It's fantastic to see a community that gets how to promote biking. I'm from the Netherlands, but if I would visit there, I would definitely rent a bike to get around. They have the network going, they have protected bike lanes and sidewalks for pedestrians. That will ensure that people will enjoy getting around in other ways than just driving around in cars. The islands at the intersections ensure safety for slower lighter traffic. I also love that they make sure there is plenty of space where people can spend leasure time and enjoy beautiful surroundings. In all, definitely on the road to success.
I bet! And it keeps getting better. Thanks so much for watching. I have a growing Mueller video playlist now: bit.ly/MuellerCommunityPlaylist Cheers! John
I’ve read every excuse why cycling wouldn’t work in the USA: too big, too hot, too cold, too hilly, too unsafe. And I’ve seen quite a lot of video’s about a project of ‘a bike lane’ in some US city. But this one is very convincing. Big, hot Texas, of all places!
We're getting it done... so other cities, no excuses, let's go! Actually, quite a few other cities are making big strides and I hope to celebrate those successes as well so that even more can be inspired to get on board. Cheers! John
Just trowing in a bike lane is pointless. It is an urban concept, you need the bike lanes but also destinations. I think they understand the whole concept, destinations in cycle range. To have economical viable destinations you need a certain population density. They are working on the whole concept and when a city does that, at first there will be resistance from the people, than acceptance, but in the end happy people and a vibrant city.
To me, the new intersections look like the way they suppose too be. The roads in the US look often wide enough to make these changes, never understood why it never has been done before. Nice to see more people see the benefits.
Really great to see the tour guide, Preston, riding a recumbent trike. This is how we normalize all-ages, all-abilities. And recumbent trikes are actually a benefit for all, if you take the time to try them.
Overal this all looks pretty good. Saying that people can't turn right on red because of a sign is maybe a bit optimistic though. Definitely nice to see that people are actually taking over good infrastructure designs from the Netherlands.
The simple fact that "right turn on red" is a thing is bad enough for me. Unfortunately, it seems my country is starting to implement this to "improve traffic flow", but we'll fortunately stop this trend before it grows roots! 💪
Thanks so much for watching! Yeah, this community and the buildout of Austin's network will serve as solid examples for all of North America and other car-centric cities around the globe that want to transform their environments into safer, more inviting people-oriented places. Like this group, we're seeing an increase in formal and informal study tours flocking to the city to experience the emerging network in person. For those that can't make it here, I'll keep producing these profile videos - I think there are six in the playlist at this point. Cheers! John
They've done a fantastic job with the pedestrian infrastructure in Mueller. I take my daughters there often just to ride our bikes around and hit the parks. The frustrating part is that it took an abandoned airport that provided a huge empty developable parcel centrally located in one of the fastest growing cities in the country for this to happen.. How will we ever fix the rest of our broken pedestrian infrastructure in this country? Hopefully we can do it sooner rather than later. Thanks for the work you do in this regard!
Thanks, Robert! Block by block, neighborhood by neighborhood. The unspoken reality of the Dutch system is that 70% is actually some form of shared space. I believe the way forward is to create traffic-calmed streets where people are comfortably present - my experience is that when this happens drivers slow down naturally (not always, but very nearly always). I appreciate your watching the video and your wonderful comment. Cheers! John PS My Ride Downtown video features the shared space reality of my neighborhood, where we work hard to encourage drivers to drive slowly by being in the space, because we have no other choice: th-cam.com/video/wHW17KFPrDw/w-d-xo.html
Nope, it bad. Sure, it looks nice. Even some bike paths, but it still is a suburb without amenities. For the Dutch among the viewers: Almere without the shops.
Hay Tab-Glad to see you and Preston hanging out with John. That only means good things for Central Arkansas. It has been a couple of years since I followed Preston around on a bike and it felt pretty amazing watching him share this new community that he is so passionate about. It is easy to see the attraction. The higher densities that are coming and the potential to close a street to cars is exciting. The lingering that people do when streets are returned to people is a shock to them and that starts to unwind the mystique of the car. We were not sure how it would work out, but we are car free in a nine story apartment building with no dedicated parking and we shop around the corner at a supermarket with no parking of any kind. So far so good.
A real achievement to provide such great active travel alternatives to the car. Planners everywhere should see this video. The USA sets the path for so much of the world. If this is the start of a new direction, there is hope for us too in the UK (mini America with castles 🤣). This latest ride Austin series is so inspiring John. Good luck ditching I35.
Thanks so much, Mike. Yes, let's bring these to your cities as well. I fear we won't be able to completely ditch I-35, but if we could just eliminate it as a major barrier that would be huge. Cheers! John
The Austin videos of active towns are about the Dutch inspired cycling infrastructure. Why would the UK look up to the USA, when original is just across the North Sea.
@@erik5374 True that. Why indeed? If there was a reason other than simple proximity (and the Dutch clearly have the most successful network designs) it would be helpful to have examples of car-dependent places making the hard decisions and investments to transform - I'm all about profiling success stories wherever they exist so that they might be inspiring to others around the globe. Thanks for watching and for your contribution to the conversation. Cheers! John
Agree 100% Erik. Sadly for good or bad UK media and leaders are strongly influenced by USA. We have followed the car dependent suburban sprawl experiment pioneered in America. I so wish we would learn more from our heroic Dutch neighbours. It is happening but painfully slowly. If the US took a different path of development, then hopefully other car infested countries would move faster in that direction. I’m sick of the dangerous noisy SUVs and Pickups that own the road and make it so unpleasant and scary to walk, cycle and live here. Places should be for people as they are in NL. The rest of us so badly need great alternatives to the car and a Dutch pattern of development.
It a real fan of the traffic lights being at the other side of the street. You almost need binoculars to see them. As a Dutch person having watched a lot of infrastructure videos from across the globe. This is generally the first neighbourhood that actually reminds me of "home" and I feel this is what a Dutch neighbourhood would look like if there was actual space in this packed country.
This is awesome! A big open area for development could have easily gone to some developer who doesn't care about good design. So glad these guys stepped in. I hope they allow cafes and boutiques and other small businesses in that area. Because if it's a huge success, the rest of Austin will be envious and want to emulate it.
Yes, they do allow cafes, boutiques, and other businesses in the area and yes, it is the envy of the region, hence the reason we were leading this bike tour. Hehe ;-) Cheers!
The streets in Mueller really look as beautiful and safe as the ones in Dutch suburbs. Though the smaller streets without cycling paths would be brick roads in the Netherlands (which also gets the neighborhood cooler in summer because asphalt gets really hot) How do people in other parts of Austin look at Mueller, is it contagious?
Yes. Exactly, Bart. Those shared streets could use a little Dutch brick treatment to slow down the motorists, but honestly, it's quite comfortable as I think came through in the video. As far as I know, they view Mueller quite favorably, and yes they'd like safer streets too. And have passed several tax increases (bonds) to fund the construction. Cheers! John
You are quite welcome. And thanks for watching. This site used to be our airport, so it is a completely "new" community with I believe 10-15 year build-out timeline. Cheers! John
Now add shops in the residential areas, with grocery stores or small supermarkets, and people will go shopping walking or on a bicycle instead of using a car. Ah, just landed at 17:00 in the video and I see a beginning has been made at that too. Add even some (take out) restaurants and a local pub or cafetaria with terrace would be good too.
Yes. The closing scene is actually shot in front of the outdoor dining area of our favorite Irish Pub. I'll have to do a broader video that focuses on the fact that this is very much a 15-minute community, where the residents can access pretty much all of their daily needs within a comfortable 15-minute walk or bike ride. Thanks for watching and for the comment. Cheers! John
This community actually has quite a few shops with easy walking and biking distance. I'll have to do another video highlighting that feature of the neighborhood as well. But I will say, even more, would be ideal. Cheers! John
When finished building out, the neighborhood will have about 13,000 residents and about 13,000 jobs. Everything from a medical center with Children's Hospital through research and all the way to small restaurants and ice cream shops.
2:41 Hm, I'm guessing that bike traffic light could confuse drivers quite a bit, it's housed in a car traffic light and it's far away so you don't necessarily see the bike symbol.
Thanks so much for watching and for this comment. Yes, our practice of putting signals on the far side of the intersections is quite perplexing to people living in other places. And in addition, it is much harder to see when they are far off in the distance, as my aging eyes can attest. Hehe ;-) Cheers! John
This is very nice for the community, you are on the right way, but there must be also a supermarket, so people can shop their grosseries nearby, i am really happy for the community it is nice to see that the infrastructure like on that from my country the Netherlands. I hope they will enjoy live.
@@ActiveTowns Well John i saw it, and that is great, now some playgrounds for the kids in the neigbourhood, so children can play outside like our kids. The people on the street will always watch if the children are safe, like we do. I think that people who are living in this neigberhood will never leave.
@@helenooft9664 Re: Playgrounds, yes... they have a lot of them, I think I've lost count. The one thing Preston is advocating for is an elder oriented "playground" where seniors can work on strength and balancing skills: bbc.in/3ANvlx2
Yeah, they are continually adding more small shops, restaurants, and even places of work within easy walking and biking distance throughout the community. Thanks for watching and for this contribution to the conversation. I really appreciate it. Cheers! John
Great to see this more Dutch style road design when it comes to safety for pedestrians and people on bikes. But it also makes me wonder, part of the reason why bike culture in the Netherlands works so well is that you actually have destinations like stores at a bike-able distance. But most places in NA do not have small neighborhood stores (anymore) that are relatively close by, do these projects also focus on that aspect of infrastructure to promote biking or is the focus purely on making biking safer?
Thanks so much for watching and contributing to the conversation. Yes! Exactly. We have a long way to go in this regard, however, this particular neighborhood has many meaningful destinations within an easy 10-15 minute walking and biking distance. Many of the newer developments I focus on in this video: th-cam.com/video/dGYg7ImKkiA/w-d-xo.html highlight the mixing of shops with housing and convenient transit and bike path access. Cheers! John
You've hit the nail on the head of the fundamental problem at Mueller. While there are plenty of stores and restaurants next to housing in Mueller, and you can get to it by bike easily, the businesses are not really within casual walking distance. Public transit to/from Mueller is pretty poor. I don't believe they have even an elementary school within walking distance. The nearest library and post office are a couple neighborhoods away. I really applaud Mueller for trying something different and making some successes, but in the end it's still primarily a car-required single-family low density neighborhood with strip malls on the ends and some apartments in the middle near the park. By Texas standards, it's pretty amazing, but we really need to do a lot better than this.
Since the community is still being built out by the developer, the streets are city-designed and developer-built. We need them everywhere. Haha Cheers! John
Mooi,ziet er keurig uit daar!Nederland maar dan met mooi weer,haha,ook vieze bovengrondse elektra kabels ontbreken grotendeels, mooi in de grond weggewerkt !
they are even using red at the crossings for the bike path. But it's more a mix of what you see in Paris and what you can see in the smaller Dutch towns. Edit: or better a mix between Paris and Tokyo with influences from Dutch design.
Wonderful! Yes, let's get you out riding for sure. I'm certain we can find a bike for you. Thanks for watching. Keep an eye out for Preston. Cheers! John
Buy one! And by the looks of how it is going with the infrastructure by an omafiets th-cam.com/video/aESqrP3hfi8/w-d-xo.html. I am Dutch and can confirm riding a bike on safe and dedicated cycle infrastructure is fun. No stress like riding a car, just relaxing, healthy and fun.
Yes. I-35 is a significant barrier. Did you see my previous video where I rode under it on 4th street? th-cam.com/video/dGYg7ImKkiA/w-d-xo.html This is one of the only semi-comfortable crossings in the downtown area. Cheers! John
@@ActiveTowns Yes, I have seen that. The Dutch would build a bridge by the 9th street, make an elevator on the west side, and pedestrianize this strip on the west side.
@@lkruijsw Right now there is a movement to bury I-35 in the hopes that the city can be "stitched" back together... it won't likely be completely successful, but in 10 years' time we might see something much different in this area.
@@ActiveTowns In the Netherlands we have 4 big burry projects. The A2 west of Utrecht. The A2 in Maastricht. The A9 in the south east of Amsterdam. And the A73 on the south of Roermond. You can use that as argument that it is not unusual. Anyways, a reconstruction of the I35 should lead to a better situation for cyclists and pedestrians. That is a requirement, and the engineers may figure it out.
@@lkruijsw Heck we even have a notable bury example up in Dallas. Unfortunately, this devolved into a political fight in many ways and what we end up with will certainly be better than what we currently have, but won't likely be all that it could be.
Interesting you should say this, one of the primary tourist activities in Austin is to explore the city by bike... so the safer, more inviting the infrastructure is, the more satisfying the experience, the more robust the tourist economy is... it's a nice symbiotic relationship that should be talked about more. Thanks for watching and the comment. Cheers! John
I reckon houses in this town are in high demand. Whoever developed this town will probably see that as well and will want to replicate it elsewhere. That could make for a big fist to push for zoning and street-design changes.
Thanks so much for watching, Mac. You are correct on all accounts. This development is prompting design changes elsewhere and reinforcing the need for transformation in existing areas as well. Cheers! John
A two car garage but they still need dedicated parking spaces on the road? Ok but charge them for the on road parking space, they may not need it as much as they thought?
Yeah, I had the words of Donald Shoup and the "high cost of free parking" echoing in my head. Humans are nothing if not predictable, we tend to take advantage of and overuse what is offered to us for free or at a very low cost. The entire sense of entitlement premise that private property can be stored in the public right of away is really quite baffling when you stop to consider the land value and infrastructure investment wrapped up in that real estate. Perhaps that space should actually be included in the property tax bill, which isn't cheap here in Austin. Not to mention it prompts the construction of roadways to be much wider than they truly need to be. Thanks for watching and getting me thinking about our silly societal parking tendencies this morning. Hehe :-) Cheers! John
This was very lovely. I love the styles, colors and density of the homes in this neighborhood, the 4 lane road divided by a wide median looks great for everyone and it being ready for light rail is just perfect.. I only have a few small complaints, I really hate the plastic poles in the middle of the lane at the intersections, I hate how they narrow the amount of space bikes have by essentially taking out a small piece of space because you have handlebars, legs and pedals to contend with, I really wish that wasn't a thing, I can understand that it maybe is so that cars don't accidentally invade the area, so hopefully once people get more used to the bikes or maybe they paint the bikelane so car drivers are aware that the space is not for them they could get rid of them. Maybe it's not such a big issue with low numbers of riders, but I still don't like them. The abrupt change from the homes to the glassbox commercial building near the end of the video is a bit jarring , so maybe for future planing they could make the transition a bit sooner or require those buildings to more closely match the style of the housing. The last complaint is when you went in the alley, there was a obvious lack of shared recreation space. These homes don't have any real yards, so I believe that there should be share recreation space for the homes. So for example at 10:54 I think one side of parking could be removed and that space grassed over and have small parkettes with small climbing frames a see saw and a swing and a couple of benches, just somewhere for young children to be able to play protected by having all the homes looking on to the parkettes.
All good points. Yes, could be seen as somewhat temporary until drivers realize this isn't their "own protected car lane". Hehe Thanks so much for watching and the comments. Cheers! John
We actually have 140 acres of green space scattered throughout the property. Six playgrounds with swings, slides and climbing areas two pools, volleyball, water features, and sports fields. We are building a pump track and skate park now. Every residence is within a 10 minute walk of a park.
@@safecyclist1 I totally believe that and I am sure they are great, for example the park that was shown in this video is great. But it would still be better if there was small pockets of recreation areas right where the homes are. You say that there is a park 10 minutes from every residence, but what happens when you have a child that is too young to go to the park alone? You as an adult have to put what you are doing on hold and take the child to the park and then you have to stay with them at the park for the whole duration too. If however you had these tiny playgrounds and parks at the side of every row of homes or have one residential plot in each set of rows converted into a playground/park then you could have a place for those younger kids (and older ones) to go and play that is within sightline of the parents, the parent could just be cooking dinner in their kitchen or sitting in front of their computer working or cleaning the living room and still be able to see their child right out of the window. Since these homes all lack a yard, there needs to be communal yards for the kids. edit: Look for example at the group of homes at the intersection of Zach Scott Street and Olenick Street, these homes have a shared green space behind them, which is a perfect place for the kids that live in those homes to play while still being in sightlines of their parents. I think all the group of homes in this neighborhood should have something like that, it doesn't have to be big, another example is the group of homes at Zach Scott Street and Attra Street, it's small but it's actually also perfect, you could fit a swing set and a slide there or leave it open and it's a perfect space for the younger kids to kick a ball around and the funny thing about this group of homes is that they are RIGHT ACROSS the street of the big John Gaines Park, so these homes don't even really need this small shared yard, yet they still have it. Other homes that aren't so close to the proper park could benefit from these small shared yards even more.
Yes. Precisely. We're used to them at this point and prefer them over drivers driving down or parking in the protected bike lanes, which they find a way to do at times. Hehe. Thanks for watching. Cheers! John
Bike-friendly but not budget-friendly. A dozen or so Mueller 1500sf+ townhouses right now are asking $700K - $1.4 mil. We’d happily live smaller, denser, w/o constipating roads & contributing to sprawl. So when folks wonder why more people don’t live like this… it’s not because they/ we don’t want to🤬🥺
Yep, walkable and bike-friendly places are so rare around here that they are selling for a massive premium. When Mueller was first planned, the nearby neighborhoods didn't want anything to do with the development as they felt, wrongly, like it would be a modern slum; thinking, who could possibly want to live in a walkable community? One positive note is that, as Preston indicated in the video, many of the units are permanently affordable, and there are a lot of new apartments being constructed in the community. My own sister has looked into a few of them because it is attractive to be close to meaningful destinations and not have to drive everywhere for everything.
@@ActiveTowns Yeah, there’s no one simple answer to this but just as w/ supporting bike lanes/ better mass transit in older ‘burbs & city centers, we must make our opinions known to those who can control where the money flows & the building goes! Thanks for all you do 😉🎖️💯
My official position is that if someone wants to wear one, go right ahead. Personally I choose not to wear one and dress for my destination when I am cycling in safe neighborhoods and on infrastructure such as this, because I know that there is a subtle signaling message being sent that riding a bike is dangerous, when truthfully it is not when done in this manner (relaxed, in control, slower speeds) and in these environments. I do choose to wear a helmet when I'm riding my racing bike, my mountain bike on challenging terrain, or anytime when I would just feel more comfortable having one on. For the record I did not wear one on while filming this video and tour participants were asked to wear them by the bike rental company for insurance purposes, clearly not by us. I don't support official helmet use mandates by governments as they have been proven to be ineffective and dissuade people from riding. Thanks for watching. Cheers! John
@@ActiveTowns You are right , it's a personal choice. But in the 'Dutch style ' bike friendly neighborhood it's not needed. One could even argue it's a hassle. But i guess it's a question of time. Once more & more neighborhoods change for the better, people on bikes will adjust. I live in the Netherlands now, and twenty years ago i would think a 'bike friendly America ' was ridiculous. But if this is possible in Texas, it's possible allover the U.S ! ;) Good luck.
@@spiritualanarchist8162 Thanks! Yeah, when I travel with my Brompton to The Netherlands or to Copenhagen packing a helmet doesn't even occur to me. Hehe. Hope you are a great weekend. 😀
Nice, please where can I buy a coffee in this area, maybe even a snack? Seriously you build an area with any shopping possible? So any thing you actually need to stay alive, like food, needs a car. That is not a vibrant community, it is a sleep area with some areas to stretch your legs.
Oh, yeah. There are so many places to shop, dine, grab a coffee or adult beverage, grocery stores, even a Home Depot hardware store, cultural institutions (children's museum and a performance arts center), offices, hospital (no need to go on and on) all within easy walking and biking distance. This truly is a 15 minute neighborhood - we just need many, many more of these. Thanks for watching. I hope you are enjoying the channel. Cheers! John 😀
It's fantastic to see a community that gets how to promote biking. I'm from the Netherlands, but if I would visit there, I would definitely rent a bike to get around. They have the network going, they have protected bike lanes and sidewalks for pedestrians. That will ensure that people will enjoy getting around in other ways than just driving around in cars. The islands at the intersections ensure safety for slower lighter traffic. I also love that they make sure there is plenty of space where people can spend leasure time and enjoy beautiful surroundings. In all, definitely on the road to success.
Thanks so much for watching. Come for a visit. We're definitely getting there. Cheers! John
Very true!
Mueller was a great place to live in the height of the pandemic! Such a nice place to walk and cycle ❤️
I bet! And it keeps getting better. Thanks so much for watching. I have a growing Mueller video playlist now: bit.ly/MuellerCommunityPlaylist Cheers! John
I’ve read every excuse why cycling wouldn’t work in the USA: too big, too hot, too cold, too hilly, too unsafe.
And I’ve seen quite a lot of video’s about a project of ‘a bike lane’ in some US city. But this one is very convincing.
Big, hot Texas, of all places!
We're getting it done... so other cities, no excuses, let's go! Actually, quite a few other cities are making big strides and I hope to celebrate those successes as well so that even more can be inspired to get on board. Cheers! John
Just means we can ride all the year...
Just trowing in a bike lane is pointless. It is an urban concept, you need the bike lanes but also destinations. I think they understand the whole concept, destinations in cycle range. To have economical viable destinations you need a certain population density. They are working on the whole concept and when a city does that, at first there will be resistance from the people, than acceptance, but in the end happy people and a vibrant city.
To me, the new intersections look like the way they suppose too be.
The roads in the US look often wide enough to make these changes, never understood why it never has been done before.
Nice to see more people see the benefits.
yep, exactly! More North American cities are heading in this direction and this community will help to add to that trend. Cheers! John
Next stop, get rid of the intersections and get those roundabouts 🤗 Great job guys!
Sounds good to me. Thanks for watching. Cheers! John
Really great to see the tour guide, Preston, riding a recumbent trike. This is how we normalize all-ages, all-abilities. And recumbent trikes are actually a benefit for all, if you take the time to try them.
Agree 💯% - Thanks so much for watching and contributing to the conversation. Cheers! John 😀
Awesome to see such good bike infrastructure in the US. I would like to see that in many more places!
Thanks for watching. That's my plan with this channel, spread the message and let's go build them in cities around the world. Cheers! John
Thank You for being here 💚
Right back at ya. Hope you can join us for the Premiere today. Cheers! John
Respect.. this community indeed understood our "dutch way" of biking..
Thanks so much for watching and the comment... there may be hope for us after all. Hehe, ;-) Cheers! John
Overal this all looks pretty good. Saying that people can't turn right on red because of a sign is maybe a bit optimistic though. Definitely nice to see that people are actually taking over good infrastructure designs from the Netherlands.
The way this guy sells it it sure seems to be one of the best attempts at a working cycling/pedestrian network I've seen from a place in the US.
Thanks so much for watching and the comment... we're definitely on the right path. Cheers! John
The simple fact that "right turn on red" is a thing is bad enough for me. Unfortunately, it seems my country is starting to implement this to "improve traffic flow", but we'll fortunately stop this trend before it grows roots! 💪
Honestly wow, thought I would not see this kind of implementation for years in the USA. Good job.
Thanks so much for watching! Yeah, this community and the buildout of Austin's network will serve as solid examples for all of North America and other car-centric cities around the globe that want to transform their environments into safer, more inviting people-oriented places. Like this group, we're seeing an increase in formal and informal study tours flocking to the city to experience the emerging network in person. For those that can't make it here, I'll keep producing these profile videos - I think there are six in the playlist at this point. Cheers! John
They've done a fantastic job with the pedestrian infrastructure in Mueller. I take my daughters there often just to ride our bikes around and hit the parks. The frustrating part is that it took an abandoned airport that provided a huge empty developable parcel centrally located in one of the fastest growing cities in the country for this to happen.. How will we ever fix the rest of our broken pedestrian infrastructure in this country? Hopefully we can do it sooner rather than later. Thanks for the work you do in this regard!
Thanks, Robert! Block by block, neighborhood by neighborhood. The unspoken reality of the Dutch system is that 70% is actually some form of shared space. I believe the way forward is to create traffic-calmed streets where people are comfortably present - my experience is that when this happens drivers slow down naturally (not always, but very nearly always). I appreciate your watching the video and your wonderful comment. Cheers! John
PS My Ride Downtown video features the shared space reality of my neighborhood, where we work hard to encourage drivers to drive slowly by being in the space, because we have no other choice: th-cam.com/video/wHW17KFPrDw/w-d-xo.html
Dat gaat de goede kant op! Ga zo door...
Thanks! We plan to. Cheers!
Nope, it bad. Sure, it looks nice. Even some bike paths, but it still is a suburb without amenities. For the Dutch among the viewers: Almere without the shops.
Hay Tab-Glad to see you and Preston hanging out with John. That only means good things for Central Arkansas.
It has been a couple of years since I followed Preston around on a bike and it felt pretty amazing watching him share this new community that he is so passionate about.
It is easy to see the attraction. The higher densities that are coming and the potential to close a street to cars is exciting. The lingering that people do when streets are returned to people is a shock to them and that starts to unwind the mystique of the car. We were not sure how it would work out, but we are car free in a nine story apartment building with no dedicated parking and we shop around the corner at a supermarket with no parking of any kind. So far so good.
Thanks so much for sharing the vid, Bud! John
the world gets there finally... slowly... bit by bit... but it gets there...
yep... bit by bit... and then all at once. Cheers!
A real achievement to provide such great active travel alternatives to the car. Planners everywhere should see this video. The USA sets the path for so much of the world. If this is the start of a new direction, there is hope for us too in the UK (mini America with castles 🤣). This latest ride Austin series is so inspiring John. Good luck ditching I35.
Thanks so much, Mike. Yes, let's bring these to your cities as well. I fear we won't be able to completely ditch I-35, but if we could just eliminate it as a major barrier that would be huge. Cheers! John
The Austin videos of active towns are about the Dutch inspired cycling infrastructure. Why would the UK look up to the USA, when original is just across the North Sea.
@@erik5374 True that. Why indeed? If there was a reason other than simple proximity (and the Dutch clearly have the most successful network designs) it would be helpful to have examples of car-dependent places making the hard decisions and investments to transform - I'm all about profiling success stories wherever they exist so that they might be inspiring to others around the globe. Thanks for watching and for your contribution to the conversation. Cheers! John
Agree 100% Erik. Sadly for good or bad UK media and leaders are strongly influenced by USA. We have followed the car dependent suburban sprawl experiment pioneered in America. I so wish we would learn more from our heroic Dutch neighbours. It is happening but painfully slowly. If the US took a different path of development, then hopefully other car infested countries would move faster in that direction. I’m sick of the dangerous noisy SUVs and Pickups that own the road and make it so unpleasant and scary to walk, cycle and live here. Places should be for people as they are in NL. The rest of us so badly need great alternatives to the car and a Dutch pattern of development.
Only if Austin seceded from Texas, haha!
What a great place to live.
Yes, it is. Thanks for watching and the comment. Cheers! :-)
Dat ziet er goed uit!! 👍 Groeten uit Nederland 🙂🌷
Thanks so much for watching! Sending a big howdy from Austin. Cheers! John
It a real fan of the traffic lights being at the other side of the street. You almost need binoculars to see them.
As a Dutch person having watched a lot of infrastructure videos from across the globe. This is generally the first neighbourhood that actually reminds me of "home" and I feel this is what a Dutch neighbourhood would look like if there was actual space in this packed country.
Thanks so much for watching and the comments! Yep, you're spot on. Cheers! John
This is awesome! A big open area for development could have easily gone to some developer who doesn't care about good design. So glad these guys stepped in. I hope they allow cafes and boutiques and other small businesses in that area. Because if it's a huge success, the rest of Austin will be envious and want to emulate it.
Yes, they do allow cafes, boutiques, and other businesses in the area and yes, it is the envy of the region, hence the reason we were leading this bike tour. Hehe ;-) Cheers!
The streets in Mueller really look as beautiful and safe as the ones in Dutch suburbs. Though the smaller streets without cycling paths would be brick roads in the Netherlands (which also gets the neighborhood cooler in summer because asphalt gets really hot) How do people in other parts of Austin look at Mueller, is it contagious?
Yes. Exactly, Bart. Those shared streets could use a little Dutch brick treatment to slow down the motorists, but honestly, it's quite comfortable as I think came through in the video. As far as I know, they view Mueller quite favorably, and yes they'd like safer streets too. And have passed several tax increases (bonds) to fund the construction. Cheers! John
Holy cow, what an awesome bike track!!
I thought you might it. Thanks so much for tuning in. Cheers! John
Interesting. I am not familar with Austin, and have such never heard of Mueller. Thank you for highlighting this community.
You are quite welcome. And thanks for watching. This site used to be our airport, so it is a completely "new" community with I believe 10-15 year build-out timeline. Cheers! John
Great example to follow.
Thanks so much for watching! We think so... Cheers! John
Now add shops in the residential areas, with grocery stores or small supermarkets, and people will go shopping walking or on a bicycle instead of using a car.
Ah, just landed at 17:00 in the video and I see a beginning has been made at that too.
Add even some (take out) restaurants and a local pub or cafetaria with terrace would be good too.
Yes. The closing scene is actually shot in front of the outdoor dining area of our favorite Irish Pub. I'll have to do a broader video that focuses on the fact that this is very much a 15-minute community, where the residents can access pretty much all of their daily needs within a comfortable 15-minute walk or bike ride. Thanks for watching and for the comment. Cheers! John
They should also address the zoning problems so small neighborhood shops kan startup.
This community actually has quite a few shops with easy walking and biking distance. I'll have to do another video highlighting that feature of the neighborhood as well. But I will say, even more, would be ideal. Cheers! John
When finished building out, the neighborhood will have about 13,000 residents and about 13,000 jobs. Everything from a medical center with Children's Hospital through research and all the way to small restaurants and ice cream shops.
2:41 Hm, I'm guessing that bike traffic light could confuse drivers quite a bit, it's housed in a car traffic light and it's far away so you don't necessarily see the bike symbol.
Thanks so much for watching and for this comment. Yes, our practice of putting signals on the far side of the intersections is quite perplexing to people living in other places. And in addition, it is much harder to see when they are far off in the distance, as my aging eyes can attest. Hehe ;-) Cheers! John
This is very nice for the community, you are on the right way, but there must be also a supermarket, so people can shop their grosseries nearby, i am really happy for the community it is nice to see that the infrastructure like on that from my country the Netherlands. I hope they will enjoy live.
Thanks, Helen! Yes. Preston talks about the supermarket at the 16:26 mark in the video. Cheers! John 🙂
@@ActiveTowns Well John i saw it, and that is great, now some playgrounds for the kids in the neigbourhood, so children can play outside like our kids. The people on the street will always watch if the children are safe, like we do. I think that people who are living in this neigberhood will never leave.
@@helenooft9664 Re: Playgrounds, yes... they have a lot of them, I think I've lost count. The one thing Preston is advocating for is an elder oriented "playground" where seniors can work on strength and balancing skills: bbc.in/3ANvlx2
it actually does look like our biking infrastructure here in the netherlands. I hope it catches on!
Thanks for watching Mark. It is for sure. More being built every day. Cheers! John
@@ActiveTowns now all you need is mixed residential / commercial zones so people don't need a car for daily shopping.
@@marks.6480 Yes, exactly. And they are building that out as well.
@@ActiveTowns excellent news.
And now bring the shops,such as the butcher,baker,milkman and school closer to the people.Then you will see only happy and relaxed faces!🥰😇
Yeah, they are continually adding more small shops, restaurants, and even places of work within easy walking and biking distance throughout the community. Thanks for watching and for this contribution to the conversation. I really appreciate it. Cheers! John
Great to see this more Dutch style road design when it comes to safety for pedestrians and people on bikes.
But it also makes me wonder, part of the reason why bike culture in the Netherlands works so well is that you actually have destinations like stores at a bike-able distance.
But most places in NA do not have small neighborhood stores (anymore) that are relatively close by, do these projects also focus on that aspect of infrastructure to promote biking or is the focus purely on making biking safer?
Thanks so much for watching and contributing to the conversation. Yes! Exactly. We have a long way to go in this regard, however, this particular neighborhood has many meaningful destinations within an easy 10-15 minute walking and biking distance. Many of the newer developments I focus on in this video: th-cam.com/video/dGYg7ImKkiA/w-d-xo.html highlight the mixing of shops with housing and convenient transit and bike path access. Cheers! John
You've hit the nail on the head of the fundamental problem at Mueller. While there are plenty of stores and restaurants next to housing in Mueller, and you can get to it by bike easily, the businesses are not really within casual walking distance. Public transit to/from Mueller is pretty poor. I don't believe they have even an elementary school within walking distance. The nearest library and post office are a couple neighborhoods away. I really applaud Mueller for trying something different and making some successes, but in the end it's still primarily a car-required single-family low density neighborhood with strip malls on the ends and some apartments in the middle near the park. By Texas standards, it's pretty amazing, but we really need to do a lot better than this.
Who's responsible for designing/building this?? We need them in Charlotte NC haha
Since the community is still being built out by the developer, the streets are city-designed and developer-built. We need them everywhere. Haha Cheers! John
Mooi,ziet er keurig uit daar!Nederland maar dan met mooi weer,haha,ook vieze bovengrondse elektra kabels ontbreken grotendeels, mooi in de grond weggewerkt !
Thanks so much for watching! Yes, I'd love it if my own neighborhood could have those distracting power and utility lines buried as well. Cheers! John
not quite dutch, but definitely evident that there is some dutch influence on the design. a few details here and there would elevate it even higher.
Yep. Exactly. Thanks for watching. Cheers!
they are even using red at the crossings for the bike path.
But it's more a mix of what you see in Paris and what you can see in the smaller Dutch towns.
Edit: or better a mix between Paris and Tokyo with influences from Dutch design.
@@sirBrouwer Thanks so much for watching and this take. Cheers! John
@@ActiveTowns your welcome
I live in Mueller and y’all road by my house! This was a great video! How can I join y’all on some rides (when I eventually buy a bike lol) .
Wonderful! Yes, let's get you out riding for sure. I'm certain we can find a bike for you. Thanks for watching. Keep an eye out for Preston. Cheers! John
Contact me. I'm in the red house on the new part of Camacho
Buy one! And by the looks of how it is going with the infrastructure by an omafiets th-cam.com/video/aESqrP3hfi8/w-d-xo.html. I am Dutch and can confirm riding a bike on safe and dedicated cycle infrastructure is fun. No stress like riding a car, just relaxing, healthy and fun.
Very nice. Progress! But if I look on the map, the I35 is still a big barrier for cyclists and pedestrians.
Yes. I-35 is a significant barrier. Did you see my previous video where I rode under it on 4th street? th-cam.com/video/dGYg7ImKkiA/w-d-xo.html This is one of the only semi-comfortable crossings in the downtown area. Cheers! John
@@ActiveTowns Yes, I have seen that. The Dutch would build a bridge by the 9th street, make an elevator on the west side, and pedestrianize this strip on the west side.
@@lkruijsw Right now there is a movement to bury I-35 in the hopes that the city can be "stitched" back together... it won't likely be completely successful, but in 10 years' time we might see something much different in this area.
@@ActiveTowns In the Netherlands we have 4 big burry projects. The A2 west of Utrecht. The A2 in Maastricht. The A9 in the south east of Amsterdam. And the A73 on the south of Roermond. You can use that as argument that it is not unusual. Anyways, a reconstruction of the I35 should lead to a better situation for cyclists and pedestrians. That is a requirement, and the engineers may figure it out.
@@lkruijsw Heck we even have a notable bury example up in Dallas. Unfortunately, this devolved into a political fight in many ways and what we end up with will certainly be better than what we currently have, but won't likely be all that it could be.
What would you think about changing the stop lights to a dutch style stop light that's close instead of far?
I'd love that! Makes much more sense from a bike rider's perspective. Thanks for watching and for contributing to the conversation. Cheers! John
If only there were more Muellers. Million dollar duplexes are not my cup of tea
Yep. Precisely. We must make communities where you can walk, bike, and take transit to your meaningful destinations commonplace. Cheers! John
cycling supporters should stimulate this with some tourism for the local economy. :)
Interesting you should say this, one of the primary tourist activities in Austin is to explore the city by bike... so the safer, more inviting the infrastructure is, the more satisfying the experience, the more robust the tourist economy is... it's a nice symbiotic relationship that should be talked about more. Thanks for watching and the comment. Cheers! John
I reckon houses in this town are in high demand. Whoever developed this town will probably see that as well and will want to replicate it elsewhere. That could make for a big fist to push for zoning and street-design changes.
Thanks so much for watching, Mac. You are correct on all accounts. This development is prompting design changes elsewhere and reinforcing the need for transformation in existing areas as well. Cheers! John
A two car garage but they still need dedicated parking spaces on the road? Ok but charge them for the on road parking space, they may not need it as much as they thought?
Yeah, I had the words of Donald Shoup and the "high cost of free parking" echoing in my head. Humans are nothing if not predictable, we tend to take advantage of and overuse what is offered to us for free or at a very low cost. The entire sense of entitlement premise that private property can be stored in the public right of away is really quite baffling when you stop to consider the land value and infrastructure investment wrapped up in that real estate. Perhaps that space should actually be included in the property tax bill, which isn't cheap here in Austin. Not to mention it prompts the construction of roadways to be much wider than they truly need to be. Thanks for watching and getting me thinking about our silly societal parking tendencies this morning. Hehe :-) Cheers! John
This was very lovely. I love the styles, colors and density of the homes in this neighborhood, the 4 lane road divided by a wide median looks great for everyone and it being ready for light rail is just perfect..
I only have a few small complaints, I really hate the plastic poles in the middle of the lane at the intersections, I hate how they narrow the amount of space bikes have by essentially taking out a small piece of space because you have handlebars, legs and pedals to contend with, I really wish that wasn't a thing, I can understand that it maybe is so that cars don't accidentally invade the area, so hopefully once people get more used to the bikes or maybe they paint the bikelane so car drivers are aware that the space is not for them they could get rid of them. Maybe it's not such a big issue with low numbers of riders, but I still don't like them.
The abrupt change from the homes to the glassbox commercial building near the end of the video is a bit jarring , so maybe for future planing they could make the transition a bit sooner or require those buildings to more closely match the style of the housing.
The last complaint is when you went in the alley, there was a obvious lack of shared recreation space. These homes don't have any real yards, so I believe that there should be share recreation space for the homes. So for example at 10:54 I think one side of parking could be removed and that space grassed over and have small parkettes with small climbing frames a see saw and a swing and a couple of benches, just somewhere for young children to be able to play protected by having all the homes looking on to the parkettes.
All good points. Yes, could be seen as somewhat temporary until drivers realize this isn't their "own protected car lane". Hehe Thanks so much for watching and the comments. Cheers! John
We actually have 140 acres of green space scattered throughout the property. Six playgrounds with swings, slides and climbing areas two pools, volleyball, water features, and sports fields. We are building a pump track and skate park now. Every residence is within a 10 minute walk of a park.
@@safecyclist1 I totally believe that and I am sure they are great, for example the park that was shown in this video is great. But it would still be better if there was small pockets of recreation areas right where the homes are.
You say that there is a park 10 minutes from every residence, but what happens when you have a child that is too young to go to the park alone? You as an adult have to put what you are doing on hold and take the child to the park and then you have to stay with them at the park for the whole duration too. If however you had these tiny playgrounds and parks at the side of every row of homes or have one residential plot in each set of rows converted into a playground/park then you could have a place for those younger kids (and older ones) to go and play that is within sightline of the parents, the parent could just be cooking dinner in their kitchen or sitting in front of their computer working or cleaning the living room and still be able to see their child right out of the window. Since these homes all lack a yard, there needs to be communal yards for the kids.
edit: Look for example at the group of homes at the intersection of Zach Scott Street and Olenick Street, these homes have a shared green space behind them, which is a perfect place for the kids that live in those homes to play while still being in sightlines of their parents. I think all the group of homes in this neighborhood should have something like that, it doesn't have to be big, another example is the group of homes at Zach Scott Street and Attra Street, it's small but it's actually also perfect, you could fit a swing set and a slide there or leave it open and it's a perfect space for the younger kids to kick a ball around and the funny thing about this group of homes is that they are RIGHT ACROSS the street of the big John Gaines Park, so these homes don't even really need this small shared yard, yet they still have it. Other homes that aren't so close to the proper park could benefit from these small shared yards even more.
Why are there poles in the middle of the bike lanes? To stop cars from entering? It seems dangerous
Yes. Precisely. We're used to them at this point and prefer them over drivers driving down or parking in the protected bike lanes, which they find a way to do at times. Hehe. Thanks for watching. Cheers! John
I ride slow with no bicycle lanes in Alabama
Be careful out there. Thanks so much for watching. Cheers! John
Bike-friendly but not budget-friendly. A dozen or so Mueller 1500sf+ townhouses right now are asking $700K - $1.4 mil. We’d happily live smaller, denser, w/o constipating roads & contributing to sprawl.
So when folks wonder why more people don’t live like this… it’s not because they/ we don’t want to🤬🥺
Yep, walkable and bike-friendly places are so rare around here that they are selling for a massive premium. When Mueller was first planned, the nearby neighborhoods didn't want anything to do with the development as they felt, wrongly, like it would be a modern slum; thinking, who could possibly want to live in a walkable community?
One positive note is that, as Preston indicated in the video, many of the units are permanently affordable, and there are a lot of new apartments being constructed in the community. My own sister has looked into a few of them because it is attractive to be close to meaningful destinations and not have to drive everywhere for everything.
@@ActiveTowns Yeah, there’s no one simple answer to this but just as w/ supporting bike lanes/ better mass transit in older ‘burbs & city centers, we must make our opinions known to those who can control where the money flows & the building goes!
Thanks for all you do 😉🎖️💯
@@TeutonicTribe Agreed! You are quite welcome. 😀
turn the music down please
Ah, thanks for the feedback. Will do on future videos. Once they are uploaded, they are permanent. Thanks again. Cheers! John
Next step. Forget the helmets. No need for them anymore.
My official position is that if someone wants to wear one, go right ahead. Personally I choose not to wear one and dress for my destination when I am cycling in safe neighborhoods and on infrastructure such as this, because I know that there is a subtle signaling message being sent that riding a bike is dangerous, when truthfully it is not when done in this manner (relaxed, in control, slower speeds) and in these environments. I do choose to wear a helmet when I'm riding my racing bike, my mountain bike on challenging terrain, or anytime when I would just feel more comfortable having one on. For the record I did not wear one on while filming this video and tour participants were asked to wear them by the bike rental company for insurance purposes, clearly not by us. I don't support official helmet use mandates by governments as they have been proven to be ineffective and dissuade people from riding. Thanks for watching. Cheers! John
@@ActiveTowns You are right , it's a personal choice. But in the 'Dutch style ' bike friendly neighborhood it's not needed. One could even argue it's a hassle. But i guess it's a question of time. Once more & more neighborhoods change for the better, people on bikes will adjust. I live in the Netherlands now, and twenty years ago i would think a 'bike friendly America ' was ridiculous. But if this is possible in Texas, it's possible allover the U.S ! ;) Good luck.
@@spiritualanarchist8162 Thanks! Yeah, when I travel with my Brompton to The Netherlands or to Copenhagen packing a helmet doesn't even occur to me. Hehe. Hope you are a great weekend. 😀
Like most, they use the garage for storage. Stupid people. Get rid of crap & stop buying crap!
Hehe 🤣 It's got to be human nature.... natural pack rats.😉
Nice, please where can I buy a coffee in this area, maybe even a snack? Seriously you build an area with any shopping possible? So any thing you actually need to stay alive, like food, needs a car. That is not a vibrant community, it is a sleep area with some areas to stretch your legs.
Oh, yeah. There are so many places to shop, dine, grab a coffee or adult beverage, grocery stores, even a Home Depot hardware store, cultural institutions (children's museum and a performance arts center), offices, hospital (no need to go on and on) all within easy walking and biking distance. This truly is a 15 minute neighborhood - we just need many, many more of these. Thanks for watching. I hope you are enjoying the channel. Cheers! John 😀