Thanks so much for watching and the comment! Yes, the history of the battles fought in The Netherlands in the 1970s to counter the disastrous encroachment of cars in the city has been an inspiration that we can actually change things here as well. Cheers! John
Yes! Exactly. When you are riding on safe and inviting " All Ages & Abilities" facilities I find it hard to not smile. Thank you so much for watching and for the comment. Cheers! John
Impressed .. this is indeed Dutch-like! Especially the continuity of the separated bike lane. And to add . Which is definitely not dutch -like the way the train tracks are so open accessable for everyone. Almost no fencing. But that is more common for the USA as I believe .
@@ActiveTowns Train stations in the netherlands all got gates the last 10 years to increase safety and reduce amount of people that travel without valid ticket.
@@nulian Yes, but the number of trains is important for access to the tracks. Where I live there are three intercity's, and three sprinters going north-south every hour and vv. In south-west to north-east two intercity's and two sprinters per hour. and vv. So twenty passenger trains per hour, on regular schedule without special trains or freight trains. That cannot be done with equal level crossings for traffic, and dangers that occurs when people have access to the tracks. One idiot picking blackberries would compromise the entire system. But I have to admit they are the most juicy ones I ever picked.
Thanks so much! I hope you've seen the rest of the videos in the Austin Playlist, especially the profile video of Mueller: ruclips.net/video/QKNbZY9XqAg/видео.html Congrats on the upcoming move. Don't hesitate to reach out if you have any questions. Cheers! John
People always look at the bicycle infrastructure in the Netherlands and are overwhelmed by it, but they fail to recognize that it took us Dutch almost 50 years to get to where we are now, and we're still changing and making improvements. But it had to start somewhere at one time. Austin is making serious steps for sure. Now to keep it up (and introduce a roundabout or 2 ;) )
Yes. An excellent point and one that I continually bring up as inspiration to keep up the pressure, moving forward. And yes, I absolutely love Dutch-style roundabouts - be sure to catch my interview of Lennart Nout as we talk about them at length: ruclips.net/video/mKsNE7pMBNs/видео.html We do have a few (and we need more) small footprint traffic calming "traffic circles" and a handful of auto-centric modern roundabouts (I'm not that excited about - although it is a start). Thanks so much for watching and contributing to the conversation. I really appreciate it. Cheers! John
Hey John you are not wearing a helmet while driving a bicycle well done you are slowly becoming a Dutch person once again well done LOL😂😂😂 I really am impressed with Austin Texas for having almost having perfect bike lanes. Other than that a great video keep it up👍 Greetings from the Netherlands🇳🇱
Hehe! Yeah, it's all my trips to The Netherlands that have rubbed off on me. In all seriousness, I wear a helmet when I am on my road racing bike or mountain bike on challenging terrain, but when I am just riding in the neighborhood, down to the grocery store, or downtown where we have some pretty amazing Dutch-inspired bike lanes I prefer to reinforce that riding a "Dutch"-style upright bike at slow speeds is not an inherently dangerous activity. Thanks so much for watching and for contributing to the conversation. Cheers! John
This looks like a great development for that second tier of bikeriders, the "If only there was a bit more protection I would go bij bike" . when these are starting to use the created infrastructure more, the need for even more will be better to see. I really love the splitlane bicycle/ pedestrian crossings with the possibility to cross the road safely lane by lane.
I thought this was very impressive. A property tax increase for safety (and comfort) improvements for walkers and cyclists that gets voted in. Well done Austin! Proposition B: $460M in voter-approved general obligation bonds for transportation infrastructure including sidewalks, transportation-related bikeways, urban trails, transportation safety projects (Vision Zero), safe routes to school and substandard streets.
@@Cl0ckcl0ck Yes. And that was just the most recent bond. We the voters also approved similar yet smaller bonds in 2016 and 2018. Many residents in the city (but not all) know that the built environment has got to change so that people are able to walk, bike, and take transit, in addition to having more options to live nearer to meaningful destinations. Thanks so much for watching and contributing to the conversation. Cheers! John
Nice to see that more and more bike infrastructure is going to be available there. Not yet like as in the Netherlands (where I live), but I think there is a really good change going on!
Yes. The network is currently at 50% built and much of it needs additional enhancements, but it is coming together. And with all the new housing adjacent to these facilities, we will see a lot more people riding more often for everyday trips. Thanks for watching. Cheers! John
@@ActiveTowns It is a vèry good start, though, and happening faster than in The Netherlands. I grew up in the 70’s and 80’s, and it was quite terrible at that time. The slow revolution begun when Groningen, a small city in the North, implemented their strict circulation plan. Everyone sneered at ‘those lefty greeny Groningers’ People even got really angry, but the city got it right, and soon more cities followed in trying to get cars oút of, especially, city centers. The most revolutionary city is, in my humble opinion, actually Utrecht. Thàt was a car-infested hell-hole up to about 2010. I visited a friend there quite regularly in those days. I visited the city 10 years later and hàrdly recognized it. The racing-track like roads through the outskirts were gone, the highway in front of the Train Station was back at being a canal, etc. etc. Super baffling at first, vut whàt an improvement!
@@marresjepie1887 Yeah, the acceleration here in Austin over the past 8 years has indeed been impressive but has been many years in the works - but in reality, most North American cities didn't even consider making a shift until quite recently, and the Dutch experience and willingness to share learnings have been incredibly valuable. I hear you about the progress in Utrecht. Did you catch my recent video where I am riding around the city with Geert van der Wilt? ruclips.net/video/fMHEorCfZJQ/видео.html
Quite astonishing what Austin has achieved in just 5 years… In the beginning, the bit around that overpass almost looked Dutch, red asphalt and all.. and then I noticed the homeless’ tents, snapping me out of that…
Yes, it is really quite amazing, inspiring, and encouraging. And, yes, the homelessness issue throughout North America is very challenging and sad. Thank you so much for watching. I hope you are enjoying the Channel. Cheers! John
I’ve been advocating to city leaders in Albuquerque and the New Mexico governor to adapt the Dutch-style roundabouts, bikeways and smart signaling system along with permaculture to improve the city. Been writing Austin leaders and city government sites since 1990. Much of what I’ve advocated is being done, I’m VERY happy to say.
@@ActiveTowns The only thing I don't know is what is the most effective and efficient way to get results and help make these changes happen? What advocacy efforts have the most impact? When you write someone or an agency, you might get a peep, but how effective are your efforts? You sit in a community feedback meeting, you get a thank you for participating, they pack up and leave, and are left wondering for ages if you efforts were fruitful, or if you were just being given a polite pat on the head to make you think something would happen. What efforts are effective, and which not? The problem is people don't get feedback. How can we know what is working and what isn't? Very frustrating to be just left in the dark for weeks or months at a time...
Thanks for the tour! It is exciting to see the Dutch design principles getting implemented there including on the network planning level. I look forward to seeing this in person especially because if Austin can do it, then anyone can!
Yes! Precisely... I look forward to showing you and your colleagues around when y'all are able to make the trip. Next up is the virtual study tour of Mueller led by Preston - it will premiere on Wednesday at noon your time. Cheers! John
Yes. It's coming together. You'll probably also enjoy my next video, a tour of Mueller's bike infrastructure and housing - premieres tomorrow: ruclips.net/video/QKNbZY9XqAg/видео.html Thanks for watching and the comment. Cheers! John
Great to see the video about Austin! @ActiveTowns who can I contact so that a bike lane could be added on the street or/and additional bus rout introduced in North Austin?
Thanks for watching, Alex. I'd start by looking at the city's future bike and transit network maps. There's a good likelihood that something is in the works for the area. Also, the city is taking feedback on the new bike and trails master plans here: www.austintexas.gov/department/atx-walk-bike-roll, and here is the new Project Connect website: projectconnect.com/
Had goosebumps while watching, how amazing the infrastructure looks like wow. Makes me really proud of my country, The Netherlands, and even more proud on Austin. I actually never wanted to live in the USA, but seeing this changes my mind. Now the USA is an option again!
Thanks so much! We are getting there... and there's a long, long way to go. My mission for this channel is to celebrate the wins wherever I can find them around the globe and hopefully inspire community members to roll up their sleeves getting to work and demanding that their cities be transformed as well. I hope you will follow along. Cheers! John
Thanks so much for watching, David. We're making progress. It's a lot of hard work, but well worth it. I'm thinking you'll really like the next video when I profile Mueller, our community that has the most complete "All Ages & Abilities" active mobility network. Cheers! John
Thank you for the video. One thing I realise that there’s something with the north American style urban planning, it acoustically amplifies noise. In this Video for example, there isn’t even a car traffic but there seems to be so much noise pollution. Weird. I think it’s due to large uninterrupted roads, instead of narrow streets with curves or t junctions we get to see in Europe. Sounds keep travelling and reflecting from walls.
Yes. That is true. More vegetation would help. I will say that it was a gusty day so some of the noise was definitely from the wind hitting my lavalier mic. Thanks so much for watching. Cheers! John
Yes, mostly a function of an odd time of day and it was quite chilly for Texas standards when I first rolled out, hence the reason I had my jacket on. As the network continues to get built out, we are seeing more and more people riding more often. When I returned home, I shed the jacket and saw quite a few more people riding. Thanks so much for watching and comments/questions. Cheers! John
Oh yes. For sure. We've been here for about 8 years and a lot has changed in that time... in the case of becoming more walkable and bike-friendly it has gotten much much better. Thanks for watching. Cheers! John
Yes, it is very well designed, and the continued build-out of the network will be critical to helping connect people to their meaningful destinations... Ultimately, the city will also benefit from programs and initiatives that help to incentivize more trips to be taken by bike making it the most attractive and pragmatic option. Thanks for watching! I hope you are enjoying the Channel. Cheers! John
Austin is looking amazing, thanks for sharing this!! Your enthusiasm and positivity are infectious :-). I now work remotely for a company out of Austin but I've never been there. I'm looking forward to post-covid company meetings that I can use as an excuse to fly in and explore all this awesome new infrastructure 🎉
Looks good! The streets with the high buildings in the center could made more friendly, but after going under the I-35 it looks much better. There is really a long connected network of bicycle paths. If I look on the map, there are still a lot of missing links, but if a network is there, then it is more connecting to those paths and the difficult first step is there.
Thanks so much for watching! It is quite nice and getting better every day - in five years' time, with even more residents in the adjacent housing and more of a buildout of the high comfort network we will see even more people of all ages and abilities riding more often. Cheers! John
Long time proponent & huge supporter of all you bring to our attention! New sub here 💪 But like so many place names in the ATX region where it’s spelled one way & pronounced another (Mueller?! no Germanic there anymore), Pedernales gets pronounced PER-din-ow-liss 😘 … does that make us ‘Perdalists’ then… 🤔
Cool! Thanks so much for the Sub! Yeah, the pronunciation here in Texas really cracks me up. What's fun about Mueller is that half say Miller and half say, Mueller. I find myself saying both, sometimes in the same sentence. It's a hoot. lol 🤣 Cheers! John
Wow, from 26:30 and on, great appartement buildings, looks very new, and also very European. This all looks very livable for sure. If this would be the Netherlands though, you would have seen a few more bikes I guess, especially with the sun out like that, but I guess in Texas that is less rare to see. One question, how does one access the Metro bike parking unit?
There's a $3.00 charge for an access card, good for two years. I was on that stretch in an odd time of the day, usually, there are lot more people. Thanks for watching. Cheers! John
Zozo niet slecht hoor. Het begin is er dus nu doorpakken en wat meer kleur brengen in de stad want het oogt nog een beetje grauw maar goed bezig daar 👍👍
Good to see that for some protected biking facilities you peeps do not need to look abroad , you can look at this place . Some crossings could be better though . It's fine for now, but when traffic gets bussy...... Which transport would be faster ? Bike or car ?
Thanks for watching and the comments. Totally agree on both accounts. As the network continues to build out traveling by bike will become much more time competitive and certainly much more enjoyable than driving. Cheers! John
Something I was wondering about: with the infrastructure for cycling, walking and public transport growing, is it starting to show in the numbers for use of the infrastructure as well?
As a Torontonian I am impressed and surprised at how good the infrastructure is and how much is being built by Austin. Of course it still has a long way to go but I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t jealous. Toronto isn’t doing nearly as much as Austin is and most of Toronto’s cycling infrastructure is painted cycling gutters and sharos on busy streets.
Yes and just wait for my next video profiling the Mueller community. We do have a long way to go, but we have some really good momentum, which I hope other North American cities will use as inspiration to get moving on their own transformations. Thanks so much for watching and contributing to the conversation. Cheers! John
Ah yes, the 3rd Street Protected bike lane was a complete street reconstruction. Not a "quick build". Thanks so much for watching and for the great question. Cheers! John
At 5:05 I'm amazed that the railway station (which I assume is heavy rail rather than trams) appears to have a completely ungated level crossing of both the footway and roadway. That would be heavily frowned up in the UK, especially in a city centre. Indeed over here Network Rail are slow removing level crossings from around the network, with even little rural foot crossings on public footpaths being replaced by bridges. Aside from that it looks like pretty good cycling and walking infrastructure.
Yes. The history is this was an abandoned heavy rail freight line that has been repurposed. Our future rail projects will most definitely look much different and hopefully in line with best practices for such installations. Thanks for tuning in once again, Jon. I really appreciate it. Cheers! John
I haven't watched the entire video yet but the cycle areas look good in my opinion. there are a few points which would be odd for me. As Hense Pens said the near free access to open train tracks is a bit strange. Also the narrowing of the cycletrack into a fence before the bridge is a very strange option indeed. 5:37 timestamp for it
5:52 is crossing the i35 frontage road. There is no signal for cars to stop or slow down. It just dumps the protected bike lane into frontage road with a yield sign. Some of the other bike infrastructure in this video is pretty good, but it's things like this that diminish all of it because while a child would be fine biking downtown in the protected lanes, they should not be crossing frontage roads.
Yes, the city is working to install a signalized crossing there which will require coordination with the State Department of Transportation as I-35 and frontage roads are their jurisdiction. Thanks so much for watching. Cheers! John
@@ActiveTowns Odd that the xwalk is only on the cycle part of that crossing as well. There's some work to be done. That sort of layout would probably get a button operated traffic light over here tbf, but only if the volume of bikes was comparatively low. Else it'd need a redesign. I'm trying to picture a similar point over here, perhaps it's be a red bike lane with clear give way signs for the cars on either side of the street. heh, it was quite easy to spot on google maps where you were though, thanks to the red bike lane. looked down i35 and found a railway line and there it was.
In the Netherlands we have this traffic rule: cars ought to stop when the driver sees a cyclist or a pedestrian even just intending to cross the road. If they don't they get fined.
@@ronaldderooij1774 I think they should either get rid of the frontage road here completely since it's redundant by definition. Or at the very least make a bike and ped tunnel (would be hard to do a bridge because of the elevated highway). Unfortunately this is TxDOTs territory and even though they are called the Department of Transportation, they consider themselves the Department of Expanding Highways.
I plead the Idaho-stop defense ;-) It's really sad to see how dead downtown is these days given our current covid surge - very few people around and I you saw in the video, other than a few delivery vans almost no cars to speak of.
That's a fabulous question... in some parts of this journey, it is most definitely the shortest route... for me, it is most definitely the most pleasant route. I can't remember the last time I actually drove up to Mueller or visit my cousin. I find it to be a very enjoyable journey and look forward to it. Thanks so much for watching and contributing to the conversation. Cheers! John
It actually was quite chilly for Austin standards in the morning. By the time I headed home the jacket was off and I saw a lot more people on the path. Cheers! John
I guess it's a big improvement for US standards. But most of it wouldn't be acceptable in the Netherlands. The middle part of the video (starting @ 16:53) looks good.
Yes. It is extraordinary for North American standards and we have a long long way to go, but we are making progress and have some momentum. Thanks so much for watching and contributing to the conversation. Cheers! John
This will be an ultra-slow speed shared space... similar to a woonerf in The Netherlands. Thanks so much for watching and for this excellent question. Cheers! John
Yes, you can. Of course, if I were to use the train / bike commute frequently I typically choose to ride my Brompton so I could fold it up and roll it on in a nice compact package. Which is what I do when I travel throughout Europe. Thanks for watching and the great question. Cheers! John
I find it dangerous that there is no warning sign for cars that they are approaching a speed bump at 32:47 . The speed bumps are hard to see, so I feel some drivers (one time visitors for example) will be quite suprised by the sudden speed bumps. Where I live, every speed bump has a traffic sign, saying: Beware: speed bump.
I see your point. Speedbumps must be visible at a distance large enough to adjust your speed to in time. That's why warning signs are not required in the Netherlands. We even have a minimum of STOP signs, because they actually mean a failure in road infrastructure. But their meaning is to force car drivers to keep their speed as low as possible. Speeding up after a streetbump and breaking for another one is bad for the car and gas consumption.
Yeah, my personal preference and professional guidance are to do more horizontal deflections and narrowing of the space get speeds to "non-lethal" levels of 30 km/hr or less. Thanks so much for watching and contributing to the conversation. Cheers! John
Thanks so much for watching... see my response to Paul's comment. Really appreciate you tuning in and contributing to the discussion. It means a lot. Cheers! John
The potholes on the stretch of Fifth street have gotten worse. Camera makes it look like smooth sailing but it is bumpety bump bump yikes BUMP. May slow cars down but dangerous for bikes. Is it true that the city doesn’t maintain that stretch because it is railway land?
Hehe, yeah it’s a rough one. Not sure about the maintenance comment but I do know the city had been getting feedback on transforming this segment with a separated cycle path. Hopefully to be completed soon.
Austin is supposedly a booming US city and a hip forward thinking urban city in America. However I don't see much human activity going on in the downtown core.
The downtown has been hit hard during the pandemic and we are currently riding a spike due to the Omicron variant. Check out my pre-Omicron video of folks getting to the ACL music festival: ruclips.net/video/kvZVgEKvdok/видео.html Thanks so much for watching. Cheers! John
Maybe time to promote riding a bicycle. In 30+ minutes, I have seen only 1 persoon riding a bike besides you. No wonder that there is not given any priority to bikes, as practically nobody uses them. Next point is the lines on the street/bike lanes. Who the f thinks that yellow is or ever was a good colour ? And who came up with the even more crazy idea to intermingle yellow lines with white ones ?? White is the best option, but it needs to be consistant and ONLY white for a variaty of reasons, including visibility. (Rewatch this episode and you see why yellow is problematic with visibility) Another point in regard to trafic safety, not just 4 bikes but general road safety, is location of trafic lights. Across the street as is common in the US, is hazardous if not plain simple DEATHLY. Check how it is done in Europe to see the difference, including the fact that if there is a location in the middle of the street where bikes/pedestrians can stop, an added extra trafic light would be needed.
I hear you on both these main points. It's always a challenge to produce a video of this type and capture the essence of bike path usage. I can assure you the facilities are well used and beloved... and even more important they are an investment for the future... remember, the network is only about half built out this point. Yes. Yellow is hard to see. Period. Hehe. Thanks so much for watching and for the comments. I really appreciate it. Cheers! John
Thanks for the shout-out! We are doing our best to improve bicycle infrastructure in Austin and around the country (one project at a time)!
Now if we can just work on 5th St in front of your office... 😉 JK I know something good will be coming your way before long. Cheers! John
I am impressed with all the changes in Austin. Making it a more people friendly city where people have transportation choices.
Yes it is! Thanks so much for watching. 😀
Goodness some really good bike infra in the US! Congrats to those who fought for it and those who listened. Exactly how it happened in The Netherlands
Thanks so much for watching and the comment! Yes, the history of the battles fought in The Netherlands in the 1970s to counter the disastrous encroachment of cars in the city has been an inspiration that we can actually change things here as well. Cheers! John
This actually looks great for American bicycle infrastructure! So impressed! I believe I actually saw several cyclists that were smiling.
Yes! Exactly. When you are riding on safe and inviting " All Ages & Abilities" facilities I find it hard to not smile. Thank you so much for watching and for the comment. Cheers! John
Impressed .. this is indeed Dutch-like! Especially the continuity of the separated bike lane.
And to add . Which is definitely not dutch -like the way the train tracks are so open accessable for everyone. Almost no fencing. But that is more common for the USA as I believe .
Doubt that there are trains every five minutes at 100 mph...
Thanks so much for watching... yes, definitely a different situation with access to the train tracks. Cheers! John
@Dutch Man, eys... good point. Sadly.
@@ActiveTowns Train stations in the netherlands all got gates the last 10 years to increase safety and reduce amount of people that travel without valid ticket.
@@nulian Yes, but the number of trains is important for access to the tracks.
Where I live there are three intercity's, and three sprinters going north-south every hour and vv. In south-west to north-east two intercity's and two sprinters per hour. and vv.
So twenty passenger trains per hour, on regular schedule without special trains or freight trains.
That cannot be done with equal level crossings for traffic, and dangers that occurs when people have access to the tracks.
One idiot picking blackberries would compromise the entire system. But I have to admit they are the most juicy ones I ever picked.
Great vid. Thanks! In a few weeks I'll be moving to Austin, living @ 51st & Berkman & working @ Airport & I-35. Hoping to be total-bike!
Thanks so much! I hope you've seen the rest of the videos in the Austin Playlist, especially the profile video of Mueller: ruclips.net/video/QKNbZY9XqAg/видео.html
Congrats on the upcoming move. Don't hesitate to reach out if you have any questions. Cheers! John
People always look at the bicycle infrastructure in the Netherlands and are overwhelmed by it, but they fail to recognize that it took us Dutch almost 50 years to get to where we are now, and we're still changing and making improvements. But it had to start somewhere at one time.
Austin is making serious steps for sure. Now to keep it up (and introduce a roundabout or 2 ;) )
Yes. An excellent point and one that I continually bring up as inspiration to keep up the pressure, moving forward. And yes, I absolutely love Dutch-style roundabouts - be sure to catch my interview of Lennart Nout as we talk about them at length: ruclips.net/video/mKsNE7pMBNs/видео.html We do have a few (and we need more) small footprint traffic calming "traffic circles" and a handful of auto-centric modern roundabouts (I'm not that excited about - although it is a start). Thanks so much for watching and contributing to the conversation. I really appreciate it. Cheers! John
Hey John you are not wearing a helmet while driving a bicycle well done you are slowly becoming a Dutch person once again well done LOL😂😂😂
I really am impressed with Austin Texas for having almost having perfect bike lanes.
Other than that a great video keep it up👍
Greetings from the Netherlands🇳🇱
Hehe! Yeah, it's all my trips to The Netherlands that have rubbed off on me. In all seriousness, I wear a helmet when I am on my road racing bike or mountain bike on challenging terrain, but when I am just riding in the neighborhood, down to the grocery store, or downtown where we have some pretty amazing Dutch-inspired bike lanes I prefer to reinforce that riding a "Dutch"-style upright bike at slow speeds is not an inherently dangerous activity. Thanks so much for watching and for contributing to the conversation. Cheers! John
This looks like a great development for that second tier of bikeriders, the "If only there was a bit more protection I would go bij bike" . when these are starting to use the created infrastructure more, the need for even more will be better to see. I really love the splitlane bicycle/ pedestrian crossings with the possibility to cross the road safely lane by lane.
Yes. Precisely. Thanks so much for watching. Cheers! John
I thought this was very impressive. A property tax increase for safety (and comfort) improvements for walkers and cyclists that gets voted in. Well done Austin!
Proposition B: $460M in voter-approved general obligation bonds for transportation infrastructure including sidewalks, transportation-related bikeways, urban trails, transportation safety projects (Vision Zero), safe routes to school and substandard streets.
@@Cl0ckcl0ck Yes. And that was just the most recent bond. We the voters also approved similar yet smaller bonds in 2016 and 2018. Many residents in the city (but not all) know that the built environment has got to change so that people are able to walk, bike, and take transit, in addition to having more options to live nearer to meaningful destinations. Thanks so much for watching and contributing to the conversation. Cheers! John
Nice to see that more and more bike infrastructure is going to be available there. Not yet like as in the Netherlands (where I live), but I think there is a really good change going on!
Yes. The network is currently at 50% built and much of it needs additional enhancements, but it is coming together. And with all the new housing adjacent to these facilities, we will see a lot more people riding more often for everyday trips. Thanks for watching. Cheers! John
@@ActiveTowns It is a vèry good start, though, and happening faster than in The Netherlands. I grew up in the 70’s and 80’s, and it was quite terrible at that time. The slow revolution begun when Groningen, a small city in the North, implemented their strict circulation plan. Everyone sneered at ‘those lefty greeny Groningers’ People even got really angry, but the city got it right, and soon more cities followed in trying to get cars oút of, especially, city centers.
The most revolutionary city is, in my humble opinion, actually Utrecht. Thàt was a car-infested hell-hole up to about 2010. I visited a friend there quite regularly in those days. I visited the city 10 years later and hàrdly recognized it. The racing-track like roads through the outskirts were gone, the highway in front of the Train Station was back at being a canal, etc. etc. Super baffling at first, vut whàt an improvement!
@@marresjepie1887 Yeah, the acceleration here in Austin over the past 8 years has indeed been impressive but has been many years in the works - but in reality, most North American cities didn't even consider making a shift until quite recently, and the Dutch experience and willingness to share learnings have been incredibly valuable. I hear you about the progress in Utrecht. Did you catch my recent video where I am riding around the city with Geert van der Wilt? ruclips.net/video/fMHEorCfZJQ/видео.html
You can also use manor rd from the end of the tod to mueller and has a “protected” bike lane with flex posts
Yes. That's right. I have a bunch of footage using that route as well. Thanks so much for watching and contributing to the conversation. Cheers! John
Quite astonishing what Austin has achieved in just 5 years… In the beginning, the bit around that overpass almost looked Dutch, red asphalt and all.. and then I noticed the homeless’ tents, snapping me out of that…
Yes, it is really quite amazing, inspiring, and encouraging. And, yes, the homelessness issue throughout North America is very challenging and sad. Thank you so much for watching. I hope you are enjoying the Channel. Cheers! John
I’ve been advocating to city leaders in Albuquerque and the New Mexico governor to adapt the Dutch-style roundabouts, bikeways and smart signaling system along with permaculture to improve the city. Been writing Austin leaders and city government sites since 1990. Much of what I’ve advocated is being done, I’m VERY happy to say.
Cool! Thanks for these efforts. :-)
@@ActiveTowns The only thing I don't know is what is the most effective and efficient way to get results and help make these changes happen? What advocacy efforts have the most impact? When you write someone or an agency, you might get a peep, but how effective are your efforts? You sit in a community feedback meeting, you get a thank you for participating, they pack up and leave, and are left wondering for ages if you efforts were fruitful, or if you were just being given a polite pat on the head to make you think something would happen. What efforts are effective, and which not? The problem is people don't get feedback. How can we know what is working and what isn't? Very frustrating to be just left in the dark for weeks or months at a time...
Thanks for the tour! It is exciting to see the Dutch design principles getting implemented there including on the network planning level. I look forward to seeing this in person especially because if Austin can do it, then anyone can!
Yes! Precisely... I look forward to showing you and your colleagues around when y'all are able to make the trip. Next up is the virtual study tour of Mueller led by Preston - it will premiere on Wednesday at noon your time. Cheers! John
@@ActiveTowns absolutely, thank you! I also can’t wait to tune and and watch the video!
Stunned! Very nice! Austin is looking great! Definitely inspired!
Yes. It's coming together. You'll probably also enjoy my next video, a tour of Mueller's bike infrastructure and housing - premieres tomorrow: ruclips.net/video/QKNbZY9XqAg/видео.html Thanks for watching and the comment. Cheers! John
Great to see the video about Austin!
@ActiveTowns who can I contact so that a bike lane could be added on the street or/and additional bus rout introduced in North Austin?
Thanks for watching, Alex. I'd start by looking at the city's future bike and transit network maps. There's a good likelihood that something is in the works for the area. Also, the city is taking feedback on the new bike and trails master plans here: www.austintexas.gov/department/atx-walk-bike-roll, and here is the new Project Connect website: projectconnect.com/
Had goosebumps while watching, how amazing the infrastructure looks like wow. Makes me really proud of my country, The Netherlands, and even more proud on Austin.
I actually never wanted to live in the USA, but seeing this changes my mind. Now the USA is an option again!
Thanks so much! We are getting there... and there's a long, long way to go. My mission for this channel is to celebrate the wins wherever I can find them around the globe and hopefully inspire community members to roll up their sleeves getting to work and demanding that their cities be transformed as well. I hope you will follow along. Cheers! John
Businesses at ground level with 3-4 layers of apartments on top. Good walking/biking infrastructure. How refreshing! This area will be booming.
Yes. Exactly, it will.
So impressed with all of this!!!!!
Thanks so much for watching, David. We're making progress. It's a lot of hard work, but well worth it. I'm thinking you'll really like the next video when I profile Mueller, our community that has the most complete "All Ages & Abilities" active mobility network. Cheers! John
Thank you for the video.
One thing I realise that there’s something with the north American style urban planning, it acoustically amplifies noise. In this Video for example, there isn’t even a car traffic but there seems to be so much noise pollution. Weird. I think it’s due to large uninterrupted roads, instead of narrow streets with curves or t junctions we get to see in Europe. Sounds keep travelling and reflecting from walls.
Yes. That is true. More vegetation would help. I will say that it was a gusty day so some of the noise was definitely from the wind hitting my lavalier mic. Thanks so much for watching. Cheers! John
Wow! Didn't expect this in the US. Great effort!
Only, why is it quite empty? People are still getting used to it? Wrong time of the day?
Yes, it is coming together.
Yes, mostly a function of an odd time of day and it was quite chilly for Texas standards when I first rolled out, hence the reason I had my jacket on. As the network continues to get built out, we are seeing more and more people riding more often. When I returned home, I shed the jacket and saw quite a few more people riding. Thanks so much for watching and comments/questions. Cheers! John
Congretulations from the Netherlands
Thank you so much for watching and the comment... we have a long way to go, but we are on our way. Cheers! John
I worked for a Year in Austin exactly 20 Years ago. Looks like a lot has changed.
Oh yes. For sure. We've been here for about 8 years and a lot has changed in that time... in the case of becoming more walkable and bike-friendly it has gotten much much better. Thanks for watching. Cheers! John
What a great infrastructure, even compared to the dutch standard. Now you only need more users. How can you motivate them?
Yes, it is very well designed, and the continued build-out of the network will be critical to helping connect people to their meaningful destinations... Ultimately, the city will also benefit from programs and initiatives that help to incentivize more trips to be taken by bike making it the most attractive and pragmatic option. Thanks for watching! I hope you are enjoying the Channel. Cheers! John
Austin is looking amazing, thanks for sharing this!! Your enthusiasm and positivity are infectious :-). I now work remotely for a company out of Austin but I've never been there. I'm looking forward to post-covid company meetings that I can use as an excuse to fly in and explore all this awesome new infrastructure 🎉
Ah, that's cool. Yes, there's a lot of amazing work being done right now. Thanks for watching and the comment. Cheers! John
Looks good! The streets with the high buildings in the center could made more friendly, but after going under the I-35 it looks much better. There is really a long connected network of bicycle paths. If I look on the map, there are still a lot of missing links, but if a network is there, then it is more connecting to those paths and the difficult first step is there.
Yes. Good points. The network is only at about 50% build-out... a lot more good stuff to come. Cheers! John
The pinch point is my favorite part. It's also a couple houses down from my great grandmother's old house.
Cool! Thanks for watching and your hard work, Kaz. Chers! John
Owh nice!, how will it look like in the next 5 years? 🙂.
Thanks so much for watching! It is quite nice and getting better every day - in five years' time, with even more residents in the adjacent housing and more of a buildout of the high comfort network we will see even more people of all ages and abilities riding more often. Cheers! John
Long time proponent & huge supporter of all you bring to our attention! New sub here 💪
But like so many place names in the ATX region where it’s spelled one way & pronounced another (Mueller?! no Germanic there anymore), Pedernales gets pronounced PER-din-ow-liss 😘
… does that make us ‘Perdalists’ then… 🤔
Cool! Thanks so much for the Sub!
Yeah, the pronunciation here in Texas really cracks me up.
What's fun about Mueller is that half say Miller and half say, Mueller. I find myself saying both, sometimes in the same sentence. It's a hoot. lol 🤣 Cheers! John
Right/Ride On!! x
@34:23 bike signal turns green if you wait on that big green square with the bike symbol on it ! No need to press the button
Nice video !
Force of habit. ;-) Thanks so much for watching.
Wow, from 26:30 and on, great appartement buildings, looks very new, and also very European. This all looks very livable for sure. If this would be the Netherlands though, you would have seen a few more bikes I guess, especially with the sun out like that, but I guess in Texas that is less rare to see. One question, how does one access the Metro bike parking unit?
There's a $3.00 charge for an access card, good for two years. I was on that stretch in an odd time of the day, usually, there are lot more people. Thanks for watching. Cheers! John
@@ActiveTowns Three dollars to keep your bike a bit more safe for two years, that's a steal! 😉
@@vincenzodigrande2070 Yes. A strong incentive to encourage people to ride their bikes to the station. We're getting there... slowly. 😁 Cheers! John
Zozo niet slecht hoor.
Het begin is er dus nu doorpakken en wat meer kleur brengen in de stad want het oogt nog een beetje grauw maar goed bezig daar 👍👍
Thanks so much for watching and the comment... we're getting there! More good things to come. Cheers! John
Good to see that for some protected biking facilities you peeps do not need to look abroad , you can look at this place . Some crossings could be better though .
It's fine for now, but when traffic gets bussy......
Which transport would be faster ? Bike or car ?
Thanks for watching and the comments. Totally agree on both accounts. As the network continues to build out traveling by bike will become much more time competitive and certainly much more enjoyable than driving. Cheers! John
Something I was wondering about: with the infrastructure for cycling, walking and public transport growing, is it starting to show in the numbers for use of the infrastructure as well?
Yes, the numbers are rising. Build it and they will come. :-)
As a Torontonian I am impressed and surprised at how good the infrastructure is and how much is being built by Austin. Of course it still has a long way to go but I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t jealous. Toronto isn’t doing nearly as much as Austin is and most of Toronto’s cycling infrastructure is painted cycling gutters and sharos on busy streets.
Yes and just wait for my next video profiling the Mueller community. We do have a long way to go, but we have some really good momentum, which I hope other North American cities will use as inspiration to get moving on their own transformations. Thanks so much for watching and contributing to the conversation. Cheers! John
Are these small curbs at the beginning of the video part of "quick build" bike lanes or were they done as part of a full street reconstruction?
Ah yes, the 3rd Street Protected bike lane was a complete street reconstruction. Not a "quick build". Thanks so much for watching and for the great question. Cheers! John
At 5:05 I'm amazed that the railway station (which I assume is heavy rail rather than trams) appears to have a completely ungated level crossing of both the footway and roadway. That would be heavily frowned up in the UK, especially in a city centre. Indeed over here Network Rail are slow removing level crossings from around the network, with even little rural foot crossings on public footpaths being replaced by bridges.
Aside from that it looks like pretty good cycling and walking infrastructure.
Yes. The history is this was an abandoned heavy rail freight line that has been repurposed. Our future rail projects will most definitely look much different and hopefully in line with best practices for such installations. Thanks for tuning in once again, Jon. I really appreciate it. Cheers! John
I haven't watched the entire video yet but the cycle areas look good in my opinion. there are a few points which would be odd for me. As Hense Pens said the near free access to open train tracks is a bit strange. Also the narrowing of the cycletrack into a fence before the bridge is a very strange option indeed. 5:37 timestamp for it
Yeah, that narrow pinch point is a pain. Thanks for watching! Cheers! John
5:52 is crossing the i35 frontage road. There is no signal for cars to stop or slow down. It just dumps the protected bike lane into frontage road with a yield sign. Some of the other bike infrastructure in this video is pretty good, but it's things like this that diminish all of it because while a child would be fine biking downtown in the protected lanes, they should not be crossing frontage roads.
Yes, the city is working to install a signalized crossing there which will require coordination with the State Department of Transportation as I-35 and frontage roads are their jurisdiction. Thanks so much for watching. Cheers! John
@@ActiveTowns Odd that the xwalk is only on the cycle part of that crossing as well. There's some work to be done. That sort of layout would probably get a button operated traffic light over here tbf, but only if the volume of bikes was comparatively low. Else it'd need a redesign.
I'm trying to picture a similar point over here, perhaps it's be a red bike lane with clear give way signs for the cars on either side of the street.
heh, it was quite easy to spot on google maps where you were though, thanks to the red bike lane. looked down i35 and found a railway line and there it was.
@@ActiveTowns Maybe a tunnel or a bridge would be a good idea?
In the Netherlands we have this traffic rule: cars ought to stop when the driver sees a cyclist or a pedestrian even just intending to cross the road. If they don't they get fined.
@@ronaldderooij1774 I think they should either get rid of the frontage road here completely since it's redundant by definition. Or at the very least make a bike and ped tunnel (would be hard to do a bridge because of the elevated highway). Unfortunately this is TxDOTs territory and even though they are called the Department of Transportation, they consider themselves the Department of Expanding Highways.
I just noticed the 'shark teeth' (or yield marks for the pedestrian crossing at 26:27. Very Dutch!
We're trying... gotta love the shark teeth.
This video was taken in 2022. There's a ton of stuff built since then and continues today.
Yes! New stuff being built everyday
0:58 Are you allowed to run on red lights?
I plead the Idaho-stop defense ;-) It's really sad to see how dead downtown is these days given our current covid surge - very few people around and I you saw in the video, other than a few delivery vans almost no cars to speak of.
This looks great, but is it a short route for the cyclists or do cars still get the shortest route?
That's a fabulous question... in some parts of this journey, it is most definitely the shortest route... for me, it is most definitely the most pleasant route. I can't remember the last time I actually drove up to Mueller or visit my cousin. I find it to be a very enjoyable journey and look forward to it. Thanks so much for watching and contributing to the conversation. Cheers! John
Was it just cold? Where’s the peoples?
It actually was quite chilly for Austin standards in the morning. By the time I headed home the jacket was off and I saw a lot more people on the path. Cheers! John
You have to have good eyesight to see the last traffic light for bikes.... I did not notice the green light.
Yeah, it's fortunately a lot easier in real life. Thanks so much for watching. Cheers! John
Truckers passing through Austin
Plenty of those - usually on I-35. Thanks for watching. Cheers! John
I guess it's a big improvement for US standards. But most of it wouldn't be acceptable in the Netherlands. The middle part of the video (starting @ 16:53) looks good.
Yes. It is extraordinary for North American standards and we have a long long way to go, but we are making progress and have some momentum. Thanks so much for watching and contributing to the conversation. Cheers! John
Looks pretty much like a modern Dutch neighbourhood.
We're getting there... as fast as we can, but it will still take years, decades really. Thanks for watching and the comment. Cheers! John
Great! Not so sure if I would feel safe cycling solo at night time...
Yes, more lighting in certain areas is definitely needed. Thanks for watching. Cheers! John
Woonerf type area?
This will be an ultra-slow speed shared space... similar to a woonerf in The Netherlands. Thanks so much for watching and for this excellent question. Cheers! John
Can you take your bike on the train?
Yes, you can. Of course, if I were to use the train / bike commute frequently I typically choose to ride my Brompton so I could fold it up and roll it on in a nice compact package. Which is what I do when I travel throughout Europe. Thanks for watching and the great question. Cheers! John
I find it dangerous that there is no warning sign for cars that they are approaching a speed bump at 32:47 . The speed bumps are hard to see, so I feel some drivers (one time visitors for example) will be quite suprised by the sudden speed bumps. Where I live, every speed bump has a traffic sign, saying: Beware: speed bump.
I see your point. Speedbumps must be visible at a distance large enough to adjust your speed to in time. That's why warning signs are not required in the Netherlands. We even have a minimum of STOP signs, because they actually mean a failure in road infrastructure. But their meaning is to force car drivers to keep their speed as low as possible. Speeding up after a streetbump and breaking for another one is bad for the car and gas consumption.
Yeah, my personal preference and professional guidance are to do more horizontal deflections and narrowing of the space get speeds to "non-lethal" levels of 30 km/hr or less. Thanks so much for watching and contributing to the conversation. Cheers! John
Thanks so much for watching... see my response to Paul's comment. Really appreciate you tuning in and contributing to the discussion. It means a lot. Cheers! John
The potholes on the stretch of Fifth street have gotten worse. Camera makes it look like smooth sailing but it is bumpety bump bump yikes BUMP. May slow cars down but dangerous for bikes. Is it true that the city doesn’t maintain that stretch because it is railway land?
Hehe, yeah it’s a rough one. Not sure about the maintenance comment but I do know the city had been getting feedback on transforming this segment with a separated cycle path. Hopefully to be completed soon.
Austin looks a lot like Calgary, surprisingly so.
I've been meaning to get up there. Maybe someday soon.
@@ActiveTowns and ride the c train? Shifter lives there, maybe you could meet up with him.
Austin is supposedly a booming US city and a hip forward thinking urban city in America. However I don't see much human activity going on in the downtown core.
The downtown has been hit hard during the pandemic and we are currently riding a spike due to the Omicron variant. Check out my pre-Omicron video of folks getting to the ACL music festival: ruclips.net/video/kvZVgEKvdok/видео.html Thanks so much for watching. Cheers! John
you rid as slow as I do but I have no cycle lanes in Alabama
Enjoy the ride. Thanks so much for watching. Cheers! John
Maybe time to promote riding a bicycle. In 30+ minutes, I have seen only 1 persoon riding a bike besides you. No wonder that there is not given any priority to bikes, as practically nobody uses them.
Next point is the lines on the street/bike lanes. Who the f thinks that yellow is or ever was a good colour ? And who came up with the even more crazy idea to intermingle yellow lines with white ones ?? White is the best option, but it needs to be consistant and ONLY white for a variaty of reasons, including visibility. (Rewatch this episode and you see why yellow is problematic with visibility)
Another point in regard to trafic safety, not just 4 bikes but general road safety, is location of trafic lights. Across the street as is common in the US, is hazardous if not plain simple DEATHLY. Check how it is done in Europe to see the difference, including the fact that if there is a location in the middle of the street where bikes/pedestrians can stop, an added extra trafic light would be needed.
I hear you on both these main points. It's always a challenge to produce a video of this type and capture the essence of bike path usage. I can assure you the facilities are well used and beloved... and even more important they are an investment for the future... remember, the network is only about half built out this point. Yes. Yellow is hard to see. Period. Hehe. Thanks so much for watching and for the comments. I really appreciate it. Cheers! John