My Dangerous Walk to School in the USA

[@TypeAshton]

Join Masterschool and start your career journey today: goto.masterschool.com/4y3 The next cohort starts on September 25, and since obtaining your Bildungsgutschein may take some time, try to register now!

[@Vizeroy9]

Darn... I just started a Bildungsgutschein class in August...

[@Wolfspaule]

Did you ever met the Simpsons?

[@mcmlxii4419]

It's bad enough that KZbin has to have an advertisement before, during, or after the video (or 2, or 3, or 4, depending on the length of the video), but now there has to always to be an advertisement in the body of the video, too! You are "advertising" us to death! Enough if enough!

[@TheSmark666]

Jaywalking isn't a crime. It's magical offense against "the pubic good" and was contrived of over time by automakers who used their money, power, and influence to lobby state legislatures and police associations into passing legislation and ordinances prohibiting people from walking where they always walked unless it was done under specific circumstances. So it's ironic that anybody would harangue you for "jaywalking" whilst they are watching your video about how dangerous and anti-pedestrian American streets can be.

[@ianbrass9251]

Wait is the German goverment using influencers to recruit skilled labor from across the Atlantic? I love it!

[@Immudzen]

I have relatives that VOTED to have the sidewalks removed in their neighborhoods and speed limits increased so they could get around faster and they complained that kids don't go outside and play anymore. They just could not get it through their heads that kids had no way to get anywhere and they made the area super dangerous for them.

[@QuentinPlant]

This. "Why do you sit inside all day and play these video games? I used to play outside with my friends!" - Well, grandma, perhaps because your generation made it impossible for me to do that...

[@dutchbicyclerides-ss1ko]

I wonder how much time they saved on that ride i bet it was less time than taking a pee...

[@Garagantua]

@@dutchbicyclerides-ss1ko Glad you saved 2 minutes on your daily commute by going 30 instead of 20. Now please take 5 minutes to drive me to school every day, cause I can't get there anymore. And don't forget it'll take 20 more minutes to actually drop me off because of the traffic, cause everyone has to do this now.

[@peterpain6625]

@@Garagantua It's rather "Glad you saved 2 minutes to get to your hamster wheel to make money for other people...". That's another thing i don't get: American workers rights. We have a lot of american co-workers in projects. They're very smart, have a semi-decent education and work their behinds off yet are very ineffective. The "but i can stay until 10pm if i must (without getting paid for it)"-mindset is so ingrained you don't get it out of their heads. We also have some that made the jump over the pond and immigrated to Europe. They're healthier, happier and almost always home before 7 (2pm on fridays!). I can't get it into my mind why people that smart can't get the same working in the USA. It's like the odds are so stacked against them by the "higher-ups" there is no movement at all :(

[@majtextwriter1794]

If the kids are at home and watch "bidens and obamas" and only play violent video games, then the result is the following. Years ago I was on holiday in Ibiza. I was accosted by some 11-13 year old kids and they asked me where I'm from? I say from Slovenia. But what is this? A small country in Europe, I replied. But mister, you know... We can bomb anyone, including you, we are Americans, we can bomb anyone! Very enlightening and I'm not the only one who has heard something like that from some American youth or adults with grandiotic national self esteem. Well, there are many top role models on TV. Children should play outside and watch less presidents and not play military video games.

[@Funaru]

As a German, it's really hard for me to wrap my mind around the idea that anybody would design an intersection without pedestrian crossings, let alone in a residential area. An intersection like that would probably lead to riots in front of the town hall in Germany.

[@cynic7049]

as a Swede I 100% agree. Ashton do mention a lot of bad or questionable choices made, and while all of them would be hard to find in Sweden the only one I think would be impossible to find is a main road crossing a town with no pedestrian crossings at all.

[@phoenix-xu9xj]

English here . Me too. I used to walk 2 kilometres to school ( even in snow) every day. Loved it and I wouldn’t have it any other way.

[@HomeWorkouts_LS]

Even in small rural German towns? I live in Ireland & as soon as you leave suburbs the side walks vanish 😅

[@69quato]

@@HomeWorkouts_LS even in very small towns there are sidewalks at least - it's the rulez 😁... very rarely and outside villages there are some rural roads without a side lane for walking/biking and there you just use the edge of the road if you have to - it's very common and drivers are used to it. That being said - there are types of roads where any walking/cycling is prohibited - Autobahn (obviously) and the "Bundesstrassen" (federal roads) who are supposed to be fast automotive connetions inbetween settlements - but there will always be an alternative path to use for cycling/walking

[@LalaDepala_00]

​@@HomeWorkouts_LSYes, even in the smallest towns.

[@Tzarakiel]

Seems like a classic example of making a problem (no pedestrian infrastructure) in order to sell a solution (cars).

[@badminton5920]

Exactly. Without public transit, sidewalks or safe bike lanes people are forced to drive a car everywhere.

[@MrXanra]

@@badminton5920 And I thought here in germany ciities are build more car friendly..... who would have thought it could be even worse.

[@Desa79]

Here is the thing. On the on hand we complain about chilldren glued to their screens and not leaving the house, on the other hand we've built an environment where they can not safely leave the house and start exploring and having adventures. Years ago we went on a trip to Europe and stayed at small town. In the evening we saw children playing and my grandmother said "That's so nice to see. We played like this when I was young." I just don't understand it. Everybody wins. The children are outside, it is good for their health and we as parents get a little time for ourselfes.

[@Strideo1]

As a kid growing up in the late 80's and early 90's we lived in a house that was about a 20 minute walk to our town's Main Street and there were sidewalks on all the streets leading to downtown and the only roads without sidewalks were the ones leading towards more undeveloped parts of town where there were just cow pastures and stuff. We ran all over town and went to the drug stores to buy drinks and candy even at a pretty young age. I just feel bad that many kids growing up now in the US are denied that kind of experience and freedom and sense of adventure.

[@Pystro]

It's like the South park episode where their state legalized Medical Marijuana and banned KFC at the same time. And when randy and others intentionally got cancer and people who didn't want to live without KFC formed a criminal organization smuggling it into the state, the health effects were attributed to the KFC and the crime to the weed dispensary. We think the streets with high speed limits allow us to get places more easily, when in reality they slice apart neighborhoods. And we're blaming "the screens" for children not playing with each other any more, where in reality they allow people to have those human interactions that we would have had on the streets in times as far back as the dawn of civilizations up to the 1920's. And similarly: We have that Victorian era thinking that zoning plans improve our quality of life by keeping (noise air and water) polluters away from our homes, when in reality they lead to there only being businesses with such a large catchment area that the people you mean at the store mean nothing to you. (And I'm not just talking about supermarkets and grocery stores, I'm also talking about kiosks, convenience stores, liquor stores, post offices, banks, ...) (Unless you're living in a really small town, when you might have a store with a small catchment area, or you might have no way to get groceries at all.) And the actual reason why people are less affected by industrial pollution is that agencies like the EPA have forced industries to just plainly produce less pollutants (and filter more of them out of their exhausts). Meanwhile, we just can't get those nice fast roads close enough to our homes, when they are in reality the largest polluters (both of noise and air) these days and having more pedestrian (or bicycle) pathways would lead to less of these pollutants from our neighborhoods.

[@Desa79]

@@Pystro Well said. There's really nothing more to add.

[@bengt_axle]

A lot of parents do not want their kids walking to school. They want to drive them, or even walk them to the bus stop. Why is that? Sometimes it is because it gives them a feeling of empowerment to drive their kids to school in a huge luxury SUV. They think they have succeeded in life by being a good provider. Other times, it is because they are just anxious helicopter parents worried about their kids or worried about someone else criticizing them. One of the biggest threats of child safety in school zones is now the increased car traffic as a result of parents driving their kids to and from school (even when bus service is offered). And when it comes to creating bike lanes, motorists scream that it is a war on cars or wasteful use of tax money, because so few people bike.

[@dieSpinnt]

@@bengt_axle Fascinating, don't you think? You need to visit a driving school and have a drivers license to operate a car. There is nothing equivalent for raising children! Well, the lifestyle you describe simply leads to a higher rate (probability) of overweight adults, which is already a problem, without robbing children of the opportunity to have a different experience. There is absolutely no doubt from the scientific community that this type of treatment of children is detrimental to them. And since there is an easily implemented and healthier alternative(s), this is simply child abuse (which is defined as something that leads to suffering or the deterioration of the children's living conditions). Ask your self: Do you want to be such a person? Or worse: Do you want to be such a tremendously stoooooopid person, that even does not know what harm they are inflicting? Or more worse: "Worked on me. So it works for them"-Monster? I guess not, because most people are good people, especially when it comes to their offspring. Have a good one (walk)!:)

[@CedricJustice]

There are so many inhumane and broken priorities in the US, i did what you did: started paying taxes elsewhere. Moving has been refreshing.

[@peterpain6625]

We have so many american co-workers trying to get over here to Europe for years. The first wave was in 2015/2016 but now with the looming mango Emperor getting the reigns again we've like 10 families trying to get residency this quarter. All smart, well educated and very hard working people.

[@Surreal452]

You can find walkability in the US too if you don't move to soulless suburban strip mall places. (Same goes for Europe too, soulless council estates suck too.) My kids walk to school and we have tons of hiking trails where live here in the US. You don't have to move to Europe to walk places.

[@gerhardma4297]

@@Surreal452 I hardly think it's just the fact that Europe has generally created a better infrastructure for pedestrians and cyclists. Other factors are decisive, and intelligent and open-minded Americans know this.... So you do too

[@zbigniewwodecki2628]

That happens when government is corrupted to the core by car industry. Sellouts called politicians took money to force solutions as car-friendly as possible.

[@tatianalp2847]

​@@Surreal452You shouldn't have to move to find a pedestrian friendly place, anywhere in the states should be pedestrian friendly, at least all the residential areas. That's the main point, in other countries you are free to walk to places and have that independence, something you can't in the US. I lived in South America and I was used to walk everywhere, then I moved to the US and it was so frustrating how I felt in jail at home, depending on someoto give me a ride, because I almost get killed on my first attempt to walk. That's not a first world for me, no thanks!

[@PeperazziTube]

As a kid from the Netherlands, and currently living in the US, I see similar things. Starting at age 6, I walked to school (~800m) with my little sister. At age 12, I biked 10km one-way to secondary school. Here in the US, my neighborhood is “special” because we do have sidewalks everywhere, but once the neighborhood ends there are only car options.

[@kapilchhabria1727]

as an experiment, i accompanied my 10 year old to cycle back from school this past friday. the distance of 2.3miles or about 4km required him to cross three busy streets where the traffic rarely traveled less than 40mph, two stretches of road where we were on the same road as fast moving traffic without a bicycle lane, or event a bicycle gutter lane, or even a shoulder. i eventually decided to have him walk that stretch on the sidewalk which was in absolute disrepair, with numerous slabs missing. eventually we did a 0.1 mile stretch on a gravel pathway that is closed to vehicle traffic, and yet we found ourselves blocked with a mom shlepping her kids in her oversized SUV to the pool. A community pool the kids could just as easily walk to... might be worth mentioning that this one of the richest neighborhoods in the state, based on median household income and house value. and yet, it has absolutely no bicycle infrastructure.

[@57thorns]

And what little infrastructure there is is in disrepair.

[@bazoo513]

To me, the value of a family home in a neighborhood with that kind of lack of infrastructure is zero.

[@squidcaps4308]

So, you lack freedoms. That is the best way to talk about it, to introduce others to the topic. Freedom to choose your mode of transport. If you don't have any options, that is the opposite of freedom. Walking is #1 mode of transport for all humans that can walk. It should take the priority. It is common for us all, it is the cheapest and more accessible. It being removed entirely is INSANE logic. Cars need to adapt to humans.

[@who-gives-a-toss_Bear]

"shlepping" Whats this?

[@bazoo513]

​@squidcaps4308 Yes, common to all people. Therefore, advocating it is "librul and commie". Freedom is achieved by having more guns and driving Humwees and Cybertrucks. Barf... I wouldn't be surprised at all to hear such opinions.

[@DieUllis]

It is really hard to understand from the European perspective how "in the land of the free" kids are held hostage in house plus back and front yard without being able to bike and walk more than a few meters. As countermeasure the parents freedom is limited as they are forced to drive around their kids to every activity outside the family home. Quite strange...

[@LegioXXI]

It's all about money. The economy or state dosen't get any money from people who walk or use the bicycle. But if everyone needs a car, they pump a lot of money into the pockets of both state and economy. Germany is also pretty car-centric, not as extreme as the US (thank all gods of mount Olympus), but if you compare it to Denmark or the Netherlands you can also see a huge difference in priorities. There are still too many people who don't even know the word "car centrism". We just need to spread way more awareness. If people don't see the problem, you can't sell them the solution.

[@schurlbirkenbach1995]

Unfortunately Europe is going the same way. I (Born 1956) went to school on my own. Today I am living near a primary school and the children, which go to school on their own are a small minority.

[@Surreal452]

My kids walk to school, it’s not like this everywhere. Do you realize how big this country is

[@LovableCoolGuy]

Well obviously there's exceptions, but the town she showed is like Anywhere, USA - very typical town.

[@Surreal452]

@@LovableCoolGuy Yes, BUT same problem exists in Europe too sadly. My nieces in suburban Scotland' have to walk three miles along an extremely busy dangerous road to get to school because they canceled the bus service due to lack of funding

[@DrKenjiroInc]

Austrian here! I live in the outskirts of Vienna. My daughters can walk to the local train station, take the train to Vienna, get into the subway exactly where they get out and then walk the rest to school. No junction without pedestrian crossings. Cars can't go faster than 15 mph near schools everywhere in Vienna. They are 8 and 10 and do this for two years...

[@ebahapo]

In the U.S., you’d probably risk losing custody of your own children for endangering them with freedom, responsibility and knowledge of the world.

[@atropabelladonna]

My friends' kid in Vienna (now 10) has a choice every morning: he may walk, take a bus, or bike. He does it on his own, no parental control involved.

[@JeremyLevi]

@@ebahapo Same here in Canada now, 8-10 is legally too young to walk or take transit alone. It was completely different when I was that age in the 1980s though. When I was 8 I was responsible for walking my 5 year old sister to school safely and by the time I was 10 taking public transit alone was a common activity for me to go to the nearest shopping plaza and stop in at my grandma's house on the way home for fresh baked cookies. Probably worth remembering that the crime rate was *much* higher back then too. It's much safer now for kids to be on their own now but they're not allowed, even if their parents want them to have that independence.

[@user-xr4bf5hk2f]

When I was 8 living in London (Turnham Green), I walked from home, across a park to the tube station, then caught a tube all the way to Gloucester Rd, got out walked the remainder to school. Every day.

[@laurie7689]

Outskirts of Vienna, but not IN Vienna? That would possibly be against the law here in the USA. Unless children are attending a private school, a church school, or are home-schooled, then they MUST attend a public school in the place that they live. So, if Vienna was a US city, and you lived in the city, your kids would attend the closest Public school to you in Vienna. If you lived in the outskirts, but in another city, then your kids would be sent to that other city's school system or to the County school system in all likelihood, but not to Vienna's school system. We take [tax] boundaries very seriously here.

[@gaborbakos7058]

A friend of mine went to the USA and stayed in a suburb. He thought he take a walk in the surroundings just to look around. It was very scary, there was nobody in the streets, it was like after some zombie apocalypse. After 10 minutes a police car started to follow him. Whhooo a someone is walking in the street, it is very suspicious, he must be a burglar, what else?

[@Soundbrigade]

Parents petitioned the town council to lower the speed outside a school in the outskirts of our town to 20mph. Just after the new signs came up, the police hid in the bushes by the street with radar and one of the first they stopped was a parent who had just dropped off a child and was speeding off in way over 40mph ….

[@m.h.6470]

In Germany (specifically BaWü, where Ashton lives) every year, before school starts, the local government works together with radio stations. People can phone in and name specific places, that are dangerous for kids to walk or bike through. More often than not, these places then get a street crossing or improved bike lane.

[@cinnamoon1455]

That's such a brilliant idea. A lot of places would profit from that.

[@Zyo117]

That would create a controversy here in Canada with parents calling to complain that it takes too long to drive their kids to school.

[@Ashorisk]

yeah and 5 minutes later they will warn drivers about the Speed Cameras in the area ! - We are still pretty Car centric in germany we should not forget that.

[@DrDavidThor]

Americans in cars engage in vorsätzliche Ignoranz

[@m.h.6470]

@@Ashorisk I am on two minds with that one. On one side, this means, that drivers will ACTUALLY be slower in the regions with the mobile cameras, which is a good thing, on the other side, they are less careful in other region, which is obviously bad.

[@speedee7]

That part right at beginning: less than 2 km to school and she didn't walk to school not even once... Just unbelievable. I had same distance to kindergarden in the EU city and walked there after I knew the route.

[@ZeroGravitas187]

You want something unbelievable? Go on Google Maps. Right now. Pick a city and find a high school, preferably a newer one. A US senior high school assigns (far) more land to car-parking for students/faculty than for educational facilities. For elementary/junior high it often is pretty close too. It is absurd.

[@bearcubdaycare]

It's fascinating watching episodes of the Japanese television show in which even younger children are tasked with walking a kilometer by themselves to buy something, or similar.

[@leob4403]

​@@bearcubdaycarethat's the norm here in Sweden too, kids walk with their friends everywhere

[@dw8931]

One of my first visits to the USA was a business trip to Orlando (FL).We were living in a hotel right across the street of the office building, where we met our business partners. Being a European , when it was time to move to the meeting place, I simply walked to the four lane road and was shocked to see that 1) such a big road had no sidewalks, 2) it was almost impossible to cross the street as the cars did not bother for any humans wanting to reach the other side, 3) some American colleagues actually drove from the parking space in front of the hotel to the paring space in front of the office building, a distance of maybe 200 m. This was in the late 80s, and obviuosly it has not changed since then. And it gives some inside why the USA will never be able to give up their car addiction and whay obesity is such a wide-spread problem.

[@calise8783]

Your walk looked similar to my daily school walk in elementary school in the US ( Massachusetts)from 1977-83ish. But I didn’t have to cross any major streets. Years later, my brother bought my parent’s house a his children were actually bussed to school. The distance didn’t change, no streets were added, but this 20 minutes walk was deemed unsafe. I actually loved my daily walk even in rain and snow! It cleared my head and gave me movement. Having now raised two kids on Germany, I love how independent they have become by growing up here. And we as a family, love our nightly after dinner walks. When family visited from the States, we took them for a walk on their first day to see our village. They loved it.

[@Surreal452]

Sounds very similar to where we live in the US. We're lucky!

[@SkipGole]

Yes, I hate to say this, but fear has overwhelmed many parents because of the recklessness of drivers. I lived half a mile (.8 km) away from my elementary school and my middle school was closer. Every street in my close-in suburb has a sidewalk, but now there’s so much fear of dangerous drivers. I think I’m in the small minority, but I still see some middle schoolers and younger ones walking to school. Are there as many kids walking today as before (1970s)-no. However, back then some kids walked more than a mile to school, and there was never a problem. Now, a parent could get arrested. When I got closer to school patrols, who were 5th and 6th graders (11-12 years old) laid down rules. Now, when kids are dismissed at my elementary school where I teach, it takes a good 35-40 minutes for the many, many buses to pick them up. Last comment: I used to walk to the nearby business district (3 miles/5 km) with friends in middle school; also, a friend and I rode our bikes to downtown, Washington, D.C. (12 miles/19 km) We met senators at the Capitol building and at lunch with them. They trusted a 12 year old and would ask us questions. There are unsafe streets, but parents don’t trust kids to explore. Different world.

[@jerrymiller9039]

@@calise8783 who is forcing the kids to ride and not walk if they want?

[@daffyduk77]

The "no access to play area except by car" is truly mental

[@patrickhanft]

Hi Ashton, thank you for this personal story! I remember that we had a conversation about school ways and growing up in communities in the comments section one or two years ago and I remember how I was puzzled that you on one hand briefly mentioned these difficulties about walking to school and on the other hand you telling that it was still kind of a nice environment to grow up in. I think, I do understand that now much better. Thank you for taking us with you!

[@Firzenizer]

This is something I had always been wondering why USA had school busses. Never realized even neighborhoods like that don't have sidewalks or pedestrian crossings. That large intersection looks crazy. I was already wondering about this as a kid biking my 3km trip to school here in Finland. It's been interesting to follow your videos about USA vs Germany. Keep it up!

[@jongustavsson5874]

At least when I was a school going kid in Sweden in the 90:s the state had to provide transportation if you lived more than 2 kilometers from school. I lived 1986 meters from it, so I biked. My next door neighbor got to ride a taxi. Bureaucracy is fun.

[@Firzenizer]

@@jongustavsson5874 yea. I also had chance to use taxi, but I didnt want to after 2nd grade. All my friends biked so i felt like i am missing out. It was also faster to bike than go by taxi as taxi was driving around town.

[@blueoval250]

I bet there aren’t a dozen kids that live within 3 miles of the schools I went to.

[@apveening]

You might also be interested in Not Just Bikes.

[@marco_grt4460]

I live in a rural town in northern Italy, having two satellite towns that we call "frazioni" our municipality has two bus vans, one is a school bus, the other is a municipal service for the elderly that can be used as a school bus. Also having the middle school, the towns without one within a radius of 6 km use school buses or even public transport

[@manicantsettleonausername6789]

No wonder people feel unsafe walking in such neighbourhoods when the infrastructure is so hostile to everyone outside of a huge vehicle. I'm from the Netherlands and I can't imagine what it must be like not being able to just run around your neighbourhood as a kid, playing with friends, without the fear of being run over by a car.

[@HomeWorkouts_LS]

That’s why a lot of families prefer small residential streets & culdesacs in the US

[@sagichnicht6748]

People feel unsafe walking because indeed, it is objectively extremely unsafe to walk there, in some cases absolutely life threatening.

[@sagichnicht6748]

@@HomeWorkouts_LS But those aren't solving anything, are they? Streets are still superwide and cars way too fast, even if they hit a dead end, and you can't go anywhere outside of your cul de sac without threatening your life. Zero independence for the children.

[@LegioXXI]

Yes. Suddenly it's hard to blame Gen Z and Gen Alpha from the US for just being on the internet in their free time and having bad physique. What else can they do besides sitting at home? Car centrism exists in the US for decades but at least in older times the cars were smaller and slower, nowadays more and more people drive oversized pickups that are literally bigger than a Sherman tank from WW2. Drivers of those cars also tend to drive more aggressive since they feel more secure and "powerful" in those bigger cars. Public transport is also barely existing in the US. So without helicopter parents, you are just stuck at home as a kid. It's really sad how unfree children are in the "land of the free".

[@leathandris6734]

Honestly this is kinda middle of the road here in the states. It gets alot worse. House I grew up was on a though street, 400-600 cars per hour during peak hours, with a speed limited of 25mph, but 30-35 real speeds. Road was bout 2.5 miles long and straight as an arrow.

[@nas4apps]

Hi Ashton, I grew up in NYC (!), walked to school daily! Traffic officers assisted at corners. 1930's area but sidewalks always. Many kids walked to school. Kids bike on sidewalks and parks. Why didn't township/county officers vote for decent walking areas. Why isn't it a priority? Why is everything so disconnected? Could you go into causation? I can imagine: cost. Potential savings: less school bus stops at 'close' locations. In the Netherlands now: no school busses: kids bike to school and it is very safe. That development (towards bike centric infrastructure) took 50 years! Add bikencentric design to every change. Saves lives, adds exercise, supports independence, it is amazing to see the difference - thanks for publishing!! It can be done: NYC is pedestrian centric, with many not owning a car due to lack of parking space (our neighborhood had parking space and driveways).

[@scottfw7169]

Part of the why not when it comes to a community funding things which would help either or both schools and school age children is the percentage of voters whose logic goes like, "My kids are grown and out of school, I ain't helpin' nobody with nuthin' for schools, the school parents can pay for it."

[@nas4apps]

@@scottfw7169 Seems very short term 🤔... and not very community. Suppose you opt to exercise, where to cycle or jog? Why not cycle to the store? Infrastructure can allow a car-less walk to Church too ... but I get it, very short term. Just hard to fathom.

[@scottfw7169]

@@nas4apps Indeed, it is short term, and I'd add short-sighted too. This USA is a curious mix of people, and agencies both community and government, who do help at various levels in various ways, & people who say, _"If those people were worth anything they would pull themselves up by their own bootstraps like I did. See, that's their problem, they are not the same as me, if they were the same as me they would have no problems and they would need no one. So they just need to make up their minds to be the same as me and then their problems will go away."_

[@danielbishop1863]

@@nas4apps : "Infrastructure can allow a car-less walk to Church too" Unfortunately, the only religious group in this country who care about that are Orthodox Jews (who don't drive cars on Shabbat due to the Torah prohibition on kindling a fire). Christians here are very often willing to drive to a megachurch with a massive parking lot.

[@haribo836]

I think a big effect of having infrastructure to walk or cycle is kids learning how to behave in the big adult world. Learning at a young age the rules of traffic and how to be responsible for your own safety and behaviour on the roads, not only gives the kids freedom, but also a valuable lesson for the future in responsibility and why there are rules. Compare that to a rebel teenager who has been driven around his entire life until all of a sudden at age 16 he can drive himself without any prior experience in traffic.

[@QuentinPlant]

And learning orientation - spending the first ten years in the kiddie seat in the back of the car, you barely see something of the surroundings and don't see where you are. Being on foot or bike from an early age makes you experience your neighbourhood one block after the other as you grow and learn how to orientate yourself at landmarks.

[@BlueFlash215]

​@@QuentinPlantto be honest. The surroundings all look the same. Except it you drive to the malls and restaurants. That's another sad thing. Nothing to look at, no diversity in landscape.

[@haribo836]

@@QuentinPlant Good point. Try and sit in the back of an SUV and lower your head to a kids height. No wonder they all want a screen, something to drink, eat, fight or cry about or simply something to do. It's boring back there.

[@jerrymiller9039]

@@haribo836 The whole point of suburbia is to spread people out and create green spaces for kids and people to live in. Watch the video. I see big yards and houses set back from the road and lots of green spaces everywhere. Europe doesnt have that. Much more cramped and limited

[@jerrymiller9039]

@@BlueFlash215 Try watching the video. I see lots of green spaces everywhere

[@loci5327]

Now I understand even more why Americans can get their driver's license with 16. All is designed for cars in the first place. Partly I understand that, because you have much bigger distances, but for the locals it makes no sense at all, when you have 1-2 mile distance to your school.

[@mardiffv.8775]

Well, I have chart of distances in % that Americans travel: < 2 miles/ 3 km = 40 % of all trips. < 3 miles/ 5 km = 45 %. < 9 miles/ 15 km = 90 %. So in 45 % of all trips, Americans could cycle as well. Instead of using their car. With an E-bike they can take 90 % of all trips, just covering a maximum 9 miles/ 15 km. Americans are addicted to their cars.

[@ZeroGravitas187]

@@mardiffv.8775 So I ride my bike to work every day. It is 5 miles. BUT...I know I'm taking my life into my hands doing it. Every day, the same intersections, motorists run red lights and stop in crosswalks etc. City buses (the few there are) even do it. The USA is physically dangerous outside of a motor vehicle.

[@reginakeith8187]

And the strange thing is, few kids want to get their license at 16 anymore. Most do so only as a necessity when they get older. It's not like when I was a kid in the 80s when we couldn't wait to have more independence. Ironically, we had more freedom and independence as children too because we rode bikes and played with friends outside unlike kids today.

[@ryanc4955]

The bigger distances are BECAUSE of the car dependency. It makes me so mad.

[@user-xu5vl5th9n]

@@ryanc4955 I think it is because there is just much more space in the US. Houses are bigger, roads are bigger, cars are bigger. It is still ridiculous that in many urban areas of the US to go across the block it is almost impossible on foot.

[@PotsdamSenior]

Make sure to send this video to each and every member of the Village Administration and Board of Trustees. The people who make those bad decisions have to be made aware of the bad situation. Maybe they simply are "Betriebsblind" and don't notice that there even is a problem.

[@marrykurie48]

You excluse by that that they do have kids themselves. There simply might be a different mindset.

[@reginakeith8187]

They're fully aware so it wouldn't make any difference. Children can't vote so children get no consideration. Pedestrians are last priority. Drivers are top of the list and they don't want to inconvenience them.

[@kendallsmith1458]

Small towns in rural America are ALWAYS controlled by VERY conservative types.

[@DrDavidThor]

How do you not notice there's nowhere to walk? It's not Betriesblind it's more like vorsätzliche Ignoranz or as the Bible puts it, wickedness.

[@machtmann2881]

Oh they know. But the problem is that the worst types of people have the most time on their hands on these types of boards and meetings and vote more often. Average people who would benefit from change are too busy or not informed enough to override them. Until a new board with new viewpoints is elected or enough new people come to town with a different mindset than existing people and get involved (which may cause backlash), that kind of change is hard.

[@Freaky0Nina]

I hope your town and district council get to see this video. I'm sure you're sharing it with friends and family, so maybe they can change a little something here and there. Kids deserve to walk if they're able to. Daily movement isn't just about PE, it's also about the casual everyday walks.

[@conniebruckner8190]

Ashton, do people ever go out for a stroll in your USA neighborhood? What about walking the dogs? I will assume they walk on the street and just listen for cars? Or do they just stick to the roads that have sidewalks?

[@NurseDavis]

I grew up in a small farming community not unlike Sherman, but in Wyoming. Me and my brother walked every day to school. Our parents just told us to look both ways before scurrying across the street, and well, we survived!

[@QuentinPlant]

And the more kids would do that, the safer they would be - because drivers know that there might be children and pay attention to them.

[@KeVIn-pm7pu]

Literally survivorship bias

[@Surreal452]

@@KeVIn-pm7pu How is it different anywhere else though

[@KeVIn-pm7pu]

@@Surreal452 wdym?

[@leob4403]

​@@Surreal452it's very different because there are various road design features to slow down traffic

[@Earlywinters09]

People are so car-centric in my city in the NW USA that they don't even see it. No sidewalks in my neighborhood, and intense hostility when the city tries to add bike lanes. The complaint is that no one rides bikes, so why "steal" a car lane. The reason there are no bikes in the parts of town they want to add bike lanes is because it's so incredibly dangerous to ride in those places. Great topic. Thanks!

[@bellemorelock4924]

The motorist behavior is so bad where I grew up, I was taught to NEVER bike in the street. "That's why sidewalks are paved." Of course there are very few people on sidewalks, so it made sense. I still think this is good outside cities where people are out using the sidewalks.

[@nedludd7622]

Things sure have changed. In the 50's I lived in a very rural area of Wisconsin where the two nearest houses were a few hundred yards away. We had to take the bus to grade school because it was 8 miles away. But other than that we would walk about 3 miles to my grandparents house and older take bikes. One thing about waiting for the bus, during deer hunting season we wore bright yellow vests so as not to be shot by hunters. At twelve we moved to a city and we walked a mile and half or so to the junior high school, crossing a railroad on the way and the last half was along a dirt road, rain or shine. When high school came, it was several miles away and sometimes I took the bus and other times biked it. Yes, I do use apparently obsolete words because those were the ones we used then.

[@ETophales]

When I come across something like "during deer hunting season we wore bright yellow vests so as not to be shot by hunters" it makes me wonder again about what kind of place the US is. Truly fascinating. Thanks for sharing.

[@mjoelnir1899]

I think the problems are not missing sidewalks or infrastructure, but attitude. I agree that on main roads you should have sidewalks and bike lanes, not only for kids but also for adults. But the moment you are in a pure residential area, the streets should be used by cars, bikes, pedestrians and playing kids and cars, or better their drivers, have to take care.

[@ZeroGravitas187]

"or better their drivers, have to take care. The drivers don't take care. US drivers are so used to looking for a "window" in traffic to fit their car in--they almost never look for anyone outside of a car. The 3 times I was on my bicycle and was hit by a car--were all on legal sidewalks crossing driveways--and people jetting out of them were gunning it watching for 40MPH traffic gaps not the sidewalk.

[@mjoelnir1899]

@@ZeroGravitas187 That does not change the fact, that infrastructure is not the problem, drivers are.

[@ZeroGravitas187]

@@mjoelnir1899 Infrastructure decisions dictate motorist behavior. Infrastructure most certainly is at the the root of the problem. The USA has abdicated any and all decision making and stooped to motorists and "personal responsibility" are the problem for: DUI, for speeding, for general accidents, and so on...for 100 years. And it has never in the history of the USA worked. HINT: If you want DUIs to stop...stop requiring bars that serve alcohol to legally be required to have car parking for patrons. If you want to stop DUIs, provide viable alternatives to car ownership--it will make your cities nicer places to live, and also it will be deflationary.

[@mjoelnir1899]

@@ZeroGravitas187 That is your beliefe. I still believe attitude is the main problem. If in a residential area you have no sidewalk and no bike lane, just the road, you declare the road as common ground and cars do not have priority, but they have to respect pedestrians, bikers and playing children. There are hardly ever accidents on those roads and that has to do with attitude.

[@Chan_Fry]

If I walked from my house to my kids' school (Central Texas), five or six people would stop and ask if I need a ride, assuming that my vehicle broke down.

[@vinzenzgeske8987]

I cannot get over the fact that people stopped to ask if you needed a ride. This is something that would never happen here in Germany. Although that is probably a bit of a chicken-and-egg thing I suppose: As walking short-ish distances is quite normal here, I wouldn't think twice about seeing walking. The only time I ever stopped to because a stranger was walking next to the street was in the countryside near my hometown. It was like 1 am in late fall and a guy wearing only a thin shirt was signaling me to stop. I was very cautious because the next settlement was about 3 miles away and I thought he maybe wanted to rob me or steal my car. But it was *really* cold outside so I locked my doors, stopped next to him and rolled down the window about 2". He told me that his phone was dead and that he had forgotten his wallet at home - which was something he realized and said out loud while sitting in a taxi. The taxi driver stopped right then and there and threw him out into the cold, even though the guy had promised him he had cash at home and would pay him once they got there. He clearly had some drinks but wasn't wasted and he did seem to be alone. So I drove him home and he insisted on giving me money he would have given the taxi driver. I only took half because he was adamant he would not let me leave without thanking me that way. It was the weirdest thing. When I told my friends about it, the reaction was always the same: "What is wrong with you? That was so dangerous! The taxi driver had every right to throw him out!". That kind of made me sad. I mean: I was cautious to, but I would hope that of anything like this ever happened to someone I cared about there would be someone "brave" enough to stop and offer help.

[@YEdwardP]

I'm a Canadian currently living in Germany. Having spent roughly 6 years here, I really have gotten used to the lifestyle. In 6 years, I always have been able to commute to work and didn't need a car, using public transport or a bike. I have friends who live here and I have been with them to pick up their kids from school. I am thinking of returning to Canada but one of the big things giving me pause is exactly the topic discussed in this video. The fact that there are so few safe travel options for kids other than being driven by their parents just worries me so much. I have seen the children here be so independent and free to play with their friends. If I return, my kids would only ever be able to visit their friends when me or my partner would be free to drive them. That's not so bad when they're 5. But 10? 15? Kids need to feel connected to their environment, not silo-ed at home. So yeah, it's a huge question for me and I honestly agonize over it.

[@baramuth71]

Then the right question for you would be, am I doing this just for myself, but also for my children? In that case, I would say absolutely not. I would always decide in favor of the children, because they still have their future ahead of them.

[@stratvids]

Don't do it. I've been living in canada for almost 40 years and can wait to move back to germany. Canada is significantly more expensive lacks culture and community.

[@nickgooderham2389]

There are plenty of walkable areas in Canadian cities. I live in a small affordable town in Ontario. My kids can easily walk to school. You just need to pick a place that's right for you.

[@grinsikleinpo7]

@@stratvids some parts of canada, not all of canada. not all. Lack of culture and community? There are much more places without them in germany then you can think of.

[@stratvids]

@@grinsikleinpo7 "There are much more places without them in germany then you can think of" lol, you've never been to Germany

[@MasterCrest]

Definitely illustrates why the car is synonymous with freedom for so many people

[@peterpain6625]

With "the illusion of freedom" you mean. Americans are not free. See workers rights, (mental) health problems that can easily bankrupt you and a political system that absolutely ridiculous.

[@DrDavidThor]

license, not liberty vorsätzliche Ignoranz

[@Surreal452]

@@peterpain6625 Nah, we have pretty cool stuff here. It's not all bad. Tired of the bashing.

[@peterpain6625]

@@Surreal452 Of course it's not all bad. But the whole country lives way under "what could be" if people weren't so gullible.

[@danielbishop1863]

It may seem that way for Americans who have never gotten to experience a walkable lifestyle (e.g., living in a foreign country, or on a college campus). If you have, it's so obvious that car centrism is NOT freedom.

[@user-ry7rd2po7r]

Pretty interesting differences. One of the weirdest things to me, as an European, are the big empty lawns though. There is nothing there. They look like empty, unused spaces. Here in Europe pretty much ever inch of ur property gets used for gardening, storage etc.

[@nriamond8010]

I mean, I know some people who have a lawn area in their backyard here in Germany. But that's for kids to play and things like that, it's not a front yard that everyone can see and nobody uses (because why would you want to sit at the street with all the cars?).

[@machtmann2881]

Americans obsess over empty lawns. It's just another way to be a workaholic by putting in so much effort to make it look dead. I hated mowing it as a child because in the end, no one really cares. Look at the video, how many people are actually outside haha? It's all about appearances. It's not even good for the environment either because the lawn mower uses gas, chemicals are used to make the lawn look a certain way, and it eliminates the possibility of diverse ecosystems by mowing it all away.

[@user-ry7rd2po7r]

@@nriamond8010 yeah, but these lawns are usually surrounded by fences, hedges or trees. Some part is often used for gardening, fruit trees, sandboxes or a swing for kids etc. Lawns in front or the back of the house are pretty much never that empty. Only newly build houses are like that- and the new owners usually plant or build stuff after buying the house

[@longiusaescius2537]

@nriamond8010 Porches were used

[@AltIng9154]

Yes, I have the same impression! Big empty lawns, no flowers, no blooming bushes , no wind-breaker! I guess it must be terrible in winter in Sherman!

[@arnesnielsen]

When I grew up in northern Norway through rough winter storms we had to walk to the school no matter how cold or windy it was. You had to live more than four kilometers from school to be allowed to go by school bus! That made us tough and independent.

[@paulpetersen3764]

And uphill both ways! (When older people here in the US talk about how they walked to school in all kinds of weather, the joke is that they had to walk uphill both ways)

[@SkipGole]

Yes, I’m older, so my dad, who was born in 1930, would tell the story of carrying a hot potato to school and walking about 4-5 kilometers.This was a daily thing in the winter. It wasn’t as cold as Norway, but it could get pretty cold-below freezing. Also, my grandfather used to have to walk from his factory on the Ohio River about 70-80 km to his home to visit grandma! There were not many cars in the 1930’s. He got to know people he could stay with along his walking route, so he wouldn’t freeze to death. Tough and independent indeed!

[@BrandonLeeBrown]

I visited a friend from university in Norway and many people there walked along the roads and had bicycle reflectors on strings in their coat pockets to pull out and let dangle on the their sides, while walking along the roads.

[@ReinholdMessner-k1j]

We was so poor that I had to hop to school with one shoe only 20 miles each way, of course uphill both ways 😊 and fight off hungry wolves

[@WastelandPuppy]

Ah yes. I, too, walked to school and back through Elden Ring.

[@barbarossarotbart]

What should be done? Too many things: - Broad sidewalks should be mandatory on every street. - There should be pedestrians crossings at least on every major road. - The speed limits should be lower. ...

[@wizardsuth]

Bike lanes. Walk signals. Recreational trails. Better land zoning, e.g. residential, school, and recreational land in the same area without major roads, rail lines, or businesses between them.

[@ZeroGravitas187]

Lowering speed limits, by itself, doesn't work. The way the streets/roads are designed/built is fundamentally broken. In the USA every road is smooth, every lane is wide, every roadway is flat or well-graded and usually arrow-straight, the sightlines are long. There's no attempt at traffic calming. Which is why lowering speed limits doesn't work. When a residential street is designed like a highway...people will drive on it like a highway. If you put a 20MPH speed limit on a highway--people will drive on it at 55MPH+. Until people are uncomfortable for their expensive vehicle's safety--they won't slow down. Fortunately thanks to our friends in places like the Netherlands--we know exactly what to do to push the driver psychology to make people slow down. You add traffic calming (level pedestrian crossings) at every crossing. You visually and physically narrow lanes and roads to make people feel squeezed and close together. You make roads less arrow-straight and more winding. You use cobblestone instead of concrete or asphalt--because rough surfaces rattle your teeth driving on fast. And so on.

[@cmdrls212]

Everyone knows that. Who pays for it is the issue 😅

[@apveening]

@@cmdrls212 Changing the current situation will be expensive, doing it properly from the start will actually save money.

[@manub.3847]

@@ZeroGravitas187 A quick look back to the end of the 1970s/beginning of the 1980s in a German city. To make the streets more traffic-calmed, a speed limit was first introduced, then a system of one-way streets was integrated, then sections of the street were narrowed using simple concrete blocks or flower pots. Many of these streets were only gradually renovated and became traffic-calmed zones in accordance with today's standards, some with modified street junctions such as a wider, raised driveway with cobblestones instead of tar, which often also includes a pedestrian crossing. In our small rural community there are actually still some streets without footpaths. But these streets mostly lead through fields and there are only a few residents. In addition, everyone learns during official driving lessons that it is the driver's duty to pay attention to pedestrians and possible sources of danger and to reduce their speed accordingly. And yes, little by little the streets and footpaths in my rural community are also being renovated and adapted. At the moment, for example, an intersection is being renovated and fitted with paving stones and "footpath extensions" that extend into the street = sometimes planting areas for flowers and grasses, sometimes for trees. Therefore, once the work is completed, all drivers will be forced to drive more slowly.

[@Straylight4299]

Imagine planning the crosswalk in front of the school, that leads to... a private lawn. Really? Nobody thought there is something wrong here? I always thought the thing about the USA being car centric was rooted in big distances. I never imagined the reason could just be just negligent or ignorant planners.

[@peterpain6625]

You can easily codify in law that there has to be a sidewalk. Private property or not. The "but BUT, this is mine!"-mindset will probably work against it but it's doable if explained right.

[@Nicolas-tq8yz]

@@peterpain6625 you can probably easily shave it off the road too

[@patchso]

This thing about distance is often used as an excuse in North America. That argument doesn’t hold water though. There’s nothing about distance in this video that would stop you from creating safe pedestrian routes. It’s all about mindset.

[@ZeroGravitas187]

Not negligent planners. They know. But they are captive to the law. The USA has very absolutist property rights. See Ashton's video about the Right to Wander. The city can't just build sidewalks. The homeowner owns that land--if the city wants sidewalks, they either have to negotiate an easement, or use eminent domain to seize the necessary property to build a sidewalk. And towns like this--they can't afford their own infrastructure, forget about lawyers and legal fights with constituents.

[@apveening]

@@ZeroGravitas187 The road is way too wide, take it from the road.

[@ripedro]

When visited Maui, Hawaii, as tourist had a big disappointment by not being able to walk around from point A to point B, without being afraid to be hit by a car, simply there was any sidewalks to walk through! Learned that not renting a car, is no option in the USA... :(

[@fabianobermeier2838]

I myself am shocked by the existing sidewalks. The few sidewalks are also damn narrow. In a country that has so much space. That's ridiculous.

[@machtmann2881]

Because we use all our space for gigantic cars and houses you're not supposed to leave 🤭. Since living abroad, I run across many people who want to live in U.S. but I have this image of it in my head as a native and question why would you do that to yourself hahaha

[@fabianobermeier2838]

@@machtmann2881 I wouldn't want to live in the USA by choice. At most, I might visit for a vacation, but that would be the limit.

[@69quato]

I think it's mostly about saving a buck. You don't have to maintain what isn't there... sad.

[@thorstenjaspert9394]

How should children learn to move in public space? Sidewalks which do not invite to walk? Who needs such broad roads in a residential area?

[@LovableCoolGuy]

@@fabianobermeier2838 Just visiting the US as a tourist is funny though. Unless you're strictly only staying downtown in the big cities, you'll have to rent a car for your entire trip lol

[@puellanivis]

Illinois law, § 625 ILCS 5/11-1003 (c) governs jaywalking and it requires that there be two adjacent intersections with traffic-control signals. So, there was no jaywalking there. Because there isn’t any second traffic light on Andrew Road. (This is also why there are no official pedestrian crossings, you’re allowed to cross anywhere on that road.)

[@robinhillyard6187]

The whole concept of jaywalking is weird to most Europeans. And it seems that it’s not well defined in the US either since Ashton didn’t know for sure if it was illegal to cross that road.

[@orthicon9]

I looked up my provincial (New Brunswick, Canada) Motor Vehicle Act and was pleasantly surprised to find that jaywalking was not actually a thing, except under certain specific circumstances (like the one you described), none of which applied in my smallish town. Even so, pedestrians are permitted to cross against a red light, provided that it does not interfere with traffic. On the other hand, where there is a sidewalk provided on either side of a roadway, pedestrians may not walk (or run) on the roadway.

[@MrAronymous]

Honestly on a lot of streets what they should start out with is simply putting lines on the ground making a make-shift sidewalk. It helps so much to visually narrow the road. On neighbourhood streets they can put planter boxes with flowers to act as road narrowers and chicanes. On the larger roads there is ample space for seperate infrastructure. In a community like this that can easily be a wide comfortable mixed-use path with dedicated traffic lights. Put one along the rail line as well, usually there's space there for a parallel path straight through town (with few crossings).

[@larsblakrasmussen5820]

My first visit to the US, was to Detroit on a business trip in 1996. I got a couple of surprises: 1. no sidewalks 2. Doors opens outwards 3. No bikes anywhere 4. It is impossible to look at the merchandise alone, someone will always come to help you shop 5. Tipping is salary for the waiter, not extra money for good service 6. to go from the hotel to the office I had to call the company who then sent a car.... For safety, they said...

[@mirkoklein4561]

I need to say sth out off topic: For a car-centric community the roads of Sherman are in a really poor condition. I have only seen streets like that (9:25) in eastern Europe.

That sounds like you want to levy taxes to improve society and the public good, are you a communist? 🙃

[@stancalung5186]

Same! But they are improving. I was 2 years ago in a rural area in Romania and it blew my mind how good the infrastructure was. There are villages where they have really no space for sidewalks, but there is enough space on each side of the road for pedestrians, even if it´s only a line that separates you from the traffic. They also lowered the speed limit, put new asphalt almost everywhere etc. It takes a lot of time and money, but it will be ok someday ☺The only stupid thing is that they have much less public transportation to the little villages (or none at all) because everybody has a car (the majority) . And biking is for tourists, if they are brave enough 😅😅

[@ZeroGravitas187]

Those Sherman roads are actually pretty good condition. The USA has absurdly low average population density compared to say the EU. Which means, you need FAR more miles of roads to service the same population. My state's largest city has a population of about 700,000 people, but about 6,000 MILES of roads...to repair/replace all of those roads would cost the equivalent of then entire state's GDP. And that is just for the roads in one city. City can't afford nice roads. Ashton being from Germany...the best comparison is the Autobahn. Which the Autobahn is a great road and built extremely well. The USA has too many miles to build like the Autobahn, so instead the base of the road is less than half as thick...which means it wears out a lot faster.

[@magicsheepmom7790]

The roads in Sherman are in pretty good condition. About average for the US. Our roads are not maintained very well because it's so expensive and no one wants to pay for it. They'd just rather complain about the potholes. Don't even get me started on our bridges.

[@paulqueripel3493]

Not been to the UK then.

[@MlleFunambuline]

Something very important you say is the freedom it gives a kid to walk alone. I am not sure people who did not have that will understand, but some of my best memories from childhood are these moments where I was left alone. The freedom I felt, and the reponsability at the same time were huge to help me grow and mature. And probably the only moments when you can really think without anyone else, adult or kid, leading the conversation. It definitly helped me learn to be happy alone.

[@MADHIKER777]

We still don't build sidewalks in communities here in the USA. it's up to the local whims. Developers are in business to make money, not sidewalks, and only do so if it is mandated. I spend about a month each year in Europe. I agree it is a very different experience. I never rent a car there and get around far & wide just fine with no fear.

[@br5380]

Yet they make the roads twice the width they need to be - it’s nothing to do with money really.

[@Xubuntu47]

​@@br5380As someone who has ridden my bike on narrow rural roads in Washington State, I beg to differ. I was totally at the mercy of drivers, with no possibility of gettng out of their way. But these were popular, established cycling routes, provided by a major cycling organization with thousands of members! Crazy, right?

[@Sidistic_Atheist]

14:09 This makes zero sense!?!?! A crossing, from a footpath on one side of the road, to a nonexistent footpath on the other side..???? 🤯

[@Opa_Andre]

I don't know but as this is at the elementary school, the side without the footpath might be where the schoolbus stops to pickup the children. So they either leave the bus and cross the street to the footpath or they get picked up there, it this makes any sense.

[@Garagantua]

Things like this look strange, but think of it this way: You'll never re-do all the streets in a community at once. If you start with no sidewalks and want to get to a place where pretty much every street has a sidewalk, you start by making sure that both new and re-done parts of streets get sidewalks. It's a mess at first, but after a few years, a network starts to form, and you'll find places where the "missing pieces" between new, sidewalk-ified sections can be added rather easily. So this piece of the crossing doesn't make sense _now_. But if they do some work on the other side within the next years, it's quite a bit easier to advocate for a new sidewalk then :)

[@ZeroGravitas187]

@@Garagantua This probably isn't a work in progress. I can say that for a simple reason. the USA has very absolutist property rights. The city would need to start using eminent domain to take land to put a sidewalk on in that community since it looks like there are no easements. The city would also need to give/get zoning clearances as those older house lots are not large enough to fit modern zoning code and facilities like sidewalks. Retrofitting sidewalks into old neighborhoods without them almost never happens--because the red-tape is a nightmare, and you have to sue every single homeowner to get it done. And all those home owners would counter sue the city, and probably win.

[@jal051]

@@ZeroGravitas187 Yeah. It's not like the city can decide to put sidewalks now just like that. They'd need to take the piece of land of each home owner. That's a mess to achieve.

[@Garagantua]

@@ZeroGravitas187 Well, those same laws get used to create new or widen existing streets all the time ;). But as @opa-andre pointed out, it might just be (a) drop-off point for the kids.

[@Sycokay]

The streets are very wide, one could add pedestrian/bike lanes and crossings just by painting lines on the street. The problem is just the mentality of the car drivers, they would need to learn that the streets don't belong to them alone.

[@KeVIn-pm7pu]

Paint is no infastructure. No just painting it isnt enough. At least put up those plastic polls

[@johnubieta8857]

When I watch Ashton's videos comparing the US to Germany, I realize we can improve a lot in the US. I've never been to Germany, but I'm looking forward to spending time there and simply absorb the culture of its different places.

[@lakrids-pibe]

And the cars are getting bigger. It feels safer to sit inside the big cars, but it is difficult to see the children in front of it.

[@leob4403]

Yeah ironically, the families buy them to be safer but they are statistically more likely to run over their own kids in them

[@LexusLFA554]

What I also find disturbing is all the lawn care channels repeatedly uncover long overgrown sidewalks to the point you can't even see them anymore. They only come up because their shovel scrapes them on accident.

[@frogmantoad8110]

Nonsense.

[@AndrejPodzimek]

​@@frogmantoad8110 What do you mean? Here’s your nonsense, easy to find, plus tens of other examples too: kzbin.info/www/bejne/l5DEfmaefb9oY5Y Not to mention that KZbin videos are just the tip of the iceberg.

[@johnmccallum8512]

@@frogmantoad8110 No it is not.

[@bingewatchforever1587]

@@frogmantoad8110 I have seen a few of those clips.

[@phoebeel]

I wouldn't say that they are surprised, most of the times the sidewalk is on both neighbouring properties so it's only logical that there is one under the big grass. But yes, I've seen it too. Completely overgrown sidewalks with not even a path through it which suggests that nobody uses it

[@andrijnovak6367]

This is crazy to see... In such an environment you can't expect children to be able to start being independent until they start to drive themselves. I walked/biked to school since 6 years old when I startet elementary school here in Bavaria. It was not only possible, but very safe. Still we need to improve our pedestrian and cycling infrastructure even more.

[@jerrymiller9039]

I grew up in the US and we walked and biked all over the place. One of the games I remember playing was to just pick a direction abd bike for an hour or two and then find my way back with a different route

[@Garagantua]

@@jerrymiller9039 And when was this? As Ashton said, even today some kids to walk or cycle to school, around 11%. So in some places, that still seems possible.

[@jerrymiller9039]

@@Garagantua It is possible everywhere but I see fewer kids playing outside or cycling now. Im 59 but when I was young there were no video games or internet and we spent most days outside

[@andrijnovak6367]

@@jerrymiller9039 In Bavaria we have internet and video games as well and children still walk/cycle to school. I don't see the connection here.

[@jerrymiller9039]

@@andrijnovak6367 I talking about playing in general not just to and from school. I used to live in a small village in Germany. The streets were laid out before cars existed and many didnt have sidewalks. They did have bike paths between villages. In general kids didnt seem to play outside as much as I did when young

[@etiennesharp]

I was broadly aware of this, but seeing the reality is quite stark. I walked to school alone or with friends from the age of five here (Scotland) and it was a four-mile round trip. Everyone did it. On my first trip to the US, it was suggested that we go for dinner and I said we should walk: honestly; the looks I got, it was like I'd said we should get facial tattoos.

[@pfffetc6149]

🤣

[@blueoval250]

My driveway is 2 miles long. I’ve been to Scotland and comparing it to 90% of the USA is apples and oranges.

[@aarons.2180]

When I attended high school as an exchange student in 1998, 16 yo me struggled a lot with the sudden disappearance of autonomy regarding any type of mobility, as I didn't have a drivers license of course. Nobody even owned a bike in my community and it wouldn't have made sense either as there was no infrastructure around biking. Once I walked from school to the local ATM: there were pedestrian crossings at the intersection, but strangely no sidewalks to connect. So I hiked on very nice looking patches of green at the side of the road and several drivers stopped asking if my car had broken down or if I needed help.

[@peterpain6625]

The siblings of a friend told similar stories. One went to a semi-rural town in Idaho which had the same problems you describe. Her brother 50 miles over the border in Canada and he biked everywhere. That was like 20 years ago and it saddens me there is zero movement to change that...

[@neeag4112]

I had the same experience. Once a week, my hosts drove me to a place (20minutes!) So i could go for a walk safely before I got desensitised and stopped asking.

[@ewoutbuhler5217]

Responses from many Americans are always about the fact that the US are different, too spread out, too much hills, not possible to walk or bike. It's just that darn car-centricity that people cannot even think about viable alternatives. You are spot on, you limit the independence of the kids. Thee are so many opportunities for 1-2-3-4 mile travels to be done by foot of bike, to school, work, a shop, just any errand. And it's not only missing pedestrian and bike infrastructure, it's also not inviting to visit many shops that are surrounded by huge parking areas that are hard to navigate walking or biking. Why not place the building off centre towards the roadside and create an entrance with bikeparking close so a sidewalk and (future) bikepath?

In the mid-80s, it was common for me to walk or later bike 2,2km to elementary school in Germany, and it felt perfectly safe. I've traveled the US pretty extensively and even with a driver's license, the lack of ability to walk places was mind-blowing, even if it was short distances. Even in very urban areas. The strange hatred of public infrastructure makes even DB look well funded.

[@workinprogress3609]

My kids rode bikes all over the place in the 90s. No sidewalks, some trails. I live in a border state in the US and we have around 3 million illegal aliens cross the border every year. They only catch 2/3 at the most, and even then, they are given a court date and let go into the country. These aren't good people. When they were allowing accompanied children in, the traffickers were stealing children then dumping them in fields to die. Our country is no longer safe and no.sidewalks are going to cure that.

[@machtmann2881]

If it's built for the public, it's meant for poor people. And they don't deserve help. It's really sad but a lot of the American mindset is like that (not everyone, mind you. But definitely too much).

[@workinprogress3609]

@@machtmann2881 What kind of people do you associate with? Americans don't think poor people deserve things? American is #1 in charity donations per capita in the world. Please get better friends and acquaintances.

[@machtmann2881]

@@workinprogress3609 hahaha, donations mean nothing. It's not a true indicator of how much people care for each other when you just send money to a nebulous organization to have them deal with it. It's like saying I care about climate change if I donate but I fly in a private jet. Just look at our conservatives cutting off healthcare and benefits to poor people if they get the chance and refusing to do anything about gun violence. Again, they're not everyone but they truly don't care.

[@machtmann2881]

@@workinprogress3609 Charity donations don't mean anything. You just send money off to a nebulous organization to deal with the problem, that's not the same thing as actually caring. And America has a lot of ultra-rich people, their donations count for a lot overall but it's not reflective of the true average since they're bumping it up per capita. Go to a planning committee that dares to propose a bike lane and I guarantee lots of ugliness will come out of Americans. Or look at how some of them try to cut benefits to poor people (thankfully failing to gut Obamacare), how nothing ever changes after school shootings because changes are blocked, how we divided our communities on purpose to separate well-off people from undesirables, etc. Again, it's not everyone but it certainly exists and is very prevalent and was done by American people.

[@LukasBiosphere]

The Problem is: when you go for a walk, you don't consume.

[@victoriafisher1923]

I dunno, I use up a heck of a lot of shoes!

[@tireeandcoll2603]

If you have to walk on the side of the road, its much safer to walk on the side where the traffic is coming towards you.

[@wizardsuth]

It's also legally required. She could have gotten a ticket.

[@susanneostermann6956]

"wo kein gehweg ist, da geh ich links.... tralala" war auch gleich mein gedanke!

[@MaiAolei]

@@wizardsuth She was in a US town. She could have gotten a ticket for just walking.

[@MaiAolei]

@@susanneostermann6956 Da kommen die Autos mir entgeeeeeegen!

[@nairbvel]

@@MaiAolei I'm willing to bet that there were some people looking out their windows or in passing cars who found her very presence "suspicious"

[@LawtonDigital]

Thank you for helping inform a lot of people who have never seen a different option! When I was a kid and walked/bicycled to school in suburbia, we passed designated safe houses that had a special sign in a front window. These people were registered - and I presumed screened. We were told that if we needed assistance, then we could knock on any of these doors and get help. In our neighborhood today, sidewalks are under 1-2 meters of compacted snow for about 4 school months of the year. They're simply too close to the road, and the snow plows bury them. So the kids walk to school in the icy streets in the dark, and no one gets hurt. I know, weird, right?

[@machtmann2881]

Thank you for showing your old walk, Ashton! It must have been nostalgic. You even showed a train full of cargo coming through to exemplify that a lot of American rail is meant for products these days, not passenger rail haha. This will be perfect for me to share with friends who may have been to America but never outside NYC (the rest of the country is very different) so they do not quite understand my own view of America as a native. I thought of the show Stranger Things during the segment where you showed the statistics of kids walking/biking to school going down to at or near single digits because those kids are on their bikes in the 1980s. There really was a culture of that back in the past but that is sadly diminished at this point. When my old elementary school expanded, it built up new buildings along a clogged stroad which is a big downgrade from the original building in the middle of the neighborhood you could walk to. And my hometown is full of those giant feeder schools built way out in areas where the land is cheaper but no one can get there without a car. School budgets sadly diminished over the years as well and people don't think of building in a way that is safe of multiple modes of transport. The area is meant only for the cars now.

[@TypeAshton]

My mom told me that when she was a child there used to be a rule that if you lived within one mile of the school, the school bus would not pick you up. But they had to quickly get rid of that rule because no one would invest in sidewalks. 😒

[@Gazer75]

@@TypeAshton That is crazy! The rules in Norway is 1st grade (6 year olds) >2km. 2nd-10th grade >4km, and after that its >6km. There are exceptions of course. You don't send a 6 year old out to walk 2km along a main road with 80kmh speed limit and maybe no street lights. And its not the school that is responsible for the transport. It's just part of the public transport network which is run by the counties in Norway. But as with the requirement there are exceptions. Some rural places may employ local taxi to pick up kids if a bus is simply to expensive.

[@terosaarela4555]

It isn’t just about infrastructure but also about attitude. My home city of Oulu, Finland has a vast biking and pedestrian path network, but in general, the residential areas don’t have sidewalks or paths within. There usually is a path leading to a residential area and larger, collecting roads have either sidewalks or paths, but the residential areas don’t have them. Why, because they are not needed. The speed in the residential areas is restricted to 30 km/h and, most importantly, the car drivers are mindful of the people, kids included, living and moving in that area. The drivers aknowledge that the streets and roads of an residential area isn’t just for them. Some areas have traffic signs to specify them, but in most places it’s just common sense, especially for the residents but also to other people visiting a residential area. If you see someone walking on the shoulder, you pass them from a distance, instead of swiping them. People who can’t acknowledge pedestrians in the traffic shouldn’t be allowed to drive at all.

[@leob4403]

You forget that in those 30kmh areas in Finland there are several traffic calming measures too like speed bumps, elevated crossings, winding roads and so forth, people slow down when they have to slow down or else they will damage their vehicle and/or themselves, it doesn't have that much to do with superior morals, just basic road design common sense

[@tomgerasch560]

The problem is that many Americans resist and even oppose things that are good for them

[@Surreal452]

That's true everywhere sadly

[@himbuxterrafux9525]

For me unbeliveable.As a Pole I walked EVERY day 2 kilometers to my school, in heat, rain and frosty weather(Sometimes under -20 degrees Celsius)

[@blueoval250]

My driveway is 2 miles long and that only takes you to a one lane country road. It would take most of the day to walk to where I went to school.

[@piekay7285]

What you‘ve shown is in fact not a "Spielstraße" (No cars and bikes allowed), but a "Verkehrsberuhigter Bereich" (Walking speed, pedestrians, cars and bikes have equal rights). Everyday German mixes those two up, especially because real "Spielstraßen" are rare

[@Infotainment-z7f]

Every family living in this village should send this video to the municipality to create safe sidewalks an bike-paths. It would be so easy, this village has the room! Start a petition with signatures. Good job of the video :)

[@maxkopfraum]

If you can build a road you can also build a sidewalk. The cost increase can't be that bad if the prospecting and digging is already done. Upgrading all American roads though will be quite an investment, seeing how road maintenance in general does not seem very high a priority.

[@hendrikbijloo]

I think the cost increase is in maintenance. Snowplowing etc. Don’t get me wrong, I’m very for cycle/foot paths, but it’s realistic to expert a pricetag.

[@joannajaworska0000]

​@@hendrikbijlooAs I just commented, to build my house in Germany I was obliged to built a pavement on front of my home on my ground. I have to maintain it as well, for instance in winter buy shovelling the snow. But I do it not only for me, but for the community, so that our kids can safely walk, bike etc. This doesn't cost a fortune and other neighbours participate in building and keeping our pavements in good condition the same way as we cut grass, plant flowers/trees in our front gardens.

[@ZeroGravitas187]

A road you can just build once you have the funding (which is also a problem TLDR), and for a long distance there might only be one farmer land-owner to buy the land from for several miles. Building a sidewalk requires legal proceedings with every single homeowner on every single lot along the route, because they own the land. Building a sidewalk along a city block would require 6x eminent domain filings. Building a sidewalk along a mile long path of R1 homes, would require somewhere somewhere around 60-100x individual eminent domain lawsuits...something that is political suicide for the town engineer. Which is why it isn't retrofitted into older neighborhoods.

[@maxkopfraum]

@@ZeroGravitas187 Could always make the road a little narrower and build the sidewalk/multi-use path outside of properties... no?

[@ZeroGravitas187]

@@maxkopfraum Maybe. Road width is generally limited in how narrow it can be by the 40-50ft long fire trucks with 100ft ladders and 1000gallons of water that are common in the USA....that are "needed" to service 1-story suburban houses. NotJustBikes did a video about America's massively large and stupid fire trucks.

[@LS-Moto]

German here, who spend his teen years in Canada. So I went to high school over there. I was used to walking all over my hometown in Germany, take public transportation aso. Once we moved to Toronto, I went to high school. I did notice that walking is tougher and not particular pleasant, but I never ever asked my parents to take me anywhere. As a 14+ year old eurokid, that thought never ever crossed my mind and quite frankly, my parents wouldn't do that anyways, as that would be me asking them to spoil me. So I walked to and from school. Had only to cross one stroad luckily, but otherwise I only walked through suburbs. Ironically, I was just as fast as the people taking the bus. The suburbs didn't have sidewalks at all, so I quickly developed the Strategy of always walking into oncoming traffic, which saved my life multiple times. Unfortunately, clearing snow and ice had only priority for car traffic, and sharing the road even closer to cars, was incredibly dangerous and I avoided many close calls. I did get my license in Canada, but obviously didn't have my own car. Over time, I started to engage less and less with the outside unless I had to, and instead resorted to video games and actually feeling more and more homesick for Germany. 5 and a half years later, we did move back and I'm glad do be here again. Fun fact, I also instantly quit playing video games.

[@Conclusius68]

This must be the most courageous video you have ever made.

[@mummamarsh1180]

Hello Ashton, thank you for your video. That is so surprising to see the lack of safe avenues for young people to travel in your neighbourhood. They could convert the wide nature strips into safe walking and riding areas. Omg that intersection and railway crossing is insane. 😱😱

[@davidringmann3395]

What you have shown is almost unheard of here in Germany. In my first four years of school I almost allways walked to school. Given my mother usually walked with me and my sister, but that is her way to work too. Afterwards I as a ten year old went to school all alone using public transport, even having classmates who had longer journeys using public transport and now I go to work using public transport and easily could go by bike if I wanted to. Things like these are what make children more independant from an earlier age on and easily more happy, as they can go to their friend or the closest playground without making their parents fear for their lives. Unheard of in the "Land of the Free", including parents being punished because they allowed their children to be outside without supervision.

[@michaelmedlinger6399]

Your home town looks so much like mine (especially the condition of the streets!). When I was growing up, the population was a little less than 5k (it has now exploded to 6k!). When I was in elementary school, I walked or biked to school and other places. That changed in junior high because the school was several miles away and I took a school bus. We lived on the edge of town for several years, and the kids walked and biked into the „wilderness“ around us; it was actually where we played most of the time. We just told our parents, „We‘re going into the hills.“ „OK.“ We also roller skated on the streets; there were certainly no sidewalks in that development. One thing that would almost certainly not happen anymore even in the small town: Whenever I was walking to school or home, people would often stop and offer me a ride. I often had no idea who that person was! They would tell me on the way how they had known my grandparents and parents for years and they knew who I was, but I was clueless. Can you imagine that in today‘s world? My mother began teaching at the high school my freshman year, so I would go to school with her. She had to stay at school for a while after the students left, but I don‘t remember how I would get home. Probably some of my older friends would take me. At that time, you could get your driving license at 14, so by the time I was a sophomore, virtually all of my friends and I had our licenses, and many of them had cars as well. No more biking or walking for us! I don‘t remember about the sidewalks. I think some parts of the town had them, others did not.

[@marcelmoulin3335]

After watching your video, I count my lucky stars that I live in walkable, cyclable Middelburg, the Netherlands. By the way, albeit a Dutchman, I grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area in the '60s and '70s; hence, I understand all too well your frustration.

[@EvaCornelia]

I LOVE Middelburg. Greetings!

[@marcelmoulin3335]

@@EvaCornelia I, too!

[@mortuos557]

this might be the first time a sponsorship was actually useful. i got add and the scatterbrain proved unemployable in my actual job (chemical lab tech). if one oops can burn millions you can be as competent as you want, you're too high a risk. so I've been toying with the idea of getting into programming. worse case computer says huh? 😂

[@Bozebo]

Yep programming is very resiliant against small mistakes, you will make them and catch yourself making them and plan around them and stamping them out as a rule anyway. And while doing that you notice how mistakes happen and can be resiliant against other people making them (e.g. in 3rd party APIs you have to use). A big aspect really is "let's find all the possible mistakes with this thing either that we could make now or that are common in the real world case it's representing, and ensure it will always work with them". Often you also have to confirm and plan properly in writing and notice why it helps even if you normally wouldn't need to for things, so it's less of a chore and keeps you on track.

[@Garagantua]

That depends. "Ooops" in a test environment for a new piece of software for a small company? Not a big thing. "Oooops" when configuring production environment of your cities electrical grid? Bad day for everyone. "Oooops" when designing software for an aircraft that isn't caught in test? _Very_ bad day for a few hundred people :D

[@mortuos557]

@@Garagantua missing a step ind the lab can end me and my colleagues, missing something in IT is should usually just mean that i waste some time looking for the error i made cause the progam doesn't run, right?

[@Garagantua]

@@mortuos557 Not if that program is used to safely run lab equipment :D (All jokes aside, yeah it's ofc less likely to cause bodily injury! Source: professional programmer for a decade now..)

[@frankhoffman9329]

It seems that as a society we have decided that walking only happens on designated scenic paths.

[@Gazer75]

No sidewalks or bike paths on my way to school in Norway, yet I never felt unsafe. Had roughly 2.5 km to bike to school from the age of 12/13 to get to the upper middle school (year 7-9) in town. The first 6 years was at my local school only 5-10 minutes away.

[@MbisonBalrog]

I grew up suburbs outside NYC. We used play sports on the streets like hockey. If a car coming we just stop let them pass. Basketball also pretty popular street game. We also be riding our bikes and generally hang out on the street

[@SW-gf6zl]

As a German 🇩🇪 , I agree 100% with everything you said, Ashton. My younger sister and I used to walk to Kindergarten when I was 4 and she was 3 years old - alone. Of course our parents had shown us the way and where to cross the street before. From 5th grade on I rode my bicycle to high-school ("Gymnasium" in German) 2,3 km through the city, crossing multiple busy streets each way. The only very few times when I crashed were when the bicycle slipped on wet leaves or ice, and nothing really bad happened except for a few bruises or scratches. And I definitely was _not_ a slow cyclist (still am not 😁)

[@joannajaworska0000]

In Dortmund to get a permission to build our house, we were ordered to build a 1,5m wide pavement situated about 3 m from our housedoor. It is our ground, still we are obliged to keep it clean and save for the pedestrians (e.g. shovel the snow in winter). In villages and suburbs where the new developments are situated, people fight for the pavements so that the kids could bike/walk to school or to a bus stop.

[@nguyenvinhd]

You technically could walk on the grass as most of the roads have public right of way. You can see where the ROW starts typically where the power poles and utility are.

[@cdg-hzg]

Like you said, Sherman could be anywhere in the U.S. Being so adapted to German culture I often go for a walk at some point in the day. Even when visiting family in the U.S. In my hometown of Statesboro, GA there are few sidewalks and even fewer pedestrian cross walks. There is one very nice bike / hike path that runs about seven miles from near the city center to a point really out in the country. But, it runs by zero schools. In Aachen, where I now live the bike infrastructure is very well developed. There are sidewalks everywhere, and very frequent pedestrian cross walks. Our daughters were raised here and had quite a bit of autonomy. Much better for kids. Oh. And, I'm surprised no one stopped to ask you if you wanted a ride. That happens to me all the time on my walks in the States. When I tell them that I'm just out on a walk they look puzzled. Like, "What?!? A walk? Who does that?"

[@conniebruckner8190]

That happened to us some 30 years ago when we were visiting my mom in So. California, near Escondido. At one point a police car pulled up and told us we might be arrested for vagrancy/ loitering and called my husband a (curse word+) European. We were told they would drive us back and if we wanted to go for a walk, to do this in the mall!

[@cdg-hzg]

@@conniebruckner8190 That‘s crazy. Part of the reason I still live in Germany is to have a professional, well educated, well trained police force. Not a police force riddled with wannabe Rambo’s.

[@axeman3d]

I first visited the US in 1993 and when I travelled down from Chicago to Florida it really hit me that I would need to hire a car. No public transport to speak of, and just to get from my motel to the ihop a few hundred yards away was terrible. I had never been anywhere that had no pavement for pedestrians anywhere at all. It blew my mind.

[@kidShibuya]

They are trying hard to make Japan like your old neighborhood also unfortunately. Local governments are buying up entire tracks of suburbs, demolishing them and building roads with no sidewalks or bicycle lanes. I have no idea why. I don't want to live in Europe but cities designed for people and not cars are becoming more and more rare.

[@sistermadrigalmorning233]

I am really thankful for my little city in Western PA. I live in a walkable neighborhood with a playground, supermarket, pharmacy, banks, and doctor's offices in walking distance.

[@Bobrogers99]

I grew up in a Boston neighborhood that was mostly built in the early 1900s. There were sidewalks on all streets. I walked to my elementary school (10 - 15 minutes) and to my junior high (25 - 30 minutes) and took public transportation to high school (8 - 10 minutes walk to the stop). Back then, there were no school buses in the City of Boston! We were the last house on a narrow dead-end street, so that's where we played. My parents never drove me to any friend's house - I walked or rode my bike. I feel sorry for any kid (and their parents) who has to depend on being driven everywhere.

[@57thorns]

Yes, the areas built before Henry Ford are much better, unless they have been either bulldozed or redesigned to accomodate cars.

[@Bonserak23]

I used to live in the older part of my city and you literally didn't need a car for anything, basically everything was in a few blocks. Imagine LoL

[@Surreal452]

Old walkable neighborhoods are the best. I could never live in a soulless cul-de-sac

[@robertgraybeard3750]

at 14:53 you passed a bicycle rack, empty on a Saturday morning.

[@peregreena9046]

Part of the planning process for new neighbourhoods in Germany, is to create safe "Schulwege" for children. This might include the creation and/or extension of sidewalks and bicycle paths, as well as re-routing busses. This results in a network of child friendly paths through the underlying road network. While they are primarily meant to take children to and from school, they also provide a (fairly) safe environment for the same children to get around the neighbourhood. (nothing is perfect) Obviously, this is not the case in the USA.

[@RobertZander-yz3bg]

Very interesting Video, nice to see the places where you grew up. The streets that I saw in your video looked quite wide, some of them looked like they needed to be renovated and as part of this there would be the possibility of building a separate sidewalk. In the USA too, it might not be a bad idea to think more space-efficiently in the future. Yes, the country is big and offers a lot of space, but it can be used more sensibly, including in terms of living space. Dead asphalt with parking spaces for cars means an enormous amount of sealing of the ground and that is now a problem in many countries. Because in the USA too, cars simply stand still most of the time, in front of the house, in front of the workplace, in the shopping center or the grocery store and of course not to forget in traffic jams.

[@57thorns]

Unfortunately I see the same trends here in Sweden, after a school reform where parents are allowed to chose their primary public school instead of being assigned the closest one, the average distance from home to school has increased to the point where roads arouind some schools have been redesigned as large "roundabouts" of one way streets to handle the huge amount of cars, making it unsafe also for the kids that live within easy walking distance. Private schools with public funding also exist, so there was choice there already. It was a well-meaning reform, but it did have some bad side effects. Tradionally kindergarten was placed in the center of a residential area, so the kids could be walked there before the parents walked either to their car or the bus to get to work, now what used to be walking/cycling paths are turned into (admittedly low speed, but still) roads to allow parents living elsewhere to drop off their kids. This at the same time several cities that do this also set up "programs to become better places for bikes and pedestrians".

[@123abc-wy6fe]

I suspect parents are driving away from Malmo schools then and towards Indigenous schools. 😂

[@AnotherDuck]

The preschools I work at (southern Stockholm) have most parents pick up their kids by foot. A school (and nearby preschool) I pass on the way to work tend to have a lot of cars nearby, but I still see a lot of people walking or cycling.

[@gwallmeyertonneks1042]

That is very interesting. I grew up in a town of 50.000 inhabitants in the middle of Germany and from my first class in ground school (6 years old) I always walked alone to the school at any weather, which was 1,4 km from a typical neighborhood area right into the city of the town. But yes, every street had always and everywhere a pedestrian path beside the street on both sides of the street. I always thought it is like that everywhere.

[@vast001]

What I noticed while watching your video is that at the pieces when there was a sidewalk it was only a big slap wide (I think roughly 1 meters?) while there is enough space to make it wider. In the Netherlands the rule (no law) for the past 30-40 years is the minimum width of a sidewalk is 1.80 meters with an obstacle-free passage width of 1.50 meters. This obstacle-free space is the minimum required to open up the street for all users, including disabled people. In busy shopping streets, the minimum size is 2.50 meters.

[@atropabelladonna]

This is nuts. I am European and we used to walk to school every day from the get go. The walk was around 10 minutes but when coming back we would take sometimes a few hours - we would go window shopping in the nearby small shops, buy some fresh goods in a bakery, feed some water fowl in a pond, or just hang around on a street corner and talk before we decided to part. Nobody drove us and frankly I don't know how my parents would have managed it if they had to.

[@berndb3141]

Walkable neighborhoods improve the quality of live a lot. I'm thankful to live in one

[@Surreal452]

Same, here in the US!

[@SwissPGO]

Happy you survived the walk. Here in switzerland, on the country side kids are usually put in busses or on trains to get to their school. Although not as bad as the as the US, switzerland could do still a lot in making footpaths or bike safe links between villages and secondary schools. I grew up in Belgium, and cycled to school (3 km) and back twice a day. Rain, snow ... no exception. I think it makes you more independent and responsible at a younger age.

[@arnodobler1096]

Just lawns, no flowers, vegetables or herbs, so no real gardens anywhere!😢

[@danielbishop1863]

In the US, some people have gardens in their *back* yards, but *front* yards tend to be pretty useless. I don't know why we even have them.

[@wohlhabendermanager]

Probably the HOA in that area doesn't allow anything but grass in the front yards.

[@SonjaHamburg]

Thank you❤ interesting to see where you grew up! American neighbourhoods are so spacious - so much potential to add bike lanes and everything😊

[@arnodobler1096]

On the way to 100,000 subscribers👍 Happy Sunday TBFF

[@TypeAshton]

Thanks Arno! Happy Sunday to you!

[@TheRealE.B.]

It's hilarious when you read American engineering texts, and their solution to speeding in residential areas is to make the street a dead end to avoid thru-traffic. That way, you're unlikely to be murdered by anyone except your neighbors and their guests. And their Amazon drivers. And their Instacart drivers. Pay no attention to the fact that the street has the geometry of a drag racing track!

[@andreehobrak1425]

Good Morning. When my kids where growing up I picked them opp maybe 2 times. that was because of the weather. Thank you Norway

[@Gazer75]

Heh, US schools would be closed half the time in winter if they had the conditions we have here in Norway.

[@duschkonig2561]

Funny, just on Monday the city council in my small rural German town of 20.000 passed a 100 page concept on how to close the gaps in our bicycle network over the next 6 years. What a difference! Even more striking, though, I found the complete lag of any green other than a few trees and mowed lawns. The town looks like an ecological desert even though it has a lot of wide open green spaces …

[@martinhuhn7813]

It is weird to see that. In the dense neighbourhoods in germany, it is often extremely challenging to improve bike and pedestrian infrastructure, because there is simply a lack of space - even more so, because street parking is often the only option). But in the neighbourhood in the video, there is sooooo much space to work with. You could easily paint on a bike lane with safety separation, add flexible protective posts (the kind, fire services can just drive over in emergencies) and have a good local biking infrastructure. Reduce the speeds from 30miles/h to 30km/h or 40km/h if residents would hate the lower limit too much, reduce it to play street levels in cul de sacs. Also: Plant bushes and trees which separate the existing sidewalks from the street and the (currently not existing) bike path. That will be even safer, it would look much, much better (and give the home owners a much more comfortable property) and it would be less of an ecological crime then those lawns which have to touch the roads. Andrew road weirdly is more narrow then some of the neighbourhood streets and it would be more difficult to add a sidewalk onto the existing street. But it is necessary. As far as I can see, the most reasonable option would be, that the responsible authorities just buy a little stripe of land from the homeowners - who built their fences far away from the road anyways to be farther away from traffic. There would be plenty of space for a pedestrian path and likely even an additional and separat bike path. If that is not an option, the road is still wide enough to reduce it by half a lane and add the non motorvehicle paths there, apparently there is not much traffic there anyways, so the cars could easily deal with that. Of cause it is a no brainer, that there MUST be pedestrian crosswalks. But for a common way to school for a neighbourhood, that is not necessarily enough. My way to primary school had signaled crosswalks, but that was not good enough for kids to pass a busy street. Therefore there was (and still is) a pedestrian bridge at a key location. And where there are no bridges? For very many german schools there are "Schülerlotsen": Elder volunteering kids with warning vests are placed at pedestrian crossings close to schools to help the younger ones cross more safely - especially at the beginning of the year. Another options: Speed limit plus speedbumps+narrower road with additional curves where the at grade crossings are. Thats what you see in most of rural Sweden and it works like a charm. And when school is about to start after a holliday, there are big banners over the streets close to primary schools, warning drivers that new pupils joined traffic! At the railroad crossing, adding a sidewalk + labled waiting areas for bikes would be an easy task, there is enough space. It is really hard to see, why most of those improvements are not made, because they are so easy to implement under those conditons. For the most part, they would be also dirt cheap or even safe money. And other then in Germany, where bike infrastrucuture can hardly ever be improved without making serious compromises (due to the lack of space on the roads), in neighbourhoods like the one in the video it would not even have to come with disadvantages for car drivers.

[@kupferdrachevideosfurdich8733]

For me it looks like the underlying issue is the trespass statues in the US. In Germany you are required by law to endure passing by people (not in vehicles) on your private ground, as long as these persons don't damage anything you would have to notice them and give them time to leave, but unwanted person can still be excluded. Compared to the strict liability approach on trespass favoured in the US. Also in Germany usually the municipally is in charge of the road and the (occasional optional) sidewalk, while in the US sidewalks seem to be delegated to the individual landowner that has less incentive to look out for others on their ground.

[@derekinstuttgart3810]

Ashton... I have lived in Stuttgart for over 35 yrs.... I have lived in Springfield, Buffalo, Jacksonville, and a few other small towns near Sherman....small world indeed. Priorities in the USA are just different 😊....