notjustbikes

notjustbikes , vor 19 Tagen (Bearbeitet vor 19 Tagen) an Random Englisch

Nebula gift cards are now available ... and you can pay for them with iDEAL!

I have had so many people tell me over the years that they would sign up to Nebula, but only if they could do it via iDEAL. Now that it's available, I am expecting half of the Netherlands to sign up by the end of the weekend.

iDEAL and Giropay are NOT yet available for normal subscriptions, but you can "gift" yourself a subscription if you'd like!

More info is here:
https://gift.nebula.tv/notjustbikes

notjustbikes OP , vor 19 Tagen

@Takuto yes, we know.

It was basically "free" to turn on after the work was done to implement iDEAL.

It's still a functioning payment system so It would've been stupid not to enable it. Why would we not?

notjustbikes OP , vor 19 Tagen

@danielquinn use this link:

https://go.nebula.tv/gift?ref=notjustbikes

notjustbikes OP , vor 19 Tagen

@BoukevanderSpoel lol what a ridiculous overreaction. 🤣

there was a type-o in the URL. I've updated it to this one:

https://gift.nebula.tv/notjustbikes

This now links to the correct page.

notjustbikes , vor 22 Tagen (Bearbeitet vor 22 Tagen) an Random Englisch

CityBeautiful recently released a great video about how to fix stroads.

It's accurate, and lines up exactly with the advocacy that my wife and I were doing 10 years ago, right down to using StreetMix to redesign streets.

It's also extremely depressing and makes me glad that I don't live in North America anymore.

https://youtu.be/1V679pkDl6k

notjustbikes OP , vor 22 Tagen

Let the suburban stroads rot away!

Sidewalks and bike lanes are pointless without better land use. Smaller parking lots. Slower speeds. Dedicated transit lanes. Retail near the street.

These can't be fixed except at extreme financial cost, opportunity cost, and political capital.

Focus on resuscitating the traditional neighbourhoods (as mentioned above) and maybe, if you're successful, your grandkids can redesign the stroads. Or better yet, turn them back to farmland!

notjustbikes OP , vor 22 Tagen (Bearbeitet vor 22 Tagen)

None of this will be easy. It will take decades of hard work and political will.

I've been branded a "doomer" for saying this, but it's just cold hard facts. Any city can be repaired, but it will require a LOT of work.

Most US and Canadian cities will take generations to repair.

Meanwhile, other cities are farther ahead, and improving faster, so if you are able to move somewhere better, you should.

If not, join Strong Towns today. Your grandkids will thank you.

https://notjustbikes.com/strongtowns

notjustbikes OP , vor 22 Tagen (Bearbeitet vor 22 Tagen)

@meena small incremental changes.

In particular, nobody lives there anymore due to decades of exclusionary zoning prohibiting residential. It would be foolish to pedestrianize a street that nobody lives near.

They implement what they can and they don't let perfect be the enemy of good.

notjustbikes OP , vor 22 Tagen

@Judeet88 https://youtu.be/ORzNZUeUHAM

notjustbikes OP , vor 22 Tagen

@yudderick yeah, that sounds about right.

Any city can be fixed, given enough money and political will.

I just believe that most American cities will take generations before they are significantly improved.

Although, I'm also not totally convinced that all American cities are actually improving.

If it takes you 10 years to get a few bike lanes, but in that time, 10,000 acres of new car-dependent suburbia is built on the periphery, is that really considered "moving forward?"

notjustbikes OP , vor 22 Tagen (Bearbeitet vor 22 Tagen)

@MrLee there's a book called The Sprawl Repair Manual that I always wanted to make a video about, but I couldn't get the copyrights to the images.

https://sprawlrepair.com/home/

In part of it, the author talks about how to turn suburban malls into town centres, and then connect them together (and to downtown) by transit.

I think this is the best hope that suburbia has got.

Trying to urbanise the giant stroads of suburbia is basically a non-starter. There are so many other low-hanging fruits.

notjustbikes OP , vor 22 Tagen

@triddles
so true about people being blind to it. I've seen some ignorant assholes online claiming that I just "gave up" on Canada without trying. Meanwhile, I was an advocate for years.

Congratulation on getting that bike lane extension! That took a while, but less time than the original Bloor bike lane (since the 70s)!

My wife and I were deeply in involved in the advocacy to make the Danforth portion happen.

These things do have a habit of picking up momentum. I hope you can keep it up!

notjustbikes OP , vor 22 Tagen

@danbrotherston @MrLee yes, I know that, but unless the stroad is right downtown (and clearly doesn't belong) then your limited funds and political capital would be better spent elsewhere.

notjustbikes OP , vor 21 Tagen

@danbrotherston yes, if a stroad is going to be redesigned anyway, better to improve the design while you have the chance, but outside of that, you probably shouldn't burn resources trying to improve stroads.

Someone else just posted a relevant Strong Towns screenshot:

https://mstdn.ca/@dunks/112644849571922324

notjustbikes OP , vor 21 Tagen

@dunks yep, exactly. There's no use throwing good money at bad investments. Better to improve everything else and let the stroads die a natural death (unless they go through the middle of the city, of course).

notjustbikes OP , vor 21 Tagen

@mcv yes, I showed this location in Nieuwleusen as an example if that in my "stroads" video:

https://maps.app.goo.gl/SYe5MqVrcpmbgCLK9?g_st=ac

But this requires a lot of space and it's expensive. The real truth is that the US and Canada are massively overbuilt. The tax base is too thin and everything is too sprawled.

Not all of it can survive, which is why Strong Towns recommends letting most stroads die a natural death. They're lined with disposable buildings. They never should have been built in the first place.

notjustbikes OP , vor 21 Tagen

@otte_homan @dunks https://www.strongtowns.org/journal/2021/12/2/how-do-you-actually-fix-a-stroad