bringing in a lotta bacon from being both a local & tourist destination; comparatively almost no one wants to simply look at single houses & strip malls all day, even if they are "high end" like Southlake ("ooh look baby, they got a Sephora!" 🤣)
I love my locale - I'm a Fort Worth south sider - and my state, but we especially went hard on the mistakes of that 'biggest misallocation of resources in human history' thing. It's a much more uphill battle making Texas cities/towns strong for real, but by talking turkey in the right way, it can - and has been - getting done & getting better here. I'm a dude at the rock bottom of society - disabled, outcast, a whole set - & a cornerstone of my advocacy is indeed The Strong Towns Way. I'm also conservative (in the "Eisenhower", "stand against bigotry", "pro-social" sense) & shine a light on how quality development is the most fiscally responsible way & is key to getting back to that Biblical, old-school community way where there wasn't the atomization & disenfranchisement so common today. Also, reducing hostility/bigotry through sociality.
I'm too broke to be a member but I'm definitely rah-rah about Strong Towns & use a lot of y'all's material in my civic involvement & advocacy. Local government is now part of my life's passion & we are blessed with (since 2011!) awesome leadership here in the City of Fort Worth that is definitely looking to better our development, advance transit & bike infra, & all that good stuff. The Mayor takes this seriously. & me, personally - I take her slogan ("It's Go Time!") seriously as well.
~ Mesyn
Thanks for the comment- I think Grapevine is a bright spot in the DFW metroplex, and has tons of potential. If I were to end up in DFW, I certainly think grapevine would be a top contender. I thought of it because I was so enamored by the station after exiting the train that we took from Fort Worth when seeing the lights a couple years ago, but was disappointed with how hard it was to navigate the sidewalks with our grandmother’s wheelchair. Thanks for sharing your thoughts!
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.
@STRONGTOWNS... You are a scambot
@@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.
@@jamesphillips2285 I did so as well.
@@ozAqVvhhNue Not sure why TH-cam can't automatically scrutinize somebody making more than ~25 (nearly identical!) comments under a video.
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?
It would be awesome to have a Louisville local conversation!
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.
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?
The constant switching from vest to no vest is sending me XD but it's a great video
This video is really well done. Keep these coming!
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.
I'm a school crossing guard in Lehigh Acres, Lee County, Florida and they try and run me over
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
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.
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.
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.
Logan Square is in need of a complete redesign. One has been promised for years, yet we don't see any changes.
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.
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.
Awesome hosting, Ned!
So glad more video channels like this exist.
Thank you so much. We are fighting in Frederick MD, me and a bunch of retirees!
This is a fantastic video with some excellent flow, info, and style. Great work and thank you for creating this!
I'm going to be the scourge of my town council. Go Strong Towns!
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
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.
Villa park actually has commuter rail to the city! It’s about a 15 minute walk from the Ardmore area we highlighted.
@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
Yep... police forces have long used speed limits as BOTH a funding source and, unfortunately, as a vehicle for race-based oppression and violence. Thank you for bringing up that point, because it reminds us that a Strong Town where travel speeds are controlled better through community forces is also a safer town for all of its residents, and therefore less prone to race-based violence.
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.
Gorgeous energy and tone, aroha from Aotearoa - NZ
Hello and warm greetings from Germany,
unlike most American cities, road traffic in Germany already seems to be quite pedestrian and cyclist friendly. But even here there is a lot of catching up to do - especially in big cities like Cologne, Berlin or Frankfurt. We Germans can also learn a lot from our neighbors, the Netherlands. The automobile-oriented 1960s caused a lot of damage here that now has to be painstakingly put right. But we are on the right track; climate change in particular is finally forcing us to think about individual transportation, to reduce road traffic in favor of public transportation, and to promote alternative transportation options such as bicycles, car sharing, and so on.
I hope and wish that you in America will also find a way to make your cities more people- and climate-friendly.
Thank you for your valuable film!
Regards: Martin
Safe Street Rebel in San Francisco is doing good work too
I am obsessed with your new videos. these are exactly what I want to share with people I know. so well done. AH! 💖
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
Within about 2-3 miles of the center of my city (San Diego), we have suburban neighborhoods once built with the notion that people here had dirt roads, undeveloped canyons, and sagebrush surrounding them at all cardinal points; that said, these suburban neighborhoods were built to be a small world within the city; front porches used to be business fronts, backyards had granny flats and all of them had alleyway access, relieving the streets, cable cars had stops located near "trolley bungalows" that were complexes of 6 or more bungalows/cottages, with one of them being a small diner, or a barbershop. The relative laxity of regulations and zoning, would make neighborhoods a latticework of single family homes, mansions, townhouses, apartment complexes, tiny mixed-use buildings, and a thriving "alley culture".
All this, at a time when the automobile was already overtaking the road (1910s, as we're a pretty young connurbation).
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
I legit almost choked... Never thought I'd be taken out by snaking during a Strong Towns video 🤣
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!
Glad you like them! You should take the metra to Evanston and check it out, it’s a lovely suburb.
@@strongtowns yeah I'll give it a stroll one of these weekends.
I regularly piss other drivers off by refusing to go more than 25 mph in residential areas.
Nice having Chuck on this video. Keep up the great work!
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.
Thank you for the video !
This was such a great segment, I am going to make plans to be in Charlotte in May!!
Wow! The footage from Kenmore Street! I loved it!
loving the new content keep it up!
Loving these new videos. Great format, great editing.
Great video thanks Strong Towns. Running up to Stewart was great haha
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.
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 :)
If you see something soul-crushinfly destructive, it is because it was made this way by someone for their own benefit
Yep, if something exists it’s because someone’s benefiting from it, you just have to find out who.
Great video with an excellent conclusion! Call to action in the form of a thought provoking question. Hope to see more content like this from strong towns, keep up the great work.
Very good video
Wait I'm actually from romeoville, that's actually so cool that you used that as an example because I think the same thing from personal experience!
11:55 Where are those guides?
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
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.
12:16 I live in Akron, and my brain refuses to believe it's there, even after I checked the map.
Great video and resources. Thanks!
Props to the editor btw. The sequence in the beginning was sick
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.
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
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
Never thought I would a place I lived for a period on this channel. Way to go Kenmore and Akron!