Episodes
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Trams are great. They create and enable some of the best urbanism around. And yet the streetcars in Toronto are slow and unreliable and painful to take. What is Toronto doing wrong, and what could other "streetcar" cities learn from their mistakes?
Financial capital of Canada pauses so streetcar driver can move tracks with big stick: https://www.thebeaverton.com/2016/06/financial-capital-of-canada-pauses-so-streetcar-driver-can-move-tracks-with-big-stick/
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Not Just Bikes: https://youtube.com/@notjustbikes
RMTransit: https://youtube.com/@rmtransit
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What should you do when your city won't fix things, even after years of advocacy? The answer might be guerrilla urbanism, aka tactical urbanism. I talk to Bike Curious about the people who are tired of waiting, and just get things done by themselves. Is it legal? Well ... it's sometimes better to ask for forgiveness rather than permission.
Tactical urbanism - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tactical_urbanism
Explainer: Tactical Urbanism - https://urbantoronto.ca/news/2022/09/explainer-tactical-urbanism.49521
Tactical Urbanism: Short-Term Action for Long-Term Change - https://issuu.com/streetplanscollaborative/docs/tactical_urbanism
Manchester man draws penises around potholes so the city will fix them - https://www.theverge.com/2015/5/2/8535259/penis-pothole-activism-wanksy-england
Safe Street Rebel - https://www.safestreetrebel.com/
A Slower Safer Wiggle - https://www.safestreetrebel.com/blog/a-slower-safer-wiggle/
Safety Activists Close a Lane on Franklin - https://sf.streetsblog.org/2024/03/14/safety-activists-close-a-lane-on-franklin
City Wide Slow Rides - https://www.safestreetrebel.com/slow-rides/
People Protected Bike Lane (Polk) - https://www.safestreetrebel.com/polk/
Just A Minute (Valencia) - https://www.safestreetrebel.com/valencia/
Crosswalk Collective - https://crosswalksla.org/our-crosswalks.html
Guerrilla bus stop benches - https://www.kron4.com/news/bay-area/guerilla-bus-stop-benches-are-spurring-berkeley-officials-to-install-official-seating-for-transit-passengers/
Bike Curious: https://twitch.tv/bikecurious
Not Just Bikes: https://nebula.tv/notjustbikes
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Missing episodes?
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New York City was about to roll out congestion charging. The cameras were up, the staff were hired, the metro projects were financed, and thousands of people were lined up to make public transit better ... and then the governor cancelled it on vibes.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Congestion_pricing_in_New_York_Cityhttps://thewaroncars.org/2024/06/07/kathy-hochuls-congestion-pricing-flip-flop-fiasco/https://www.politico.com/news/2024/06/05/new-york-city-toll-hochul-democrats-00161930https://hellgatenyc.com/lawsuit-congestion-pricing-teachers/https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0965856409001256https://www.transportportal.se/SWoPEc/CTS2012-3.pdfhttps://nyc.streetsblog.org/2017/11/28/congestion-pricing-was-unpopular-in-stockholm-until-people-saw-it-in-actionThe War on Cars: https://thewaroncars.org/
Not Just Bikes: https://youtube.com/notjustbikes
Support the Urbanist Agenda by signing up to Nebula, and get every episode early!
https://nebula.tv/agenda
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Level boarding is simple enough: the floor of the train should be level with the platform. But it's not very common, is it? Why? And what can we do about it? Because once you learn the details of level boarding, you'll realise just how important it is.
The Campaign for Level Boarding: https://www.levelboarding.org.uk/
Passengers suffer serious injuries boarding Elizabeth line trains at west London station
https://www.standard.co.uk/news/london/elizabeth-line-ealing-broadway-bbc-transport-for-london-b1163562.html
Gareth Dennis: https://garethdennis.co.uk/
Rail Natter: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLlPJmKp10F4pGqXgT3yg0sBEYSmvMnAWt
Not Just Bikes: https://youtube.com/@notjustbikes
See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
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When a bike lane was installed on Valencia Street in San Francisco, one business owner hated it so much he went on a hunger strike. Bike lanes are almost universally positive for business, so why do some business owners hate them so much? Jon from Bike Curious joins me to discuss.
San Francisco restaurant owner goes on 30-day hunger strike over new bike lane: https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2024/04/18/san-francisco-bike-lane-hunger-strike/73359978007/
Advocates Punk SFMTA’s Valencia Bike Lane Clusterf*ck: https://sf.streetsblog.org/2023/07/21/advocates-punk-sfmtas-valencia-bike-lane-clusterfck
Why this Toronto restaurateur is giving city hall a big, icy middle finger: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/asithappens/as-it-happens-friday-edition-1.4494974/why-this-toronto-restaurateur-is-giving-city-hall-a-big-icy-middle-finger-1.4494981
Brent Todarian on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/posts/brent-toderian-b1592b47_want-to-make-money-build-a-business-on-a-activity-7181396470825148418-f_D8
Bike Lanes, On-Street Parking and Business | Parkdale (2016) and Danforth (2014): https://tcat.ca/resources/bike-lanes-on-street-parking-and-business-parkdale-danforth/
Business is Up on Bloor After Bike Lane, New Study Finds: https://tcat.ca/business-is-up-on-bloor-after-bike-lane-new-study-finds/
Measuring the Local Economic Impacts of Replacing On-Street Parking With Bike Lanes: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/01944363.2019.1638816
Bloor Street West Bike Lane Pilot Project Evaluation: https://www.toronto.ca/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/8ef6-cycling-bloor-backgroundfile-107582.pdf
Bike Curious: https://twitch.tv/bikecurious
Not Just Bikes: https://youtube.com/notjustbikes
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As housing and transportation prices are skyrocketing around the developed world, Japan has remained (relatively) affordable. I talk to Greg from the YouTube channel Life Where I'm From about how Japan is different - from transportation to housing policy - and about what we can learn from Japanese cities.\
Relevant videos by Life Where I'm From:
How an Average Family in Tokyo Can Buy a New Home: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iGbC5j4pG9wJapanese Zoning: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wfm2xCKOCNkTiny Buildings: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6htrxbVN5PIRich Neighbourhoods in Tokyo: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5MxspoxpC3wJapanese Shopping Streets: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q3jTamHd1OwA Typical Tokyo Neighbourhood: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TheOkz8oF_ITokyo by Bike: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u0x8EAf4GSgJapan's Housing for the Middle Class: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ave4FiC2k8ILife Where I'm From: https://youtube.com/@lifewhereimfrom
Not Just Bikes: https://youtube.com/@notjustbikes
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For most of us, autonomous vehicles are this nebulous concept that might appear some time in our future, but there are other people living with this reality today - whether they like it or not. In this episode, I talk to Jon from the Twitch channel Bike Curious about what it's like to live in San Francisco, where autonomous vehicles are around you every single day and there's nothing you can do about it - except put a traffic cone on their hood.
Driverless car startup Cruise's no good, terrible year
https://www.npr.org/2023/12/30/1222083720/driverless-cars-gm-cruise-waymo-san-francisco-accidents
Driverless Car Gets Stuck in Wet Concrete in San Francisco
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/08/17/us/driverless-car-accident-sf.html
Waymo robotaxi accident with San Francisco cyclist draws regulatory review
https://www.reuters.com/world/us/driverless-waymo-car-hits-cyclist-san-francisco-causes-minor-scratches-2024-02-07/
Dead-End SF Street Plagued With Confused Waymo Cars Trying To Turn Around 'Every 5 Minutes'
https://www.cbsnews.com/sanfrancisco/news/dead-end-sf-street-plagued-with-confused-waymo-cars-trying-to-turn-around-every-5-minutes/
Cruise vehicle gets stuck in wet concrete while driving in San Francisco
https://www.sfgate.com/tech/article/cruise-stuck-wet-concrete-sf-18297946.php
Bike Curious: https://twitch.tv/bikecurious
Not Just Bikes: https://nebula.tv/notjustbikes
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Yup. Cars are REALLY expensive, and they're getting more expensive. And yet, most car owners seem completely oblivious to it.
Canadians estimated to pay over $1,300 a month to own a car, report findsCar ownership cost me a LOT of money. I'm done. (YouTube)RMTransit: https://youtube.com/@rmtransit
Not Just Bikes: https://youtube.com/@notjustbikes
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Europe is known for its train networks, and the EU has been promoting trains as the preferred mode of travel. But the train networks are not functioning well, and it's not a coincidence that many EU countries are spending twice as much on roads than they do on rails.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/sep/19/european-governments-railways-road-building-report-motorways-funding-railhttps://www.railtech.com/infrastructure/2023/09/19/deutsche-bahn-and-german-government-launch-infrastructure-programme-on-unprecedented-scale/?gdpr=denyhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hOzy1Ok58gIReal Time History: https://www.youtube.com/@realtimehistory
Not Just Bikes: https://www.youtube.com/@notjustbikes
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It occurred to us the other day that we have lived 10 years without owning a car. This didn't happen intentionally, we just moved to a walkable neighbourhood and living car-free just made the most sense. In this episode, I talk with Mrs. NJB about what it's been like to live without a car, how it made more sense for us even with two kids, and about why we'll likely never own one.
Not Just Bikes: https://nebula.tv/notjustbikes
See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
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Can rural people understand city folk and vice-versa? American Fietser thinks so. He went from being a die-hard truck driver to a cargo-bike riding urbanist, and it all started with a trip to the Netherlands.
American Fietser: https://www.youtube.com/@AmericanFietser
American Fietser (Twitter): https://twitter.com/AmericanFietser
Not Just Bikes: https://nebula.tv/notjustbikes
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City Simulators, such as SimCity and Cities: Skylines are very popular, both among gamers and the general public. But these are just games: they don't accurately model real cities, and that can result in misleading assumptions about what a city is, and how it functions.
Cities by Diana: https://www.youtube.com/@CitiesByDiana
Not Just Bikes: https://nebula.tv/notjustbikes
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The "War on Cars" is a phrase that comes up every few years whenever some right-wing politician wants to get elected. But this phrase is nothing new, and has been around almost as long as cars themselves. In this episode, I talk to Doug Gordon from the War on Cars podcast, who has been following this phrase in the media for several years.
https://thewaroncars.org/2021/11/30/not-just-bikes-with-jason-slaughter/
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/sep/28/the-war-on-motorists-the-secret-history-of-a-myth-as-old-as-cars-themselves
https://nebula.tv/agenda/toronto-needs-a-new-mayor-with-rmtransit
https://art19.com/shows/the-urbanist-agenda/episodes/d6da1bc2-eb11-48f3-8512-90cafdaaa7b2
Not Just Bikes: https://youtube.com/notjustbikes
The War on Cars Podcast: https://thewaroncars.org/
See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
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Not Just Bikes, normally a champion of all things Amsterdam, talks to RMTransit about why the Amsterdam Metro isn't good enough. And if GVB has their way, it might become even worse.
https://www.at5.nl/artikelen/219864/metrolijnen-50-en-53-worden-samengevoegd-30000-passagiers-zullen-moeten-overstappen
https://www.iamexpat.nl/expat-info/dutch-expat-news/major-overhaul-amsterdam-public-transport-fewer-trams-more-transfers
https://www.dewestkrant.nl/tram-19-en-3-voorlopig-gered-gvb-broedt-op-ander-plan/
https://over.gvb.nl/nieuws/geen-netwerkwijzigingen-in-aangepast-vervoerplan-2024/
Not Just Bikes: https://youtube.com/@notjustbikes
RMTransit: https://youtube.com/@rmtransit
See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
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America has Traffic Engineers. The Netherlands has Transportation Engineers. One is concerned with moving as many cars as possible, the other builds transportation systems. In this podcast, I'm joined by Steffen Berr, an American Traffic Engineer turned Transportation Engineer who now lives in the Netherlands. We discuss the myopic approach taken by Traffic Engineers in America, and how it ultimately ruins cities.
Steffen has a great article that is worth reading:
https://nextcity.org/urbanist-news/america-has-no-transportation-engineers
Strong Towns Conversation with an Engineer: https://youtu.be/P9BUyWVg1xI
Wonderland Road: https://youtu.be/Ds-v2-qyCc8
Not Just Bikes: https://nebula.tv/notjustbikes
Build the Lanes: https://www.youtube.com/@buildthelanes
See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
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Our family has lived in the Netherlands for 5 years now. In this episode, I have a conversation with my wife, Mrs. NJB, about our experiences and how it compares to other places we've lived before.
Listen to the next episode early on Nebula: https://nebula.tv/agenda
Not Just Bikes: https://youtube.com/@notjustbikes
See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
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I was recently asked to comment on a news story in my hometown of Fake London in Canada: a single mom had her car break down and she couldn't afford to fix it, so she asked people how feasible it was to go car-free. In the end, she had to spend $6000 on a new transmission because living car-free was effectively impossible.
It got me thinking how crazy this situation is, especially compared to where I've lived in Europe. So I've brought back certified European Adam Something to discuss how this is unlikely to happen to most Europeans, but how that could change, if right wing politicians get their way.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/london/london-would-you-give-up-your-car-1.6877193
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2023/06/26/cyclists-berlin-right-wing-mayor-bans-new-cycle-paths/
https://www.world-today-news.com/data-prague-has-twice-as-many-cars-per-inhabitant-as-vienna-or-berlin-and-they-are-old/
Get the next episode one week early and support this podcast by signing up to Nebula: https://nebula.tv/agenda
Not Just Bikes: https://youtube.com/@notjustbikes
Adam Something: https://youtube.com/@adamsomething
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Rowhouses have been around for literally thousands of years: a house that's connected to the house next to it. This type of housing is illegal in huge swaths of the US and Canada, but it's extremely common elsewhere because it is the greatest form of housing.
Jason from Not Just Bikes is joined by Justin Roczniak from the Well There's Your Problem podcast to discuss why rowhouses are the superior form of housing, and why we should bulldoze every city to build them.
References and further reading:
https://statisticalatlas.com/neighborhood/Pennsylvania/Philadelphia/East-Passyunk/Population
https://www.phila.gov/media/20190521124726/Philadelphia_Rowhouse_Manual.pdf
Get the next episode one week early and support this podcast by signing up to Nebula: https://nebula.tv/agenda
Well There's Your Problem: https://www.youtube.com/@welltheresyourproblempodca1465
Not Just Bikes: https://youtube.com/@notjustbikes
See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
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Paying for public transit is way too complicated, especially if you're an occasional user or tourist. Can open payments make this process easier for everyone?
In this conversation, Jason from Not Just Bikes and Thea from Urban Caffeine discuss recent developments in open payments. If we're going to charge for public transit (which is a whole other conversation), how should payments be collected? Why are we still using obtuse way s of paying when credit cards and debit cards exist?
References and further reading:
https://www.brookings.edu/research/how-better-payment-systems-can-improve-public-transportation/
https://www.bytemark.co/bytes-of-knowledge/what-are-open-loop-payments-in-public-transit
https://www.intelligenttransport.com/transport-articles/78096/open-loop-payments-united-states/
Get the next episode one week early and support this podcast by signing up to Nebula: https://nebula.tv/agenda
Not Just Bikes: https://youtube.com/@notjusbikes
Urban Caffeine: https://youtube.com/@urbancaffeine
See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
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Toronto's mayor stepped down, which gives the city a unique opportunity to make a meaningful change. Without an incumbent in the race, the field is wide open for someone new to take charge. Will Toronto choose good urbanism, or will it continue down its car-centric trajectory?
In this episode, Jason from Not Just Bikes and Reece from RMTransit go through the top candidates in the Toronto mayoral election and give our takes on who we think should be (or shouldn't be) the next mayor of Toronto.
Relevant articles:
https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2023/06/11/toronto-election-reality-check-how-the-mayoral-hopefuls-would-unclog-city-streets.html
https://toronto.ctvnews.ca/why-does-doug-ford-care-who-becomes-mayor-of-toronto-1.6436389
Support the Urbanist Agenda by signing up to Nebula (with a $20 discount): https://go.nebula.tv/agenda
Not Just Bikes: https://youtube.com/@notjustbikes
RMTransit: https://youtube.com/@rmtransit
See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
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