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Conversations about Creating a Culture of Activity: Profiling the people, places, programs, and policies that help to promote a culture of activity within our communities.
Note: This transcript was exported from the video version of this episode, and it has not been copyedited
00:00:00:01 - 00:00:27:23
Jacob Davis
When I talk to move San Marcus. This is a path. And San Marcus on the on the west side of town. And this actually belongs to an entire apartment complex. I was surprised on how great this path was. Just built by an apartment complex, and I'm hoping that the the city or someone will help connect it to more places within the city.
00:00:27:24 - 00:00:48:10
John Simmerman
Hey, everyone. Welcome to the Active Towns Channel. My name is John Zimmerman and that is Jacob Davis from the Cities in Motion podcast. We are going to be talking about what inspired him to start his own podcast and, also taking a look at some really cool stuff that's happening in the central Texas area from a urbanism and active mobility perspective.
00:00:48:15 - 00:01:04:15
John Simmerman
But before we dive right into that. If you're enjoying this content here on the Active Towns Channel, please consider supporting my efforts by becoming an Active Towns Ambassador. Hey, super easy to do. Just click on the support button right here on YouTube down below, or navigate over to Active towns.org. Click on the support tab at the top of the page.
00:01:04:17 - 00:01:11:11
John Simmerman
Okay, let's get right to it with Jacob.
00:01:11:13 - 00:01:15:06
John Simmerman
Jacob Davis, welcome to the Active Towns podcast.
00:01:15:09 - 00:01:17:09
Jacob Davis
Thank you so much.
00:01:17:12 - 00:01:23:20
John Simmerman
Jacob. I always love giving my guests just a quick opportunity to introduce themselves. So who the heck is Jacob?
00:01:23:22 - 00:01:50:18
Jacob Davis
I'm the host of Citizen Motion, which is the podcast that I just started last fall. It's been really great having the opportunity to interview really interesting people like authors and advocates, and just really cool people who like to ride bikes and walk and ride the bus. Outside of that, I'm actually a music educator. I'm a middle school band director, so I guess I'm just extra nerdy.
00:01:50:18 - 00:01:54:04
Jacob Davis
I enjoy band, and I also enjoy, public transit.
00:01:54:07 - 00:02:32:07
John Simmerman
That's fantastic. Yeah. I was wondering what your background was because I was able to be profiled on your podcast. Thank you very much for doing that. That was an absolute joy and pleasure. But I didn't get to learn anything about you. So this is turnabout. Fair play. I love learning, the background. What what is your background in terms of getting inspired by, all things urbanism and active mobility and in wanting to launch a podcast on the side, since that's not necessarily in your wheelhouse of of what you do professionally.
00:02:32:10 - 00:02:58:28
Jacob Davis
Yeah. Well, I think it still has a lot to do with what I do. It's not music education, but it is education. I'm taking these complicated sort of over your head subjects that some people might think as complicated or not. Very interesting. And I am interviewing these really cool, interesting guests or talking about high speed rail and sort of breaking that down, how all of that works.
00:02:59:01 - 00:03:17:06
Jacob Davis
And that's one reason I started the podcast. Another reason is I just think it's really cool. And I wanted sort of a creative outlet outside of, the, the music education realm. And I, I decided just to, to go for it. And it's been really great so far.
00:03:17:08 - 00:03:22:24
John Simmerman
Yeah, yeah. Fantastic. And, how many episodes are we up to now?
00:03:22:26 - 00:03:31:06
Jacob Davis
We are. We just got done with season one, so I am going to take a short break. I'm about to have a child, so.
00:03:31:06 - 00:03:33:03
John Simmerman
Oh, wow. Congratulations.
00:03:33:05 - 00:03:51:21
Jacob Davis
Yeah, yeah. We'll see how quickly we can get him on the back of a bicycle. But while that's happening, I'm trying to, get as many interviews as I can and then schedule those out and season two will be out in April.
00:03:51:24 - 00:04:18:28
John Simmerman
Fantastic. That's great. That's great. Yeah, I do the same thing. I take, a break, at least once a year, I'll take as much as, a month or maybe even two months break, from producing and pushing out the podcast episodes. But, you know, and then usually around the holidays, I'll take, like, a little mini break, and then sometimes when I'm traveling, I just can't produce them and get them out.
00:04:19:00 - 00:04:38:23
John Simmerman
I've got a trip scheduled for New Zealand, for two weeks, in about two weeks. And I haven't decided whether I'm going to be pushing episodes out or not. So. Yeah. There's no hurry. Pace yourself and get them out when you can. And, talk a little bit about that experience. What's it been like starting a brand new podcast?
00:04:38:23 - 00:04:49:16
John Simmerman
What did you what surprised you about, you know, launching Cities in Motion and, Yeah. And let's start there. What surprised you about that experience?
00:04:49:18 - 00:05:21:27
Jacob Davis
I was just thinking about this over the past couple of days, and I thought, like, how accessible some people. It's how accessible it is to create content online, whether it be YouTube or podcasts or anything, like if you have something really cool to talk about, like, we have really great iPhones, we have, you can buy a mic. I recorded my first couple of episodes, just my iPhone right here, and then I cleaned up the audio and uploaded that.
00:05:21:27 - 00:05:30:26
Jacob Davis
That was it. And everyone has a phone that could do that. I think I'm answering your question correctly.
00:05:30:28 - 00:05:56:23
John Simmerman
Yeah. I mean, yeah, the surprising thing, I guess that's a great learnings too, is that, you know, it really is accessible. Pretty much anybody. I mean, we we all are like, you know, carrying these super computers. What which happened to happen to have just amazing cameras and microphones attached to them. And yeah I do the same thing. I end up, you know, pulling the phone out of my pocket and shooting all sorts of video and audio.
00:05:56:25 - 00:06:12:15
John Simmerman
Just on the spur of the moment, as I'm doing my various adventures. Yeah. So that's good stuff. So we happened to be at your YouTube landing page for your podcast, but your podcast is actually hosted, I believe, with Spotify. Is that correct?
00:06:12:18 - 00:06:29:18
Jacob Davis
Yes. And I, I connected the RSS feed to YouTube. So it, it uploads that to the YouTube feed also. So if you're somehow not subscribed to the Spotify link, you're just you can be subscribed to, the YouTube.
00:06:29:21 - 00:06:59:12
John Simmerman
Yeah, yeah. And I it's interesting too. Before we hit the record button, I had mentioned that I started out in the audio only realm for about a year, and then after I, interviewed, Jason Slaughter with the Not Just Bikes channel in July of 2021, I was just like, oh, man, this is so rich and so much fun because so much of what we're talking about, on the Active Towns podcast and also in the Cities in Motion podcast, is is stuff that's in the built environment.
00:06:59:12 - 00:07:19:00
John Simmerman
So much of it is rich, you know, being able to show some visuals. And so I made that move to, over to the video platform and to YouTube and, it's it's been quite a hoot. And, you know, now I'm your episode will be 330. So it's been going on for five years now.
00:07:19:02 - 00:07:23:24
Jacob Davis
So I hope I get some sort of plaque for that. 330 that's a pretty good number.
00:07:23:26 - 00:07:47:14
John Simmerman
Yeah, yeah. No, it really is. It's a pretty good number and I'm very, very honored and privileged, you know, to, to be in this position and, and super grateful, both to the original group of folks who came on the pod to, to talk story with me before I really had much experience in doing so. And, it was in the middle of the pandemic.
00:07:47:14 - 00:07:54:24
John Simmerman
So we were all kind of scrambling, trying to imagine what can we do right now. And that was why I launched the podcast.
00:07:54:24 - 00:08:21:01
Jacob Davis
Like as soon as I started uploading on the the Spotify, I quickly thought, okay, Instagram would be great to okay a website. Okay, this this but I, I, I have learned that it's better just to like have one thing and be, pretty good at that and then slowly add on to it. So right now I have Spotify or Apple Music or wherever you listen to it.
00:08:21:03 - 00:08:48:26
Jacob Davis
And then also, YouTube and Instagram. I would love to, plan out a, website of some kind. I have sort of a, what I want, but I haven't really find the right, domain yet. But that'll hopefully be coming soon. And some actual YouTube content, not just the, the the audio from the podcast.
00:08:48:28 - 00:09:21:03
John Simmerman
Yes. And I'm glad you mentioned that, too, because this is a lesson that I learned. And if I were to do this all over again, I would have set up two separate, channels. I would have set up an Active Towns podcast channel. That would be just my video, interviews. And yes, it could also just be, you know, like a thumbnail and just audio only and then a separate Active Towns channel where I'm out in the field doing on bike interviews and doing profiles of special events and things like that.
00:09:21:05 - 00:09:59:15
John Simmerman
And so it would be, you know, separate channels. It that helps, actually with the YouTube algorithm, the YouTube algorithm knows better how to push your content out. If there's a narrow niche, when you're doing that. So that's kind of what I learned. Too late. I was like, you know, many, many videos in before I, like, realized, oh, YouTube doesn't know what to do with my channel because I've got sometimes I'll have a 20 minute, you know, profile out in the field and then, you know, an hour and ten minute, you know, conversation, in a podcast format.
00:09:59:17 - 00:10:02:11
John Simmerman
And that really confuses the, the algorithm.
00:10:02:11 - 00:10:29:12
Jacob Davis
So, yeah, yeah, I did my first on the bike interview, and I really, underestimated how difficult it is to, be wired. I have some lab, I have a left mic on me, and then I'll have Mike on the guest, so I'm, like, wired up, and I have the receiver and then my mic, and then I'm trying to record, video also and try and trying to interview this guest.
00:10:29:12 - 00:10:33:24
Jacob Davis
It's I give you very, very many props for me to do that.
00:10:33:27 - 00:10:54:22
John Simmerman
Yeah, yeah. And, I'm going to pull up your Instagram right now so that folks, you know, can can see where we're at there. Yeah. So you are cities in motion, cities in motion. Pod is the the Instagram. So you can folks you can pop on over there and see that you've got some rich visuals that you, produce and push out there.
00:10:54:25 - 00:11:22:00
John Simmerman
At one point in time, I was up to, gosh, I think it was nine social media platforms that I was pushing content out. I have since pulled back dramatically. I do push stuff out on LinkedIn, both under active towns and under my personal name, on Facebook, under active towns, and under my personal name, on Instagram, under active towns, and blue Sky.
00:11:22:03 - 00:11:27:29
John Simmerman
So I've narrowed it down a little bit, but not tremendously. So it's it's a full time job literally for me.
00:11:28:01 - 00:11:31:24
Jacob Davis
Yes, yes, yes. And especially if you have a full time job already.
00:11:31:24 - 00:11:59:15
John Simmerman
Yeah. Yeah. That makes it a challenge. Yeah. Yeah. Fantastic. So we talked a little bit about, you know, those early learnings and, you know, in, in some surprises, any, any major challenges that you had to navigate through, that you would, you know, as somebody who's, you know, just finishing up season one, could provide as advice to anybody else wanting to, to launch a podcast.
00:11:59:17 - 00:12:26:07
Jacob Davis
Yeah, definitely. Have some sort of way to track all of your guest and the links and the, the zoom. Like I have a notion spreadsheet that I, I started and I have a calendar with every this is what I'm interviewing. This is when I'm uploading some way to track everything and you can integrate, zoom into that notion spreadsheet.
00:12:26:07 - 00:13:03:10
Jacob Davis
And I just open up that and press ready, go. And there it is, also video and audio. I thought I had some pretty good experience with video and audio, but, I've made a ton of mistakes already, and I'm just kind of saying, okay, I'm I'm never gonna make that mistake again. I've learned from that mistake, whether that be, forgetting to click a button on my soundboard when I'm recording on my desktop, or, having the gain too far up on my left mic, I made that mistake.
00:13:03:12 - 00:13:28:11
Jacob Davis
So it's just it's just make it's okay to make the mistakes right now. This first season, it's it's purely experimenting and figuring things out. And I hope to at least, get 1% better every day as I, as I get into this.
00:13:28:14 - 00:13:42:23
John Simmerman
Yeah, yeah, yeah. And be forgiving of yourself. I mean, like you said, you're you're you're you're learning. This is this is, it's all good and fun. And as long as you can learn as you go, that's that's a cool thing. I don't even think we we mentioned where you're from, so talk.
00:13:42:23 - 00:14:06:28
Jacob Davis
A little bit. Oh, yeah. Where we're at. Yeah. I make a lot of Austin content, but, my I am not from Austin. My parents are from Austin, my grandparents are from Austin. I grew up in, Taylor, Texas, which some strong town people may be familiar with. A couple of years ago, they were up in the rankings for the strongest town, which I'm very proud of.
00:14:07:00 - 00:14:13:20
Jacob Davis
Okay. Yeah. But right now, I'm living in South Austin in, Buda.
00:14:13:23 - 00:14:17:27
John Simmerman
Oh. You are. Okay, so you're just south of, of the city down in Buda. Okay.
00:14:18:01 - 00:14:23:27
Jacob Davis
We are. We're going to move move out of here pretty soon. But, it's been it's been a good time.
00:14:24:00 - 00:14:47:19
John Simmerman
Yeah, yeah, yeah. And so. Yeah. So I just moved from Austin. I was living in Austin for the last 11 years, and moved back, here to, Hawaii Island. I'm living now in Kailua-Kona. Previously, we were up in the village of Waimea. Prior to moving to Austin, and we were in, South Austin proper right there in the Zilker neighborhood.
00:14:47:25 - 00:15:09:19
John Simmerman
Just walking distance to the, the Barton Springs pool. You provided some wonderful image images, some rich images from Austin. And so I thought we'd go through some of these and talk a little bit about what inspired you to kind of, you know, share these. So starting off with this, image right here, in I think it's just the downtown area of Austin.
00:15:09:23 - 00:15:10:04
Jacob Davis
Yeah.
00:15:10:04 - 00:15:11:11
John Simmerman
We're looking at. Yeah.
00:15:11:13 - 00:15:37:24
Jacob Davis
This is critical mass. My I've always said, okay, I'm going to do critical mass and then the month and then something comes up. But I made it. I believe this is from, December or January, critical mass. And we met on the Flickr bridge. Right. By Zachary Scott Theater. And we biked about 30 miles that day.
00:15:37:26 - 00:15:54:19
Jacob Davis
It was really great. We just took up the road and made ourselves present. And that's that's the point of critical mass. And it made some cool people, got some cool, content and pictures. And, I will definitely be doing that again wherever I end up.
00:15:54:21 - 00:16:21:19
John Simmerman
Yeah. Fantastic. Fantastic. Yeah. A critical mass is, an event that has been going on, for many, many years, if not decades. I think it started in San Francisco, and it's really about taking over the streets to sort of reframe what streets are for. And so is sort of an activation event, sometimes with the, blessing and support of the city and the police and sometimes not.
00:16:21:21 - 00:16:48:10
John Simmerman
So, yeah. And it takes on many different forms. I actually did have the opportunity to film the critical mass the first time we did a critical mass in, up in the Mueller neighborhood. So I'll be sure to include that link in the show notes and in the video description below. That was just a hoot. We had 250 some odd people out, all families, all ages, all abilities rolling down the road there.
00:16:48:10 - 00:17:11:10
John Simmerman
We had city council members. There. We had Lloyd Doggett there. It was just a super, super fun event. And again, it's about reframing what our streets are for, because, you know, as as I declare on my my coffee mug here, streets are for people. And so we're, we're trying to, you know, kind of help change that narrative of what are our streets for.
00:17:11:16 - 00:17:14:06
John Simmerman
Streets are for people.
00:17:14:09 - 00:17:31:22
Jacob Davis
And I just kept thinking during that ride, there's like two dozen of us right here within like, this, 30ft². Like, how many cars is that going to take up? 24 people. It's going to stretch all the way down to to First Street.
00:17:31:24 - 00:18:02:03
John Simmerman
Yes. Yeah. And that's a big part of the point of critical mass is that if we can get cycling and active mobility to a critical mass of people, it actually helps for drivers too. It actually helps alleviate the traffic congestion that can show up at certain times of the day. You know, being honest about the fact that, you know, for the better part of, you know, 22 to 23 hours of the day, there is no traffic and problems.
00:18:02:03 - 00:18:29:20
John Simmerman
But, you know, it doesn't take much to, alleviate a traffic jam or gridlock. And so the more people that we can get to shift to short their short trips to active mobility and transit, the better. And that was the whole point of of, you know, the original critical masses that were out there. You also shared a wonderful photo here, a couple photos, from this particular initiative.
00:18:29:20 - 00:18:44:21
John Simmerman
I know about this initiative, but I've never had the opportunity to profile it. So I was absolutely delighted to to see that you shared a couple photos, for the listening only, audience, be sure to describe this, photo, as we go through these couple.
00:18:44:23 - 00:19:14:02
Jacob Davis
Yeah, sure. I got the opportunity to join Austin Bicycle Mills. Kelly, who helps run it along with this, wife. He was one of my first interviews, actually, and he was great. He was a he's a great guy. And that night, we filled up our bikes with some chicken noodle soup. Oh, I think it was, chicken pot pie and snacks and hygiene kits.
00:19:14:04 - 00:19:32:19
Jacob Davis
And it was just really fun. It was really great having the opportunity to to get to meet these really cool, interesting people and also help out fellow, Austinites who needed the help. And just.
00:19:32:21 - 00:20:01:03
Jacob Davis
Getting to experience the the city in that way just by on bike and just handing out food to, whoever, wants it. And I believe that's episode, 5 or 6 on my podcast. It just, Kelly with Austin bicycle meals. And I believe he just got, he's getting some more, media attention recently, so it's really great seeing that happen.
00:20:01:06 - 00:20:29:11
John Simmerman
Yeah. Yeah, I think I noticed that. I think, KXAN may have done a profile on, the program as well. Yeah. It's just it's it's really wonderful when we see these types of initiatives, that take place and then utilizing the bicycle as a, a tool to be able to do that. I mean, obviously you could do the same program and, and zip around town in a car too.
00:20:29:13 - 00:20:48:12
John Simmerman
And but it just warms my heart when I see that you know, an initiative like this is done and utilizing the bicycle, as a tool to be able to deliver this again, it reframes that narrative of what our streets are for and what a bike is for. You can actually just put a really simple rack on a bike.
00:20:48:12 - 00:21:18:23
John Simmerman
A normal bike doesn't have to be a cargo bike. I mean, it certainly could be. It could be a workhorse of a cargo bike like this one, but it can just be a normal bike with a basket on it. And you can, you know, be able to do these very, very simple tasks. And I think that's a, a message that, you know, we don't talk about enough is that you just like with the podcast, you don't need super, super fancy equipment to be able to do something like this and carry on a conversation and inspire other people.
00:21:19:00 - 00:21:34:18
John Simmerman
Same with the bike. It doesn't have to be a $7,000, you know, back seat style cargo bike to be able to do a simple task of taking some, you know, a meal and some essential supplies for hygiene to people in need.
00:21:34:21 - 00:21:54:17
Jacob Davis
And I think it's a lot just more personable showing up on a bike and like, hey you, you want some stuff. Here you go. And then we just hang out and chat for a little bit and then we're off out exploring Austin some more. I definitely recommend anybody who is interested go check it out. At least once.
00:21:54:19 - 00:22:18:04
John Simmerman
Yeah. Yeah, I'm I'm really glad that you mentioned that. It's a little bit more personable or, you know, to use another word, it's a little bit more sociable. You, you are not you know, you're not contained in a hermetically sealed, you know, box on wheels. And so it's so essential, I think, is that active mobility breaks down those barriers.
00:22:18:05 - 00:22:46:05
John Simmerman
You're not in, you know, in this, you know, home living room on wheels. Or as my, my friend, you know, Kylee Van Damme from Halton in the Netherlands says you're not wearing a coat of car. You know, you can actually, you know, connect with other people. And I think that's what's really, really special about getting, going to events and, and, and just being out and about within your city is you can make connections with other people.
00:22:46:07 - 00:22:53:21
John Simmerman
Sometimes they're familiar strangers. And sometimes you run into friends, too.
00:22:53:23 - 00:23:30:21
Jacob Davis
So, I, you brought the picture right here. I recently went and went on a bike ride with Move or Move San Marcus, which as I'm my goal with this podcast is just, just it wasn't on purpose, but I found a bunch of local advocacy groups and I was just really surprised. I've been going to these cities for years, driving past them for years, and there's people who just, who are trying to make their city better to live in or trying to make it more walkable or bikeable.
00:23:30:23 - 00:24:06:16
Jacob Davis
And this was one of the, the first groups I found was in San Marcus. I found them on Instagram, move em. And, Peter right in the middle works for Texas State University. And Sarah, who is taking the picture? She is a architect for the city, I believe. And I messaged him and they invited me out for a bike ride, and we biked around San Marcus, and we checked out all the, the recent bike lanes, the older bike lanes and just the, the paths and trails that are available in the city.
00:24:06:16 - 00:24:19:13
Jacob Davis
And I was just really surprised, because I've never had the opportunity to check those out. I've always just been experiencing that city, around the university or by car.
00:24:19:15 - 00:24:41:06
John Simmerman
Yeah, yeah. And I can think of another person who would be a fascinating, interview for you on the pod. He's actually a professor at, the university there at Texas State University. Which is a great thing to point out that you mentioned it there. You know, bopping around the campus is this is a quintessential university town.
00:24:41:09 - 00:25:02:24
John Simmerman
The university is right there at the downtown area. And so, you know, very much as a part of the culture of the, environment in that, that historic downtown area. But, yeah, professor Billy Shields, Professor Billy Shields is, is a, been on the pod, my pod several times. And he and I have done stuff, together in Europe, as well.
00:25:02:24 - 00:25:29:28
John Simmerman
And he would be a wonderful, interview for you for the future. The the. I'm really glad that that that you also, you know, kind of brought this into the conversation too, is that we have all of these little towns and cities that we oftentimes just drive by and we never get a chance to like, oh, wait, let's, let's, let's explore this place or let's reach out to, a group that might be doing something there.
00:25:29:28 - 00:25:49:20
John Simmerman
And it's that's one of the things that I just love about doing this type of work is you end up that sense of exploration and learning something new about a city. And, and I don't know, in my case, I end up having like, assumptions. You know, I'm, you know, ready made assumptions as to what it's like to, to be in that town.
00:25:49:20 - 00:26:00:25
John Simmerman
And then I get there and do some stuff on the ground. I'm like, oh, this is so cool. I'm learning stuff that I didn't anticipate learning about this. I'm assuming that that took place in San Marcos for.
00:26:00:26 - 00:26:29:00
Jacob Davis
Yeah. No, definitely. And Sarah and Peter and all the people in this picture were really great. They were very informative and they're just doing really great work, in San Marcos and, I assume around San Marcos. They're, I think one of their, their partners is working on the Great Springs project, which is a trail from Austin all the way to, San Antonio.
00:26:29:03 - 00:26:51:28
Jacob Davis
And, yeah, I mean, I've been going to San Marcos for ever since I was a middle schooler. I had a ton of, band events there, and I've never even was aware of, stuff going on in that city until I hopped on a bike and explored it with these, with this great group.
00:26:52:00 - 00:27:17:06
John Simmerman
Yeah. I'm really glad you mentioned the Great Springs project, because that's a very, very exciting project that's happening. Again, that 90 mile stretch from, San Antonio all the way up to Austin. We've had Gary Merritt, the executive director of the Great Springs Project, here on the channel, and we've profiled that in the past. Again, I'll include the links, in the show notes below and in the video description below.
00:27:17:08 - 00:27:48:18
John Simmerman
Just a fantastic thing that is happening in, in what I love about a project like that, that scope is we're talking about, a mostly a, a trail, a natural surface trail, but it does have some paved portions as well. But they're trying to integrate what is, you know, maybe on the first blush of it, just a recreational facility, but then also when appropriate, you know, connecting it with other trails and feeder trails.
00:27:48:18 - 00:28:21:25
John Simmerman
And that's happening in San Marcos. It's happening in New Braunfels and other areas all along the way. It's happening, even, you know, in, in the South Austin area of connecting it to other feeder sidewalks and trails and pathways, urban trails and the lingo that we use in in the city of Austin, or an urban trail is, is is a paved pathway, you know, to that because there can also be that dual return on investment of it's great for utilitarian trips, too.
00:28:21:27 - 00:28:38:02
John Simmerman
It doesn't have to just be recreation. It can actually get some kiddos to school. It can get, you know, an elderly person to, you know, visit, you know, a friend or get to a doctor's appointment without feeling like they're dependent on a car. Right?
00:28:38:04 - 00:29:09:23
Jacob Davis
Yeah, I was just I don't mean to be so Texas centric. This is where I'm at right now and where the show is at at the moment. But I was in San Marcos for a convention and I decided, oh, my, my hotel is right up against the Riverwalk. Not the not the touristy Mexican restaurants everywhere Riverwalk with, with boats, but like the more quieter trail, like, so I, I, I, took my first Amtrak ride to, to San Antonio.
00:29:09:27 - 00:29:37:04
Jacob Davis
I brought my bike on, and I, I went on a bike ride, on the trail going south towards Mission Concepcion, which is just like a ten minute bike ride. And I was just really surprised on the infrastructure, on the, on the, the trail itself and just the accessibility there is within those neighborhood. It's interconnecting neighborhoods.
00:29:37:06 - 00:30:11:08
Jacob Davis
And also I as you bike more north, it's connecting to more of downtown, which is great. I wouldn't say it's like it's a pretty narrow path, but you are definitely able to bike on it and run on it and walk on it with a stroller or whatever you you have. It was great. There were some great, I guess, zoning or, apartments right next to the path with the restaurants on the first floor.
00:30:11:11 - 00:30:40:21
Jacob Davis
And I took it, I did, I went to, upload some pictures here, but, I was very busy getting back from that convention. But getting there was actually really great. I the the Amtrak station, if you've ever been there, is kind of tucked behind the YMCA in Austin, but it's it's small, it's nice. And, but the train was my favorite part.
00:30:40:24 - 00:31:05:28
Jacob Davis
It it took a little bit longer than normal, but I wasn't driving. I got to get up and get some snacks. I got to explore the train. I got to read my book. I got to, call my wife on my way there. And I recommend if you want to go up to a day trip to, to go to Taylor, to go to, Waco or Dallas.
00:31:05:28 - 00:31:30:14
Jacob Davis
Just try it once and maybe you'll be like, wow, this is actually, really great. I saw a ton of kids on the bus. So it's not the bus. The train, children, babies, young families. And I think that's a great activity to do with those with those young kids. They they could sleep. They can watch the window.
00:31:30:18 - 00:32:02:07
Jacob Davis
They let you out on, on stops to stretch your legs. And I mainly just wanted to make this San Antonio trip, as car free as I could. And I achieved that mostly for for about 4 or 5 days. I was just walking around San Antonio. I was biking around, but I had to get home. And the way back, I was, I needed to head back.
00:32:02:07 - 00:32:19:11
Jacob Davis
That Saturday afternoon, they didn't have a train, so I just got a I got a a ride from a friend. So I guess one thing they could improve there is just the timing. More trains, to and to and from San Antonio.
00:32:19:14 - 00:32:45:10
John Simmerman
Yeah, yeah. And it doesn't necessarily have to be Amtrak that that delivers that frequency. I mean, we've been in in Texas and throughout North America, we've been grappling with this challenge of really improving and enhancing train travel to restore it to what it was. It used to be, you know, the in the, in the world, being able to get around North America via train.
00:32:45:18 - 00:33:06:13
John Simmerman
And so it'd be nice to, to resurrect that and be able to connect, you know, through it doesn't have to be high speed rail, but, you know, frequent, you know, and, and and relatively speedy being able to connect, you know, these critical cities of San Antonio and Austin and Dallas and Fort Worth and, you know, even over to Houston.
00:33:06:13 - 00:33:31:20
John Simmerman
So there's lots of work that's being done there. And I appreciate you putting this particular photo in, in here so that, and I'll describe it for the listening only audience here is, it's the quintessential shot of the Amtrak, sign with the downtown background framing the shot. And you're like, oh, yeah, it's right here. It's walking distance to be able to get on the train.
00:33:31:23 - 00:34:04:07
Jacob Davis
Yeah. I talked to, San Antonians for rail transit while I was down, down in San Marcus. We just, took a seat by the Riverwalk and recorded a quick podcast. And it was great because they were talking about the same things like, we need rail in this mega region that is forming. They they not only want rail for San Antonio itself because it's a very, very large city with zero rail, but they want frequent trips to and from Austin.
00:34:04:12 - 00:34:26:18
Jacob Davis
So that way if you, live in San Antonio, you can go see an Austin AC game and be back the same day or go go down from Austin, go see a Spurs game or go explore the Riverwalk, go to work, attended a convention, or just go on a short day trip with your family. And they are.
00:34:26:18 - 00:34:53:17
Jacob Davis
They're just shooting for just more active updating their train station. First of all, making it level boarding. Yeah, that's that's like their step one. That's I think that's the easiest thing they could do right now. And then, their next goals would just to be, advocate for the city. They've gotten some bills, excuse me.
00:34:53:20 - 00:35:19:12
Jacob Davis
They've gotten gotten to the ears of some, some politicians, and they're, they're they are encouraging. Start San Antonio's for rail transit. They they say keep bringing it up. Keep bringing it up. So that's a that's a good sign. It's not an automatic. No, we're not interested. And I think they would also be a great organization to talk to.
00:35:19:13 - 00:35:29:27
Jacob Davis
They it was a really great conversation. And that's going to be coming out. But I uploaded to start uploading season two. Yeah.
00:35:30:00 - 00:35:58:20
John Simmerman
I love it, I love it. Yeah. And, you know, frequent, viewers and listeners of this, you know, podcast, the Actor Towns channel, will know that I did, an entire summer of Amtrak travel. And so I grabbed my Brompton folding bicycle. My first trip was, to go south, all the way to Tucson and spend the week in Tucson interviewing city staff down there, and then turned around and came back.
00:35:58:26 - 00:36:17:12
John Simmerman
And so, yeah, it was a hoot to be able to ride my bike from the house to the train station there in the downtown area and then, you know, zip on down to San Antonio and then on to, to Tucson and to be able to do that later in the summer. That was the very first trip.
00:36:17:12 - 00:36:45:26
John Simmerman
Later in the summer, I did made it coast to coast. And so I, went from, you know, from Austin through Dallas, through all the various states and cities, including Saint Louis, all the way up to Chicago. Got to spend a few days in Chicago, continued on to Pittsburgh, got off, spent a few days and into a well, literally one day in Pittsburgh interviewing city staff there, and then continued all the way to Providence for the Strong Towns national gathering in the scene.
00:36:45:26 - 00:37:15:18
John Simmerman
You conference. And so, yeah, this is this is possible. This is exciting. And I loved you know, I love seeing that that image of of you, you know, you've got your bike here. You took that with you and it this concept of train travel and bike travel, which is so integral into what makes the Netherlands so special, is you have authentic mobility choices and options.
00:37:15:20 - 00:37:32:21
John Simmerman
So when we think about the United States and independence and freedom, these are like themes that can really resonate. Is that what we're that's, what we're not we're talking about here. This is not a war on cars. This is pro having mobility choice and options is what we're talking about.
00:37:32:23 - 00:37:58:11
Jacob Davis
Yeah. And I was just I was very surprised. I got off the train. I got my bike and they they drop you off right by the Alamodome in downtown San Antonio. And I was surprised how easy it was to get from there to my hotel because they have jetted over the past couple of years. They've been, fenced off this park.
00:37:58:14 - 00:38:18:20
Jacob Davis
It's got HemisFair Park right by the convention center, and they recently opened it up. And I was really, really surprised on how great this park was. The path really wide paths. I saw a speed limit sign that said five miles an hour. I'm like, yes, this is great.
00:38:18:22 - 00:38:30:02
John Simmerman
Little, little faster than walking speed. So we've got a couple of other images here that I want to make sure that we address. So, this is a wonderful paved, pathway. What's the location of this image?
00:38:30:04 - 00:39:00:06
Jacob Davis
This was also when I talked to move San Marcus. This is a path in San Marcus on the on the west side of town. And this actually belongs to an entire apartment complex. I was surprised on how great this path was. Just built by an apartment complex. And I'm hoping that the the city or someone will help connect it to more places within the city.
00:39:00:09 - 00:39:24:26
John Simmerman
Yeah, I think that's a really good point, too, is that when we see, residential development happening and hopefully we're integrating more developments into more mixed use, sort of, you know, causes where we've got a little bit of meaningful destinations integrated with the residential communities, and we've got a little bit denser, you know, housing choices as options there.
00:39:24:28 - 00:39:58:21
John Simmerman
Again, not saying we're against single family homes, but, you know, there needs to be a good mix so that we're not, you know, basically committing people to have to drive everywhere for every purpose and then also thinking about ways that you can integrate multi-use pathways as part of that. So you have an off street network of pathways so that people can be delivered to meaningful destinations, and you can integrate those development community development pathways to city network routes and pathways.
00:39:58:24 - 00:40:34:13
John Simmerman
And I think that that's that's just a really, really powerful one two punch is being able to integrate, you know, the on street network of safe and inviting facilities to an off street network. And there's just wonderful success stories around the globe. One of my favorites is way up in the Arctic Circle. In Finland, the city of Orlu is very suburban in nature, but the kids ride to school at rates of 70 to 80%, through the dead of winter, you know, on condition snow on these, these multi-use pathways.
00:40:34:16 - 00:40:57:25
John Simmerman
Why? Because it's a safe and inviting all ages and abilities, off street network of pathways. So, yeah, that integration of on street and off street city owned as well as privately owned, I think it's a wonderful one two punch in in a nice, you know, compliment of, sharing what we call here in Hawaii, the kuleana, the responsibility.
00:40:57:27 - 00:40:59:14
John Simmerman
So, yeah.
00:40:59:16 - 00:41:19:14
Jacob Davis
And this picture right here is of, Sarah, one of the two people that invited me on this bike ride. And, you can kind of see on that bar in the very bottom left corner are some bells. Her son was actually on the back of her cargo bike and just going crazy. He was having the best time ever.
00:41:19:16 - 00:41:36:21
Jacob Davis
Just he was basically my tour guide. He was pointing things out. He was like, ooh, what's that thing? That's that's cool over there. And he would ring his bike bell. It was really great just seeing, a little child enjoying, a bike ride as we went around town.
00:41:36:24 - 00:42:04:00
John Simmerman
I love it, too. In Sara's riding, it looks like it might be a turn, and it's, It is is a, what I love to call just a family bike. It's wonderful to be able to see that happening. It's also rather evident that this looks like it is a parking protected bike lane. Yeah. Fantastic. Yeah. There happens to in this particular shot there's no cars actually parked in the parking spots.
00:42:04:02 - 00:42:33:02
John Simmerman
But again you know for North American cities, especially when you've got these overly wide streets and there's just no reason to have that many, that level of capacity of travel lanes for motor vehicles. It's really easy with and simple with some paint to be able to reallocate space and to be able to create something like this where you have a parking protected bike way, one where a mom feels comfortable with her kid on a bike.
00:42:33:02 - 00:42:35:09
John Simmerman
Being able to do that. Yeah.
00:42:35:12 - 00:42:59:15
Jacob Davis
Yeah. So I've seen I've seen it also reversed. And you can correct me if I am, wrong. Like if, if, if the cars are next to the curb. First of all, people have to walk across the bike lane and then when they open or close their door to get out, there's a risk that you may be hit by a door.
00:42:59:18 - 00:43:23:20
Jacob Davis
Now opposed to what we see here is cars parked on the outermost, I guess, area of the road right next to the road. We are free to bikes, are free to, travel and not be, at risk of getting hit.
00:43:23:22 - 00:43:44:27
John Simmerman
Yeah, absolutely. Yeah, yeah. And in fact, if we were to nitpick with this design, we might put a little bit of a buffer on the edge to the right hand side of where the parking spot is to make sure that the passenger side doors, have a little bit of swing room so that, people on bikes are, are protected by, an additional buffer there.
00:43:45:01 - 00:44:15:29
John Simmerman
But yeah, I mean, this is a great, adaptation of a type of facility that we normally would see in the Netherlands, where it's a parking protected. If parking is allowed on the street. Well, let's put the parking closer to the travel lanes so that, people walking. And if there's a sidewalk there to people, you know, biking and walking have a more protected environment, protected by the steel and metal and glass of the the parked cars.
00:44:15:29 - 00:44:41:01
John Simmerman
Yeah. Brilliant way to do it. And very, very, very cost effective. Good stuff. Yeah, I love it, I love it. I wanted to get to a particular event that you attended, which is, recently. I was absolutely bummed that I wasn't able to, attend this event. And, I would normally have, actually filmed, an entire profile video.
00:44:41:01 - 00:44:53:06
John Simmerman
I would have been interviewing people, you know, out there, on, on the ground. So let's, let's pop over and take a look at some images here for this event, and I'll let you set it up.
00:44:53:08 - 00:45:26:09
Jacob Davis
Yeah. This is the opening of the wishbone bridge in, East Austin. I've been, driving past this for years until, like, that's where I work mostly is East Austin. And I take a look at it every day as I go past, from work. And it's finally done. And they were I, I showed up here, on, on a Saturday about two weeks ago.
00:45:26:09 - 00:46:02:01
Jacob Davis
And there are just thousands of people there. There was politicians. The mayor was there, dozens and dozens of bikes. And the first thing I saw was the the underpass, the, the, the the bridge that goes underneath, the road. And it's just it's just a piece of art all by itself. It's so great. And it's making that part of the city super accessible, to anybody who wants to, to get there.
00:46:02:03 - 00:46:20:21
Jacob Davis
It was actually pretty difficult getting on the bridge because it was so jam packed, but, I, I'm going to go back and experiencing it. I'm going to experience it, just as a, as a pedestrian and not a, podcast documentary host. Yeah.
00:46:20:23 - 00:46:31:02
John Simmerman
Yeah, yeah. That's fantastic. Were you able to do, you know, some interviews out there, you know, you wearing your hat of of, a content creator?
00:46:31:05 - 00:47:03:28
Jacob Davis
No, I, I don't have the merch yet. I did see an active town shirt, though. Yeah. Yeah. No, no, I, I did not interview anyone. I'm perfectly fine. Just like talking to people over zoom, but I'm kind of shy. Hey, I have a I have a podcast. Come talk to me. I have it, maybe in season two, but, I did get some recordings of all the speeches, and I'm going to try to put something more solid together other than my Instagram post.
00:47:04:00 - 00:47:31:02
Jacob Davis
But it was great. Atmosphere was awesome. There was free tacos. There was free coffee. Everybody was just happy to be there. For up Rich, which you think would be pretty mundane, but it's a really fantastic bridge that really connects East Austin, something that really East Austin deserves. And it's finally making Lady Bird Lake the trail, the and and Butler Trail.
00:47:31:05 - 00:47:39:09
Jacob Davis
And and Roy Butler trail connected without interaction with cars. It's great. Yeah, yeah.
00:47:39:11 - 00:48:06:07
John Simmerman
And in fact that that is the whole point of this particular bridge. The wishbone bridge is to provide an all ages and abilities option to be able to complete that, that ten mile loop, that goes around Lady Bird Lake. And so, yeah, the, the Roy and and, Butler hike and bike trail, the Trail Conservancy is the organization that is the stewards of that particular trail.
00:48:06:09 - 00:48:30:04
John Simmerman
But before, before this was built, an open, if you look to the right of this particular image, up to the top there is where Pleasant Valley Road is. And prior to this, people walking, people biking, people running, people with dogs, we were all constrained to a very, very, very small sidewalk right on the edge of the Longhorn Dam.
00:48:30:04 - 00:48:54:00
John Simmerman
So it was very, very scary situation. And, there were some incremental improvements that took place to create more space up there on at the road level, which makes it more comfortable if you happen to be commuting or riding for any other reason along Pleasant Valley Road. So it's safer up there now, and it's safer down here.
00:48:54:02 - 00:49:26:15
John Simmerman
And the beauty of this particular, beautiful, beautiful tunnel is that now you're also able to connect the the Butler hike and bike trail to, the Roy Guerrero Park and where all the baseball and softball fields are. So now families have the ability to get to these meaningful activity assets without having to necessarily get in a car and be able to, you know, get to a whole other network of trails that exists, you know, even further east.
00:49:26:18 - 00:49:46:19
John Simmerman
And this tunnel actually did exist prior, but it was a tiny little square. It was like a little culvert. And so it was very scary. Not on all ages and abilities. Welcoming environment, especially for, for for females because it was a dark and scary and damp and wet place. And so this is absolutely beautiful. I agree with you.
00:49:46:19 - 00:49:48:18
John Simmerman
This is the crown jewel of it.
00:49:48:20 - 00:49:51:25
Jacob Davis
It's like it belongs in the public museum or something.
00:49:52:02 - 00:49:53:03
John Simmerman
Yeah, yeah.
00:49:53:06 - 00:50:13:15
Jacob Davis
It looks great. Yeah. I keep telling my wife, hey, I'm going to take you out there just to experience it because she. You see, she sees how excited I am about it. Like, hey, you want to go to the opening? But I think, she wanted to sleep in that day, but I showed up early.
00:50:13:15 - 00:50:18:27
Jacob Davis
I got tacos, and it was a it was a great time. Experiencing that.
00:50:18:29 - 00:50:44:10
John Simmerman
And I do want to point this out, too. And I'm going to go back to this image that we saw earlier. But I want to go back to this because it is also another portion of the, the Butler Hike and Bike trail and another portion of the, the again, the kuleana, the responsibility of the Trail Conservancy and that is this portion of the trail that goes under, I-35.
00:50:44:12 - 00:51:33:21
John Simmerman
And, you know, this was opened right about the time that that I had moved into into the city in 2014. And, was another huge capital improvement project to the trail. You know, enhancing connectivity, you know, for, for people, for recreation purposes. But I also want to emphasize that these facilities, you know, this tunnel here at this wishbone bridge here, these are also critical connectors which help people live a more car light lifestyle, you know, if their their journey happens to be within an easy biking distance, they can now link together safe and inviting routes through this infrastructure to be able to to get to downtown, to get be able to get to their
00:51:33:21 - 00:52:09:00
John Simmerman
job, to be able to do these things. And so I like to say that when you build an activity asset such as this, there's a huge return on investment because this stuff is not cheap. I mean, it does cost money to do this stuff. It's cheap compared to automobile infrastructure. But you know, that's a whole nother topic. But the return on investment of something like this means that it's it's good for the health and well-being of the society of community, but it also returns a tremendous amount from from an investment perspective on giving mobility options.
00:52:09:00 - 00:52:31:05
John Simmerman
So people can say, you know what, hey, it's a beautiful day. I'm going to ride my bike to work or to school or wherever to meet with friends in downtown and be able to utilize, these facilities. I think this is just a huge asset to the city of Austin, on the east side, on the west side, everywhere in between and other cities, you know, just like San Marcos.
00:52:31:05 - 00:52:55:03
John Simmerman
We were talking about the facilities there, just like San Antonio. We were talking about the the south side Riverwalk, which connects to, several different missions and major, major parks down there. When you can put these facilities in so they can serve multiple purposes of tourism, of recreation, and of everyday utilitarian trips, all the better.
00:52:55:06 - 00:53:19:08
Jacob Davis
Yeah, I, I agree 100%. I, I ran the Austin Half Marathon in a few, a few marathons after that, and I've used this trail every single time. And I'm going to train for another marathon coming up here in August. And I'm probably going to use this trail for the majority of my long runs and.
00:53:19:10 - 00:53:36:00
John Simmerman
And training, you know, having and I've spent lots of times, you know, running out there on the trails too. And so, I'll be doing, you know, something for my health and well-being and needing to just kind of break away from the, the, you know, the screen here of editing these videos and need to get some nature in.
00:53:36:00 - 00:53:56:05
John Simmerman
And I'll go out there and do that. And one of the things that I'm just so delighted when I see that is I'll be out there running and I'll see kids riding to school. This trail goes right past the high school, and so you see kids riding to school, you see people commuting to their jobs. And so again, to your your exemplifying or highlighting.
00:53:56:05 - 00:54:13:19
John Simmerman
Exactly. My point is that these facilities serve multiple purposes. They can be health and wellbeing and recreation and also utilitarian trips to. Yeah good stuff, good stuff. Is there anything that we haven't discussed yet that you want to make sure to leave the audience with?
00:54:13:21 - 00:54:54:14
Jacob Davis
What I have realized really is a lot of this has just a ton of correlation to community, like all these urban planning. Professors, or whether you want more bike ability or you just really love to walk in your downtown, you know, none of that can happen if there is no community, if the downtown is just a parking lot, basically there's no uniqueness or community or placemaking to to, those places.
00:54:54:17 - 00:55:18:00
John Simmerman
Right? Right. When you look back at season one and you're looking at these, you know, these folks that you've interviewed, I suspect that that's kind of a reoccurring theme of needing to, reinforce. I mean, we can't just look to our city officials and our leaders and say, okay, it's okay. It's up to you, you know, wave your magic wand and make it happen.
00:55:18:00 - 00:55:25:06
John Simmerman
It sounds like a reoccurring theme might be just what you're saying. Is that connecting as community?
00:55:25:08 - 00:56:00:15
Jacob Davis
Yeah. No, definitely from I think it's brought up pretty much every single episode making making this place the best place to hang out, make it a third place, make it a place where I want to take my kids, make it at their place where I want to go on a day. Anything like that. And all these people, that I interview that I think that's basically what they want, being able to move how you want, being able to enjoy a place without breathing in exhaust fumes.
00:56:00:18 - 00:56:05:25
Jacob Davis
And within, just a walkable, bikeable city.
00:56:05:27 - 00:56:12:22
John Simmerman
Yeah, yeah. Talk a little bit about the name. How did you come up with and settled in on Cities in Motion?
00:56:12:24 - 00:56:44:12
Jacob Davis
Well, I just kind of it's really funny. It's kind of developing on its own, really. I thought of Cities in Motion because I want people and and this the city to to bike or walk or run or ride a ride a bus, but then also, talking to strong towns and fiscally in motion. That's another idea. And also civically in motion.
00:56:44:14 - 00:57:05:25
Jacob Davis
Within the city, within the city council. And all of those are just kind of melding into the title itself. So I think it's sort of developed on its own, really, as I, I didn't intend this at all. But as I've interviewed more people, the, the mission statement, the motto has kind of developed on its own.
00:57:05:27 - 00:57:07:10
Jacob Davis
It was really interesting.
00:57:07:13 - 00:57:21:28
John Simmerman
You may have shared this earlier, but if you did, I apologize. But what actually was there a specific event that sort of prompted you to to want to do this? And and you're like, this is what I need to do. I need to do a podcast.
00:57:22:00 - 00:57:54:00
Jacob Davis
No, I didn't wake up one day and said, I'm going to do this. But I think over the past couple of years, I've gotten really, really frustrated with my, my commute, the way I have to get to work or the way I, I see people walking next to the highway. There's really no option how long it takes for you to get, from one place to the other when it's just faster to get in your car.
00:57:54:00 - 00:58:20:03
Jacob Davis
But also you need to sit in traffic. My my wife and I went to Vancouver and Victoria on our honeymoon. A couple of years ago, and it was just a really great experience. Is wasn't my intention to make it completely car free? But that's what ended up because it was just easier. We took the Skytrain from the airport to, to our Airbnb and we walked.
00:58:20:03 - 00:58:50:10
Jacob Davis
We brought the bus, we walked around the parks, we took a ferry. Over to Victoria and, I just really enjoyed my time there. And coming back, I was like, there has to be another way to do this. And I've had those thoughts over the past couple of years, and I wanted to have a creative outlet and find out more, because obviously I don't I'm not an expert in any of these things.
00:58:50:15 - 00:58:58:00
Jacob Davis
I'm a I'm a band director. I can teach you how to play the clarinet really well if you want to, but,
00:58:58:02 - 00:59:25:14
Jacob Davis
I want to learn more. And the way to do that, I think, is to talk to experts and listen and read and experience these really cool situations and these cities and these advocate groups. And I think starting a podcast was a really great way to do that. And sometimes also in my life, I just say, why not see how it works out?
00:59:25:16 - 00:59:29:04
Jacob Davis
And it's, it's it's gone pretty well so far, I think.
00:59:29:06 - 00:59:55:08
John Simmerman
I love that too. I can't tell you how many times part of the origin story when I've interviewed folks and saying, you know, well, what inspired you to get engaged and involved in urbanism or with the Strong Towns movement or active mobility? And they'll bring up some life experience where they were traveling somewhere and they were able to see a different, cultured and different way of living, and it inspired them.
00:59:55:14 - 01:00:18:04
John Simmerman
So I'm not at all surprised, you know, that that also came about. But but it's but it's interesting too, because most people when they visit a place like Victoria, BC, or they go to the Netherlands or somewhere else in Europe or whatever, and they're like, oh my gosh, this was amazing. I was able to walk and bike to so many places and use public transit and etc. then they get back home and they're like, yeah, but that can never happen here.
01:00:18:04 - 01:00:29:02
John Simmerman
And they just move on. But you didn't. You seemed inspired to make a change. Why? What is it about you that wants to make change?
01:00:29:04 - 01:01:01:15
Jacob Davis
I mean, who else? Who else is going to do it like these? These these people who, like. I can't just sit back and say, well, I guess I'll somebody else will do it. I like I said, I want to say, why not? I'm going to do it. I'm going to log into Spotify, make an account, record something on my phone really quickly, edit it, put it out there, and then slowly I start getting these interviews, guest and I start getting more interview guest.
01:01:01:15 - 01:01:30:13
Jacob Davis
And I have already a season. I do not think like when I started this. Okay, I'm going to actually a season of episodes of documenting these really cool places and people and I'm going to be making another season coming up very soon, and I'm already planning trips to these really cool places to document and record, car light or car free living.
01:01:30:15 - 01:01:59:16
Jacob Davis
I would just say anybody could do it. A microphone, a decent USB microphone. It's like $50, or you have your phone or you have your great, I found it takes great pictures and videos for free editing software anywhere online. Just if it's not going to be somebody else. I mean, sorry, let me rephrase that.
01:01:59:19 - 01:02:22:01
Jacob Davis
It can. You shouldn't just say, no, that's not me. Just just do it. And if it doesn't work out, then it doesn't work out. But if it does work out, then you have that platform and that voice to, to, to innovate and document really interesting things.
01:02:22:03 - 01:02:53:27
John Simmerman
Yeah. You know what's interesting too, about your experience of, of actually, you know, being in Vancouver and BC is you, you got to experience it from the, the standpoint of a very, very large city and then a small city. And, and I think that's important to, to realize is that the themes that we're talking about here, they work whether you're talking about huge metropolises or smaller cities and smaller villages and towns and whatnot.
01:02:54:00 - 01:03:19:28
John Simmerman
You it was recently really profiled that Victoria has gone from a mode chair of about 4% of people, you know, getting around by bike to over 13%. So, you know, they've, they've done a tremendous job, nearly tripling their, you know, over tripling their, their mode share of people getting around by bikes. And it's a testament to the fact that they've been investing a tremendous amount of resources.
01:03:20:01 - 01:03:52:07
John Simmerman
So the last time I was there profiling the city of Victoria was in 2017. So I'm long overdue for a return trip to to film in that area. You were just there a couple of years ago for your honeymoon. So your return trip, you know, whenever you and your wife decide to go back for, you know, a return trip, you're going to be blown away, I think, by the fact that that environment has continued to evolve, which I think is the whole point is that these things are not set in stone and you cannot change them.
01:03:52:07 - 01:04:16:16
John Simmerman
We can adapt and we can transform her built environments into more all ages and all abilities, facilities and environments to encourage, hopefully the next generation to have a more mobile existence. And as a, you know, a new parent to be. I mean, I have to think that that's a part of what's motivating you.
01:04:16:18 - 01:04:42:29
Jacob Davis
Yeah, definitely. I have really shifted my priorities and made myself more cognizant on how I want to experience the transportation experience, travel experience living, and how how any, children or.
01:04:43:01 - 01:05:08:12
Jacob Davis
Sorry. Excuse me. Like, I want to be able to go out and take my my child or children out without having to get in, getting a car or having to,
01:05:08:14 - 01:05:36:21
Jacob Davis
Like, I would just love to everybody get on the bike or everybody get in the car, go bike, and we're out of there. Experience your city. Because I think kids are really are more independent than you think kids can remember. Where where, where the park is and but if they're in the car, they're just staring out of a of another windshield, and that's all they all they see.
01:05:36:23 - 01:05:55:19
Jacob Davis
But if they're in a bike, they're going to, see all the trees, they're going to see dogs, they're going to see people walking or running or playing tennis and that's that's, I think, how I want to experience the city with with my family.
01:05:55:21 - 01:06:22:02
John Simmerman
Yeah. Yeah. And I think what you're getting to as well is, you know, fast forwarding a few years as your child gets older of being able to live a life where the child has, mobility, independence. And, you know, I had Lenore Skenazy, the author of the book Free-range kids and, the co-founder of the Let Grow movement, organization.
01:06:22:02 - 01:06:49:12
John Simmerman
And we talk about how important and impactful that is for the development of a child is to feel like they they know how to get around their city. Like you said, if they're in a car, they don't. It's like a black box. They don't understand their city. But if they can get to school, if they can get to the park, if they can get to their friend's house and it's safe to do so on their own, it's really, really empowering for the child as well as the parents.
01:06:49:12 - 01:07:06:00
John Simmerman
And so I think that, you know, creating child friendly cities, cities that really encourage, again, all ages and abilities to have that mobility. Independence is so incredibly powerful. So it's not about us. It's not about our generation. It's about future generations. Right.
01:07:06:02 - 01:07:19:02
Jacob Davis
On your previous podcast with, Diana Leese, you talked about growing up in a more rural part of your state, and you said, Chuck Marone also.
01:07:19:09 - 01:07:28:28
John Simmerman
Yeah. Chuck. Yeah. Chuck actually grew up on a farm, and I grew up on a ranch, and we were both, a few miles outside of our little villages. Our towns. Yeah.
01:07:29:00 - 01:07:36:25
Jacob Davis
Yeah. I mean, not everybody listening or everybody is going to be.
01:07:36:28 - 01:07:59:23
Jacob Davis
Not everybody has access to, like, anything moving out of a city and their situation out. Out to the city. Like, what advice do you have for, those people who are living in a more rural part of their state or their city, and how can they experience or embrace, like car living or anything like that?
01:07:59:25 - 01:08:27:22
John Simmerman
Yeah. I mean, I would say, and I love this. I'm glad you're you're turning it around and asking me a question. Well, why? Why the heck not? Yeah, I know you, Chuck and I have talked about this. Is that the irony of the fact that, you know, we were living in that sort of environment was actually very car dependent because it also, you know, turned out that, although it wasn't a highly trafficked road, at least in my case, it was more of a quiet country road.
01:08:27:25 - 01:08:50:18
John Simmerman
It was incredibly narrow. So it wasn't necessarily a route that my parents felt super comfortable with me when I was super young, to be able to ride from the ranch into, you know, the 2 to 3 miles into the town. At the time, the town was only like four, 4000 people. Now it's ten that it's 40,000 people.
01:08:50:21 - 01:09:38:22
John Simmerman
And so, yeah, I didn't when I was really, really young, I wasn't really a free range kids all the way to the city. But I did have quiet, you know, rural, roads that were dirt roads and gravel roads that I could get around on and get to get to friends and and visit with friends. But yeah, my advice is, is that we can do a better job as regions and cities and exurban in rural areas to, encourage more all ages and abilities facilities by just bringing motor vehicle speeds down these little villages and rural towns, etc. if you bring your motor vehicle speeds down to closer to 20mph, that's huge.
01:09:38:24 - 01:10:04:01
John Simmerman
If we can work on doing off street network of pathways and trails like we talked about in old Finland, that's a great way to connect, exurban areas in as well as a village to village, which is what we see in Europe, is you can get on a bike and ride from one village, one city to the next, and there's a separated off street network of pathways where you can do that.
01:10:04:04 - 01:10:04:28
Jacob Davis
Okay.
01:10:05:00 - 01:10:05:12
John Simmerman
Yeah.
01:10:05:12 - 01:10:07:28
Jacob Davis
Good stuff I think. Yeah, I agree.
01:10:08:01 - 01:10:30:18
John Simmerman
Yeah. And can you imagine, I mean being able to get to some of these destinations which could be inherently bikeable given, the advent of electric assist and be able to get there because you've got, a safe and inviting off street network of pathways. Good stuff, good stuff. Final, final thoughts before we say goodbye.
01:10:30:20 - 01:10:54:23
Jacob Davis
Well, thank you so much for having me on. This is my first opportunity to be interviewed instead of interviewing people. So, a little bit less pressure, but I appreciate you having me on, and I I've been listening to you for years now, and I, I've actually, Yeah, I've been watching your stuff for years.
01:10:54:26 - 01:11:19:00
Jacob Davis
About awesome. Like, oh, my gosh, there's people here in Austin, of course, that are into this, city planning, urbanism, placemaking, stuff. And I think you were one of the first people that I discovered outside of, like, like, not just bikes and city nerd and all those great people. So, thank you for. Thank you for doing what you're doing.
01:11:19:02 - 01:11:36:29
John Simmerman
Yeah, yeah. Thank you, for for having me on your podcast. I really appreciate that. And really, really grateful that you, were willing to come on this podcast as well. Jacob Davis with the Cities in Motion podcast. Thank you so much for joining me on the Active Towns podcast.
01:11:37:01 - 01:11:37:29
Jacob Davis
Thanks so much.
01:11:38:02 - 01:11:54:09
John Simmerman
Hey, thank you all so much for tuning in. I hope you enjoyed this episode with Jacob Davis. With the Cities in Motion podcast. Be sure to subscribe to his podcast. And if you did enjoy this, please give it a thumbs up. Leave a comment down below and share it with a friend. And if you haven't done so already, I'd be honored to have you subscribe to the channel.
01:11:54:10 - 01:12:14:01
John Simmerman
Just click on that subscription button down below and ring that notification bell. And again, if you're enjoying this content here on the Active Towns Channel, please consider supporting my efforts by becoming an Active Towns Ambassador. Again, super easy to do. Just click on that join button right here on YouTube down below. You can also leave a YouTube super thanks or navigate over to Active towns.org.
01:12:14:05 - 01:12:33:17
John Simmerman
Click on the support tab at the top of the page, and there's several different options, including making a donation to the nonprofit. You can leave me a coffee or buy me a coffee. I think is the term. Or you can become a Patreon supporter. Patrons do get early and ad free access to all my video content. Again, thank you so much for tuning in.
01:12:33:17 - 01:12:55:28
John Simmerman
I really do appreciate it. And until next time, this is John signing off by wishing you much activity, health and happiness. Cheers and aloha! And I just want to also say thank you all so much to all my Active Towns ambassadors supporting the channel financially via YouTube super thanks YouTube memberships. Buy me a coffee, Patreon and making donations to the nonprofit again.
01:12:55:28 - 01:12:59:08
John Simmerman
I simply could not produce this content without your support.