Thanks so much for tuning in. I really appreciate it. Obviously, there's a long road ahead, but I hope this progress and lessons learned can be an inspiration for other cities. Cheers! John
That’s cool! Unfortunately we were running short on time so no stops this time. Thanks for watching and commenting. It’s much appreciated. Cheers! John
I'm glad to see how they developed and implemented this biking route in the Mueller neighbourhood. This gives me hope that the US will take bike infrastructure more seriously. Hopefully other municipalities will follow suit.
Yes! Me too. And we are starting to see representatives from other cities coming to Austin to see how it was done and experience what it's like to ride on a network such as this in a city in the southern half of the North American continent. Again, the ongoing support and guidance of the Dutch Cycling Embassy over the past decade has been quite helpful. Thanks so much for watching and commenting. It's much appreciated. Cheers! John
Thanks, Tommy! And as an fyi to everyone seeing this, if you'd like to learn more about the Austin experience, this series is part of my bit.ly/AustinDutchBikePlaylist
i love that part of town! wish we had similar improvements in the west campus and downtown area (i'm a UT student), but i understand it's harder to develop since it's more built up. the most egregious part of the bike network in austin is definitely that non-signalized crossing under i-35 at 4th street. it gets tons of pedestrian and bike traffic and it's ridiculous that we have to play frogger with cars on the frontage road.
Thanks so for watching and for this comment. Yes, I35 is a significant barrier to safe movement and really should even exist in downtown Austin. If it can’t be removed at the very least safer and more inviting bike and pedestrian facilities must be provided. I need to get back to West Campus to shoot some video up there. I hope you are enjoying the Channel. Cheers! John
I found bicycle signals in Lawrence, Kansas.... Cooll Dutch-style bike, They are had to find, unmotorized, in Austin....As a car-driver, I really appreciate the hard Biojke lanes in Austin. It keeps everybody in their own lane....Really enjoyable video.
Hehe, 🤣 Yeah, I'm with you on that one, and for that matter, even the roar of traffic on big STROADs like Airport Blvd at 0:54 - Thanks so much for tuning in. Much appreciated. Cheers! John
Kind of wild stumbling across this series and see you take all the streets/paths I take on a near daily basis. I hate that intersection at Manor and Alexander just before your clip starts. Rarely do cars stop and you’re blinded/blocked to view going south by the on-street car parking. Despite being fairly new, Alexander is one of the most dangerous part of my ride. I’ve barely avoided being hit several times by cars that blast out of that garage on Alexander at 2:53 because the cars know they have to pull so far out just to see, especially since the building puts their dumpsters in the bike lane (even today in fact). And despite construction on those new buildings having finished months ago, people constantly park in that cycle path. Chestnut at night is worse, with cars parking in the bike lane and then everyone puts their garbage bins in the path on collection day. Also for w/e reason chestnut through pleasant valley has tons of debris in the bike lanes. After several flats I’ve stopped taking it. All this to say, as someone has commutes every day on a bicycle on these exact roads, in all weather, there is so much left to be desired. The overall infrastructure/network feels incredibly hostile (try crossing I35 basically anywhere across the length of the city and it’s terrifying). And it’s difficult for me not to be cynical when so much of the new stuff feels poorly thought out or half-assed. And the driving mentality here, especially post covid, has gotten so much worse. I literally see someone not following traffic laws 4 out of 5 days a week but I get why vehicle drivers find cyclists frustrating too when I see fellow cyclists flying through intersections/4-way stops without looking and just expecting to be given right of way. On the one hand I get it, I feel the most at danger at intersections and that bad infrastructure makes me want to pass through them as fast as possible but so many drivers seems to treat us as wild animals and then act unpredictably I assume because of the number of cyclists they see not obeying traffic laws. Anyways I’m glad someone is optimistic about the changes that are taking place. It’s a start but I expect I will be dead and gone before anything remotely as well-thought out/designed as what you’re seeing in the Netherlands is widely implemented in Austin. Also, I would hesitate to call Mueller affordable. Yes there is the possibility maybe if you qualify for the very limited number of set-aside units, otherwise you’re paying top dollar for a pseudo-urban experience. Also, it’s way hotter walking/biking in Mueller due to their being very little shade cover outside of the parks unless it’s the shadow of a building. You can see how many trees are missing by just comparing it the neighborhood you rode through on Wilshire. In so many place development seems to be happening maybe to the letter but not truly the spirit… I’m most curious how you would fix Airport though. I’ve spent a decent amount of time thinking about how you’d unstroadify it but given it’s width and current land uses, I have a hard time imagining how you’d realistically fix it. Thanks for this video and the work you’re doing.
Yay! So happy you found this video/series and the Channel. Yeah, fixing Airport really depends upon your definition of it being fixed. Can it be transformed into a much more people-oriented place that also provides safe and inviting mobility options? Yes, absolutely. One of the advantages of a wide right of way (ROW) is that the space can be redesigned and reprogrammed. That's the good news; the not-so-good news is there is yet to be overwhelming community support or the political will for a genuine shift away from a drive everywhere-first mindset, so it is unlikely that a massive transformation will take place. What will happen is a continuation of the incremental improvements that will make it possible to ride and walk along and cross Airport (and many of our other similar STROADS), but honestly, they will never be pleasant as long as cars are prioritized. Thanks so much for tuning in and I look forward to meeting you one of these days while riding. Cheers! John
Interesting series. I wish you'd gone beyond the recently gentrified neighborhoods and shown some of the bike reality a little further north. Even north central is interestingly different from what you're showing here.
Yeah, we were on a tight time crunch and had get back downtown. I might venture further into the one day, but that will have to wait as I’m off to Europe for next two months. Thanks so much for watching the series. I’ll be reconnecting with Steffen in Haarlem in a few weeks. Cheers! John
I hope austin keeps building bike lanes that are separated by some physical barrier, I hate mixing bikes and cars together when we have the building space to separate them.
They will. And similar to the Dutch approach, the separation will be prioritized on the larger, faster roadways, while the quiet residential neighborhoods will likely mostly be low speed, low volume shared space just like we talked about in this series. Thank you so much for tuning in. I really appreciate it. Cheers! John
Ah, cool! Yeah, come to think of it I heard it pronounced that way as well. Hehe 🤣Thanks so much for tuning in. I hope liked the ride and are enjoying the Channel. Cheers! John 😀
I’ve lived here a decade and a half, and as someone who studied German I would pronounce it Müller and constantly be corrected by people saying it was Miller or Muller when I first moved here even hearing it pronounced that way on KUT. That’s changed over the last five years or so though 🤷♂️
Yeah, that makes sense. Our asphalt roadways get so hot that they start melting and deforming, especially under the weight of oversized vehicles (which typically wouldn't be an issue on the pathways). Thanks so much for watching and commenting. It's much appreciated. Cheers! John
Needs paved brick and similar Dutch adjustments to signal drivers this is an area where bikes and pedestrians cross. That, or have the bikeway elevated/underground to be completely protected. That or make it a Dutch-style roundabout with bikeway protections.
The concrete is because we get extreme temps in Austin, mostly heat, and asphalt just warps and gets potholes etc. NOt exactly the kind of surface for bikes lol. Speaking of temps, it would be really nice if more than 3-4 months out of the year were comfortable to actually ride in. Austin is doing a super job on the bike infrastructure, but so many Texans would sooner run over us than pay attention to the lanes, sharrows, and lights. Be careful out there!!
It would be nice... hehe 🤣 I ride all year round, and many other people ride too. The trees help a lot. More street trees, please. Thanks for tuning in. Cheers! John
When the park was first opened in 1865 it first was called "The New Park" or in Dutch "Het Nieuwe Park". A couple years later in 1867 with the unveiling of the "Vondelmonument". A statue in honor of the poet and playwright Joost van den Vondel, so the name was changed to "Vondelpark".
Thank you so much for watching and for the question, @reneolthof6811... and thanks to the generous contribution by @cs_DutchCheese, we now know the story behind the name of the park. Cheers! John
That stroad in the beginning sucks (missing even sidewalks?), but that's the first time seeing a median island done right: As a barrier between the road and the bike lane/crosswalk. So often in the US it just ends right of the crosswalk, offering no protection at all.
There are housing options across all income levels, and the fact that one can live here without having to own and use a car daily saves a lot of money on the annual household budget. Thanks so much for watching and for the question. It is much appreciated. Cheers! John
So after Austin removes more and more vehicle lanes so the few bikers can use the replacement bike lanes, where will the cars go? When you come to Austin when it is a hundred degrees (or thereabouts) three or four months a year, are you really going to be riding a bike? No, you will drive a car. Also, the majority of people who live in Mueller do NOT work there. They drive to their workplaces outside of Mueller. Also, why don’t you check with CapMetro about transit ridership; it is dreadfully and embarrassingly low. And as to concrete vs asphalt, the soil in that area has a high clay content and expands when wet.
Hey, thanks so much for watching and for contributing to the conversation. Providing viable comfortable options for travel other than just driving makes the travel experience better for everyone, including those that must or want to drive. Yes, I ride in Austin all year round and having a little electric has really helped in that realm. I do have several friends who live and work in Mueller, and yes, a few that commute to their jobs, sometimes by bike and sometimes driving. Again, we're not anti-car, I have one for those trips that I can't accomplish by walking, biking or transit. This movement is all about providing viable choices and the freedom to move about within our communities safely. Cheers! John
I really enjoyed this series, awesome stuff going on!
Thanks so much for tuning in. I really appreciate it. Obviously, there's a long road ahead, but I hope this progress and lessons learned can be an inspiration for other cities. Cheers! John
You rode right by my house on Boggy creek trail! Glad to see you show it off. Hope you guys stopped at Oddwood brewing and Tried KG BBQ
That’s cool! Unfortunately we were running short on time so no stops this time. Thanks for watching and commenting. It’s much appreciated. Cheers! John
I'm glad to see how they developed and implemented this biking route in the Mueller neighbourhood. This gives me hope that the US will take bike infrastructure more seriously. Hopefully other municipalities will follow suit.
Yes! Me too. And we are starting to see representatives from other cities coming to Austin to see how it was done and experience what it's like to ride on a network such as this in a city in the southern half of the North American continent. Again, the ongoing support and guidance of the Dutch Cycling Embassy over the past decade has been quite helpful. Thanks so much for watching and commenting. It's much appreciated. Cheers! John
Loved this series! Keep up the great work!
Thanks, Tommy! And as an fyi to everyone seeing this, if you'd like to learn more about the Austin experience, this series is part of my bit.ly/AustinDutchBikePlaylist
Great series of videos. Love the Mueller neighborhood area.
So glad you enjoyed them! Yeah, it's hard to beat Mueller.
i love that part of town! wish we had similar improvements in the west campus and downtown area (i'm a UT student), but i understand it's harder to develop since it's more built up. the most egregious part of the bike network in austin is definitely that non-signalized crossing under i-35 at 4th street. it gets tons of pedestrian and bike traffic and it's ridiculous that we have to play frogger with cars on the frontage road.
Thanks so for watching and for this comment. Yes, I35 is a significant barrier to safe movement and really should even exist in downtown Austin. If it can’t be removed at the very least safer and more inviting bike and pedestrian facilities must be provided. I need to get back to West Campus to shoot some video up there. I hope you are enjoying the Channel. Cheers! John
I found bicycle signals in Lawrence, Kansas.... Cooll Dutch-style bike, They are had to find, unmotorized, in Austin....As a car-driver, I really appreciate the hard Biojke lanes in Austin. It keeps everybody in their own lane....Really enjoyable video.
Thanks so much for tuning in and commenting! 😀
2:35 I look forward to the day where you never have to hear sounds like this ever again.
Hehe, 🤣 Yeah, I'm with you on that one, and for that matter, even the roar of traffic on big STROADs like Airport Blvd at 0:54 - Thanks so much for tuning in. Much appreciated. Cheers! John
Kind of wild stumbling across this series and see you take all the streets/paths I take on a near daily basis.
I hate that intersection at Manor and Alexander just before your clip starts. Rarely do cars stop and you’re blinded/blocked to view going south by the on-street car parking. Despite being fairly new, Alexander is one of the most dangerous part of my ride. I’ve barely avoided being hit several times by cars that blast out of that garage on Alexander at 2:53 because the cars know they have to pull so far out just to see, especially since the building puts their dumpsters in the bike lane (even today in fact). And despite construction on those new buildings having finished months ago, people constantly park in that cycle path.
Chestnut at night is worse, with cars parking in the bike lane and then everyone puts their garbage bins in the path on collection day. Also for w/e reason chestnut through pleasant valley has tons of debris in the bike lanes. After several flats I’ve stopped taking it.
All this to say, as someone has commutes every day on a bicycle on these exact roads, in all weather, there is so much left to be desired. The overall infrastructure/network feels incredibly hostile (try crossing I35 basically anywhere across the length of the city and it’s terrifying). And it’s difficult for me not to be cynical when so much of the new stuff feels poorly thought out or half-assed.
And the driving mentality here, especially post covid, has gotten so much worse. I literally see someone not following traffic laws 4 out of 5 days a week but I get why vehicle drivers find cyclists frustrating too when I see fellow cyclists flying through intersections/4-way stops without looking and just expecting to be given right of way. On the one hand I get it, I feel the most at danger at intersections and that bad infrastructure makes me want to pass through them as fast as possible but so many drivers seems to treat us as wild animals and then act unpredictably I assume because of the number of cyclists they see not obeying traffic laws.
Anyways I’m glad someone is optimistic about the changes that are taking place. It’s a start but I expect I will be dead and gone before anything remotely as well-thought out/designed as what you’re seeing in the Netherlands is widely implemented in Austin.
Also, I would hesitate to call Mueller affordable. Yes there is the possibility maybe if you qualify for the very limited number of set-aside units, otherwise you’re paying top dollar for a pseudo-urban experience. Also, it’s way hotter walking/biking in Mueller due to their being very little shade cover outside of the parks unless it’s the shadow of a building. You can see how many trees are missing by just comparing it the neighborhood you rode through on Wilshire. In so many place development seems to be happening maybe to the letter but not truly the spirit…
I’m most curious how you would fix Airport though. I’ve spent a decent amount of time thinking about how you’d unstroadify it but given it’s width and current land uses, I have a hard time imagining how you’d realistically fix it.
Thanks for this video and the work you’re doing.
Yay! So happy you found this video/series and the Channel. Yeah, fixing Airport really depends upon your definition of it being fixed. Can it be transformed into a much more people-oriented place that also provides safe and inviting mobility options? Yes, absolutely. One of the advantages of a wide right of way (ROW) is that the space can be redesigned and reprogrammed. That's the good news; the not-so-good news is there is yet to be overwhelming community support or the political will for a genuine shift away from a drive everywhere-first mindset, so it is unlikely that a massive transformation will take place. What will happen is a continuation of the incremental improvements that will make it possible to ride and walk along and cross Airport (and many of our other similar STROADS), but honestly, they will never be pleasant as long as cars are prioritized. Thanks so much for tuning in and I look forward to meeting you one of these days while riding. Cheers! John
Interesting series. I wish you'd gone beyond the recently gentrified neighborhoods and shown some of the bike reality a little further north. Even north central is interestingly different from what you're showing here.
Yeah, we were on a tight time crunch and had get back downtown. I might venture further into the one day, but that will have to wait as I’m off to Europe for next two months. Thanks so much for watching the series. I’ll be reconnecting with Steffen in Haarlem in a few weeks. Cheers! John
I hope austin keeps building bike lanes that are separated by some physical barrier, I hate mixing bikes and cars together when we have the building space to separate them.
They will. And similar to the Dutch approach, the separation will be prioritized on the larger, faster roadways, while the quiet residential neighborhoods will likely mostly be low speed, low volume shared space just like we talked about in this series.
Thank you so much for tuning in.
I really appreciate it.
Cheers!
John
That's a nice video. That crossing could do with some traffic lights. I will look up that channel. I love Jason's channel not just bikes as well
Thanks so much for tuning in again, Bobbie!
I’ve lived in Austin my entire life and have only ever heard “myoo-ler”… “Miller” and “Muh-ller” are new
Ah, cool! Yeah, come to think of it I heard it pronounced that way as well. Hehe 🤣Thanks so much for tuning in. I hope liked the ride and are enjoying the Channel. Cheers! John 😀
I’ve lived here a decade and a half, and as someone who studied German I would pronounce it Müller and constantly be corrected by people saying it was Miller or Muller when I first moved here even hearing it pronounced that way on KUT. That’s changed over the last five years or so though 🤷♂️
Perhaps there is a preference for concrete because concrete is slightly more resistant to high temperatures?
Yeah, that makes sense. Our asphalt roadways get so hot that they start melting and deforming, especially under the weight of oversized vehicles (which typically wouldn't be an issue on the pathways). Thanks so much for watching and commenting. It's much appreciated. Cheers! John
and what I've heard here, they also don't get cracked by roots - if anything, they'd get pushed up, but that'll take a lot longer.
Needs paved brick and similar Dutch adjustments to signal drivers this is an area where bikes and pedestrians cross. That, or have the bikeway elevated/underground to be completely protected. That or make it a Dutch-style roundabout with bikeway protections.
Thanks for tuning in and commenting! Always much appreciated. Cheers! John
The concrete is because we get extreme temps in Austin, mostly heat, and asphalt just warps and gets potholes etc. NOt exactly the kind of surface for bikes lol. Speaking of temps, it would be really nice if more than 3-4 months out of the year were comfortable to actually ride in. Austin is doing a super job on the bike infrastructure, but so many Texans would sooner run over us than pay attention to the lanes, sharrows, and lights. Be careful out there!!
It would be nice... hehe 🤣
I ride all year round, and many other people ride too.
The trees help a lot.
More street trees, please.
Thanks for tuning in.
Cheers!
John
Yay, Vondelpark. Do you happen to know who this Vondel guy actually is? 😊
When the park was first opened in 1865 it first was called "The New Park" or in Dutch "Het Nieuwe Park". A couple years later in 1867 with the unveiling of the "Vondelmonument". A statue in honor of the poet and playwright Joost van den Vondel, so the name was changed to "Vondelpark".
Thank you so much for watching and for the question, @reneolthof6811... and thanks to the generous contribution by @cs_DutchCheese, we now know the story behind the name of the park. Cheers! John
That stroad in the beginning sucks (missing even sidewalks?), but that's the first time seeing a median island done right: As a barrier between the road and the bike lane/crosswalk. So often in the US it just ends right of the crosswalk, offering no protection at all.
Yeah, as I said in the video it's a nasty one. The city is working on transforming it, but as you can tell, it's not going to be easy.
How much does one need to make to live in an area like that?
There are housing options across all income levels, and the fact that one can live here without having to own and use a car daily saves a lot of money on the annual household budget. Thanks so much for watching and for the question. It is much appreciated. Cheers! John
wow that stroad is very bad. But oherwise austin makes good progress. Keep progressing!
Yeah, it's a monster, for sure. Thanks for watching. Cheers! John
So after Austin removes more and more vehicle lanes so the few bikers can use the replacement bike lanes, where will the cars go? When you come to Austin when it is a hundred degrees (or thereabouts) three or four months a year, are you really going to be riding a bike? No, you will drive a car. Also, the majority of people who live in Mueller do NOT work there. They drive to their workplaces outside of Mueller. Also, why don’t you check with CapMetro about transit ridership; it is dreadfully and embarrassingly low. And as to concrete vs asphalt, the soil in that area has a high clay content and expands when wet.
Hey, thanks so much for watching and for contributing to the conversation. Providing viable comfortable options for travel other than just driving makes the travel experience better for everyone, including those that must or want to drive. Yes, I ride in Austin all year round and having a little electric has really helped in that realm. I do have several friends who live and work in Mueller, and yes, a few that commute to their jobs, sometimes by bike and sometimes driving. Again, we're not anti-car, I have one for those trips that I can't accomplish by walking, biking or transit. This movement is all about providing viable choices and the freedom to move about within our communities safely. Cheers! John
I bike even in the summer - change clothes when I get to the office. Still better than driving in Austin.