What Happens When You Build for Speed, Not Walkability: Stroad Bingo, Boulder Highway Edition

This week your intrepid host sets out for Boulder Highway, a legacy state highway that runs through the southeast part of the greater Las Vegas area and has slowly taken on urban street functions over time. In other words...a stroad. Today's stroad study is a bit different, though: I've created bingo card with all the common features you'll find on an American stroad, and we're going to document and check off 25 features on our way to blacking out our card.
(Interestingly, this video ends up being a good companion piece to the Vox video that came out the same week, "America's deadliest road, explained" -- although I think Vox has somewhat of a higher graphics budget!)
Along the way, we'll look at the history of the highway, built in 1931 to connect through Henderson and Boulder City and provide access to the Hoover Dam construction site; overall conditions on Boulder Highway today, which are grim; recent improvements like the BHX transit service and enhanced stations; and recently adopted future plans for the road, which include center running dedicated transit lanes and two-way cycle tracks.
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Twitter: @nerd4cities
Instagram: @nerd4cities
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Other CityNerd Videos referenced:
- The Stroad Ecosystem: Charleston Boulevard • The Stroad: A Case Stu...
- Stroad vs. Stroad Intersection: St. Rose/Eastern • Stroad vs. Stroad: Lan...
- To Improve a Stroad: Aurora Avenue, North Seattle • To Improve a STROAD: H...
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Resources:
- Regional Transportation Commission Reimagine Boulder Highway website: www.rtcsnv.com/boulderhighway/
- Final Reimagine Boulder Highway plan: www.rtcsnv.com/boulderhighway...
- Floyd Mayweather's Skate Rock City: www.skaterockcity.com/
- www.reviewjournal.com/busines...
- www.fox5vegas.com/2022/05/30/...
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Image Credits:
- Historic Boulder Highway archival photos: special.library.unlv.edu/ark%...
special.library.unlv.edu/ark%...
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Music:
CityNerd background: Caipirinha in Hawaii by Carmen María and Edu Espinal (KZbin music library)
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Contact: [e-mail]

[@hilaryweiner893]

Thank you for highlighting the plight of disabled and older people trying to navigate areas like this stroad without a car. Planners need to recognize that people who take the bus are going to have to safely cross a street at least once. Give us a bit of dignity by making it possible for someone to walk all the way across without risking our lives.

[@CityNerd]

Yeah, I probably should've highlighted even more the fact that, as much as the region invested in upgrading bus service, riders have to cross this street at least once if they're doing a round trip. These streets that are so wide you need two cycles to cross as a pedestrian (with a very uncomfortable wait in the median). What do you think happens when you're waiting in the median and you see your bus coming? Strong urge to dash for it, maybe not advisable.

[@MarioFanGamer659]

They should hop into a car, they're basically specifically made for them. /s

[@JoshKablack]

Around here any time we try to take cars off a street for bikes or peds, boomers like to claim that the disabled and elderly *need* those lanes to drive in. It's infuriating.

[@justynawisniewska1213]

@@MarioFanGamer659 Are you for real?

[@MarioFanGamer659]

@@justynawisniewska1213 I was mocking the opinion that cars are "necessary" because of the elder and disabled despite proof otherwise, that's why I have added a "/s" at the end of the comment.

[@bertusvanheerden]

Here in South Africa, we also have stroads. One big difference between here and the US is that only 30% of households even have a car. So it looks pretty much exactly like this except with lots more pedestrians. Naturally, we have heartbreaking numbers of pedestrian fatalities. And yet this is usually blamed on the pedestrians themselves for not looking out for cars or being drunk or whatever. Even our newly built infrastructure only has the bare minimum of pedestrian safety pretty much.

[@Cyrus992]

Eye opening

[@96ethanh]

It's really sad that the US is seen by many countries as a "leader" or "role model"

[@AmyEugene]

Video idea: MISs = Most Improved Stroads. What improvements or redesigns have had a dramatic impact on reducing traffic fatalities, increased access for public transportation and reduced congestion? It doesn't have to be a ranked list, but I think it would give us some ideas of what to encourage our local government and city planners to do. I'd also like to point out that you've done 4 Google Maps views showing neighborhoods where I've lived; Portland (Bybee), Kent, Eugene and Oxnard. If you do one more, I'll consider it a win for my own personal bingo. 🌎

[@a2dsouza]

Love this idea. Seconded!

[@yay-cat]

Nice idea!

[@Jacksparrow4986]

Add upvotes here!

[@bobsled3000]

Yes this sounds great

[@thisisbecker]

+

[@danmarsh5949]

It's weird to see my own neighborhood in a video like this. As a frequent Boulder Highway pedestrian, I agree with nearly every downside you've talked about. You mention marginalized people living here -- I guess I'm one of them. I see police giving them (us) jaywalking tickets on Boulder Highway, which seems like blaming the victims for inadequate pedestrian infrastructure. The police would tell you, they're just trying to save lives, there are a lot of pedestrian accidents here, but it's not the pedestrians' fault that the road is badly designed.

[@scruf153]

cars kill more people than guns do cars kill 34,000 people every year but that is ok with them

[@AvalancheCleo]

Thank you again. I keep chuckling at the dry humor. That said, you are 100% right about marginalized communities and I wish more traffic engineers would recognize this.

[@jtsholtod.79]

100% this. Especially in environments that aren't quite as harsh on infrastructure and can be maintained more easily (because building is one thing, maintaining is another which often gets forgotten or omitted from the plan).

[@Heatherder]

Given that “marginalized communities” are the main obstacle to usable and safe public transit, i really dont feel bad about it. Maybe we gotta start having realistic perceptions of people before we can have realistic solutions.

[@guy-sl3kr]

@@Heatherder Poor people are to blame for the infrastructure that they didn't design and don't have the power to change? 🤨

[@peskypigeonx]

@@Heatherder The famous NIMBY’s that oppose transit are mostly rich people, not the marginalized. Do you even know what marginalized means?

[@carstarsarstenstesenn]

@@Heatherder you're the one with an unrealistic perception of marginalized communities. What makes you think communities that get the shit end of the stick and suffer the most during economic recessions and crises are somehow the "main obstacle" to better public transit? I'm genuinely curious about those mental gymnastics

[@lstump4482]

I love the guy with the ‘injured while searching for dead bodies in Lake mead?’ Billboard

[@augustvonmackensen3902]

2:10 minimum parking requirements are perhaps the worst of all common urban policies. At least zoning and urban freeway building policies are fairly open about the fact that they massively influence the wider urban environment, MPRs have similar affects but do it more subtly so many people don’t notice.

[@yzdatabase4175]

try living in a city without - it's nightmarish

[@augustvonmackensen3902]

@@yzdatabase4175 The majority of cities outside of the USA and Canada do not have MRPs. They do fine. Here in the UK some cities have even starting charging businesses for every parking space they do have, as they know parking generates car traffic. And that’s in the UK which is a more car centric country than others.

[@enjoyslearningandtravel7957]

I agree!! There’s many shops and malls that have 25 to 50% more parking than they need.

[@enjoyslearningandtravel7957]

Just a waste of space and all the empty asphalt makes for a very ugly atmosphere and contributes to more blocks of heat in the city or even the outer suburbs.

[@josephfisher426]

I think it's like any other element of the commons---the rules arise because there is an existing resource that is abused. You can build things without parking, but then they need to be in an environment of either no parking or consistently controlled parking. It's often going to be an objective problem to build new multiunit residential without parking in an area that has an established pattern of street parking. It disadvantages the prior economic decisions of people already there.

[@davidbarts6144]

The BHX runs more frequently than once per half hour. That’s actually quite the accomplishment given the urban fabric (or lack thereof) it serves.

[@GaigeGrosskreutzGunClub]

tfw Las Vegas has better transit than the smallest and second most dense state in the union

[@Arkiasis]

Buses every 15 minutes is honestly pretty decent for North America. Hell, the suburbs of Toronto installed fancy looking BRT on some stroads and they only have half hour headways. York Regional Transit is a joke.

[@GenericUrbanism]

@@GaigeGrosskreutzGunClub Rhode Island. It should have better transit.

[@CityNerd]

"Better than once every 30 minutes" is a working definition of frequent service in many US cities

[@bootmii98]

@@CityNerd SamTrans fails at this, they only run buses once an hour for a fairly short part of the day. (they don't run any buses at all for like 12 hours at night)

[@jasonschubert6828]

How is a convenience store possibly convenient if you have to get in a car to get there! 😋 I loved the convenies in Japan because they were actually convenient, and had _much_ better variety of goods than I have seen anywhere else in the world. And even the ones with car parking still had 95% of customers arriving on foot.

[@AssBlasster]

It's a lot quicker to check out there than at a supermarket. Most convenience stores have a mini-canned food section but it's mostly garbage options. That's about the extent of convenience for a stroad gas station.

[@unreliablenarrator6649]

"Convenience Store" is a concept/business model, not an actual convenient thing.

[@nullifye7816]

There you can also do fun stuff at konbinis, like buy aeroplane tickets, pay your bills... probably settle matters of honour and such as well, lots of amenities

[@aygwm]

Japan is literally built different.

[@jasonreed7522]

Its "convient" assuming you were already in a car. Basically you already stopped for gas, and in the past entered the building to pay for it, so why not thow in some junk food, coffee, and beer for the convience of the gas buying customers. An actually convenient store is one in the building you are already in, my university had an overpriced convience store in the basement of the student center, it was actually convenient but it closed when ee voted out Aramark as the food service provider because the quality sucked.

[@andrewgeary9749]

I really liked the introduction of people in "short term" living situations in motels on the stroads. it's a rising reality in america that families live in motel rooms (whole family in a room with 1 or 2 beds, kitchenette, and that's all.) If you could delve deeper into this from your perspective on urban design I think that would be great because like you point out, unlike most people who use the stroad and go to the suburbs, those people live in that environment.

[@charleskwiatkowski8380]

To answer your question about Orlando, yes some residents actually do buy an annual pass and visit the Magic Kingdom regularly. I’ve been advised to get one as it pays for itself in just a few visits and comes with preferred parking.

[@CityNerd]

I mean I probably would but I just thought I was weird

[@Maldunn]

I live in SoCal and Disneyland is really big with locals here, there are people who go multiple times per month

[@ruslbicycle6006]

Maybe the locals go to a place that is carfree. The tourists go to a place to is carfree. Inside the casinos in LV is also carfree. Maybe we need #carFreeCitiesNow and not have to drive to get there.

[@mindstalk]

@@CityNerd I imagine a lot of New Orleans people do eat gumbo a lot. I probably would. It's food, not "a tourist thing".

[@postmodernrecycler]

My mother-in-law lived on Boulder Hwy in a trailer home park. I'd pick her up and we'd have dinner at one of the casinos down the way, including that which has the animatronics in the atrium. I'd go back to my hotel room at The Cosmo afterward and cry myself to sleep.

[@gumbyshrimp2606]

Our house in the middle of our stroad

[@augustvonmackensen3902]

I love how almost all cities seem to have a most hated piece of road infrastructure. Here in Bristol I reckon it’s the Eastville roundabout which was actually voted the worst roundabout in Bristol in a newspaper poll a few years ago. And trust me that’s a strong field. Not to dis roundabouts though. They’re mostly far better the any alternative, it’s just some are still objectively awful for everyone. They’re probably symptoms of excessive car usage in a city generally.

[@hotbeefo]

I used to cycle over the "University roundabout" in Sheffield every day, grim stuff. I presume its similar. I now live in Leeds and the Armley gyratory is infamous.

[@augustvonmackensen3902]

@@hotbeefo doesn’t Leeds have a whole load of absolutely gigantic “loopy” roundabouts? Ones that are so big people sometimes “forget” that they’re on a roundabout. I’ve driven there once but I know people who live there.

[@JesterRBLR]

I remeber that roundabout from when I lived there many years ago, I was filtering through the trafic on my motor bike on the aproach and some knob in a 4x4 tried to block me. I squeeed past and he leant out of his window to give me a gob full and drove straight into the car in front of him, I stopped laughed at him and then just rode off. Ah that was a good day. (Btw, for those who don't know filtering on a motorcyle is leagle in the UK).

[@CityNerd]

Gonna have to do something on roundabouts at some point

[@falsemcnuggethope]

That's actually a traffic circle, not a roundabout. No one likes traffic circles. It's maybe not always easy to distinguish the two, but roundabouts don't have traffic lights and they are usually smaller. Traffic in a roundabout always has right of way, hence no need for traffic lights.

[@paillette2010]

As a westerner this is so common in most cities. You could have added a row of vacant lots with some mystery sign leftover, industrial warehouse properties either storing materials (like steel dealers) or transport (like trucking companies), dirt lots with chain link around them or some guy selling trump moribundia (we can hope), and my fave lots with either homeless encampments or a massive commercial for sale sign. Oh and the last one: older houses converted into small businesses like denture makers, astrologists, etc. All of these smack dab in front of little neighborhoods that have their yards abutting these businesses. Vegas is more of a “new build cul-de-sac” land, but in Spokane and Seatown the old streets pour out into busy stroads and the poor little neighborhoods look tired and barely worth the effort to keep them up. Man, vegas just has that extra layer of depressing.

[@mindstalk]

Moribundia! Moribund memorabilia? What a word!

[@SoyElta]

In 2014 when I worked for a security company we consulted with Walmart. That Walmart on Boulder HWY was the most stolen from in America. The meth problem in the area is unreal.

[@sexygeek8996]

When that store was being built, I was surprised that Walmart would even open a store there. There are neighborhoods that even Walmart avoids.

[@trainluvr]

I would like to see an analysis and discussion of disrespectful driving habits. People who think nothing of holding a door open for ten seconds for an able bodied stranger will encroach way into crosswalks, exceed the speed limit while approaching red lights, honk and harass the car ahead who's only crime is making a proper turn onto a side street. It is especially offensive when such behaviors are done by mature people who should know better. Its not just bad street design, there are some very deep cultural flaws at play here.

[@garyholt8315]

do drivers actually throw bottles at people waiting for the bus, I live in Canada and can't even imagine that !!!!

[@CityNerd]

Interesting

[@schmoab]

What about people who don't know where the right side of their car is and drive in the bike lane.

[@POINTS2]

Obstructions are a huge problem on stroads. Bonus points if you get a double obstruction like a street light and a utility box in the same square making it difficult or impossible to get through on a bike. Spot on with the amount of car culture shops. It seems crazy that we have these long stroads with gas stations, auto parts stores, auto repair shops, and car dealers. Makes you wonder what we could have there instead!

[@enjoyslearningandtravel7957]

Also having obstructions on the sidewalks is hard for wheelchairs and other people to get around.

[@annestrauss161]

Topic suggestions: 1 An entire episode on the vocabulary of street design. Pork chops, street furniture, cross section, etc. It makes it easier to communicate and even to think about things if we have the language. I'm generally able to keep up, but you might be surprised at how many terms are unfamiliar to people with a different background. 2.. How has city design changed in the last few decades, what caused the changes, and what are the effects? Or in other words, what new stuff do you see, and is it good?

[@garyholt8315]

I had never heard of stroads before. my city as tons 😭👎

[@mindstalk]

@@garyholt8315 'stroad' is a pretty new term, coined in 2011 by Charles Marohn.

[@HrHaakon]

My city has no stroads. But we do have a highway going through a tunnel in the middle of the city, which has so much traffic it's no longer a highway. It's sad.

[@barbaramartinez9290]

@@HrHaakon Seattle?

[@spagoot6999]

One thing you forgot was the sheer lack of any greenery, especially trees.

[@kolmogorovaxiom1493]

That is mainly just the desert though

[@tinfoilslacks3750]

Me watching the city plant trees along the stroad every 2 years because they install but don't upkeep or maintain them and they die in 15 months

[@Metaflossy]

this looks like a dream compared to where i live. there just arent sidewalks or crossings at all on most stroads here in montgomery, al. you arent supposed to walk, and i imagine people look at me like a criminal when i do.

[@jwlarocque]

I think that drive-through bank actually has _five_ lanes - two ATMs, two pneumatic tube thingys, and a window with a real human.

[@elizabethdavis1696]

Please make a top ten list of stroads that would be good to convert to a light rail line!

[@beastbike4570]

Yes please

[@clamato54]

Lewes ferry in Delaware down Rt 1 through Rehoboth, Dewey, Bethany Beaches, all the way to Ocean City, MD

[@Sporcle1]

I nominate Guadalupe St. in Austin, Texas!

[@wsmith521]

Detroit has many

[@Marlin2231]

Light rail on most Stroads would be a monumental waste of money and resources. No way ridership would ever be enough to support. Look at the all the money and energy sunk into high speed rail in California. All that cement, steel, and fuel burned by construction equipment for nothing since it will never go online. What a complete waste of resources.

[@terag4546]

If you want another grim video idea, how about taking a look at how old rail corridors have been repurposed over the years? I'm from Ohio and I've noticed how Columbus used to be a relatively large rail hub yet has diminished to car centric infrastructure. Notably how the I-670 highway was repurposed from rail right-of-ways and the old union station was demolished for the Convention Center

[@enjoyslearningandtravel7957]

Also, Cincinnati Ohio has a big beautiful Main train station from maybe early 1900s, but the only Amtraks arrives very early in the morning so most people couldn’t take that unless someone dropped them off and waited with them to be sure they’re safe and that person I’m not sure if there’s even a public transport way to get there such as with a bus

[@katiem.3109]

On the flipside, there's the Midtown Greenway in Minneapolis, in which the old rail line was repurposed as a bike path (more like a bike highway, actually). About 5,000 cyclists use it every day, on average.

[@traviskitteh]

@@katiem.3109 And while greenways are beneficial to the local communities, they never really address the problem of car infrastructure as the primary, and often only, means of serious transit between two areas. A Greenway being constructed on top of an old rail line means that a train can never be run there again. :/

[@lizcademy4809]

More bingo card spaces ... and yes, I know we only get 25. - drive through coffee chains - people standing on street corners, looking for work. I'm thinking of immigrant day laborers without green cards, but there are also those who get hired by the hour for less savory work. - public schools.I'm always surprised at how many public schools are on stroads. Any others?

[@eritain]

Sign twirlers.

[@bonemar66]

Stop light panhandlers?

[@drewcox2103]

Car washes, express drive-thrus and gas station hand washes in particular. It might have been mentioned, but stray shopping carts laying on sidewalks or in ditches. Big box fitness centers and yoga studios. (Moronic for the latter that promotes peace & calm when placed on a very loud stroad.) Churches. Goodwill and Salvation Army centers and drop boxes scattered here and there. Oh and a seemingly endless line of stoplights, and god forbid if even one light is out of sync (or even a traffic accident...)

[@zionklinger2264]

Lived in the triangle formed by boulder hwy and Nellis for about 10 years when i was a kid. Walking anywhere was absolutely forbidden due to the number of cars and the width of the roads. Made me the anti-stroad zealot I am today though!

[@mindstalk]

"I love cars for the freedom they provide."

[@cms8989]

Those 4-way-drivethrough lanes will indeed haunt my dreams, thank you very much! "Monstrosity" can't even begin to describe some of the infrastructure in this video.

[@PanhandleHopper]

We have an attorney billboard in Tallahassee that advertises their specialization in "apartment shootings." Great stuff!

[@james-p]

Oh, man, that's crazy! My favorite is the attorney billboard that reads, "Just Because You Did It... Doesn't Mean You're Guilty!" I'd hire that guy lol.

[@PanhandleHopper]

@@james-p Hahaha, if I was a prosecutor against him I would be submitting a picture of that billboard into evidence.

[@EvocativeKitsune]

I absolutely love your dry delivery and humour. Thanks for another great video. Your editing and research is always top-notch.

[@ptgnyc9310]

I read today that France is requiring all parking lots with more than 40 spaces to be covered in solar panels within 5 years. I'd love to see the numbers on how much power you could generate with a similar policy in the US. Imagine stroads as our climate salvation.

[@peskypigeonx]

I’m not sure if it was him or another KZbinr, but they said that putting solar panels on excessive parking is green-washing the effects of cars.

[@gabriell.4440]

Los Angeles is almost entirely composed of stroads with metered parking, at least in the central part of town. Venice Blvd is a great example. 6 lanes and somehow parking is a challenge.

[@robinrussell7965]

Funny, I went for a job interview in Irvine, seemed surrounded by grass covered hills, and the parking was $10. Nothing else around there.

[@JaySmith-pv2mw]

Love it. I might add insurance offices, pawn shops and the section of the stroad that is all new car dealerships.

[@ericsalazar4027]

For a hot second I thought you were going to talk about Boulder Colorado which is surprisingly easy to live car free because of the expansive bike paths and bike lanes.

[@1981menso]

Any good KZbin videos on this? I promise I won't move there 😃

[@ericsalazar4027]

@@1981menso haha I just lived there for the better part of a decade

[@1981menso]

@@ericsalazar4027 I am in San Diego, the weather is great and bike infrastructure is meh.

[@robinrussell7965]

I notice in Colorado that a lot of people use the bike paths. Unlike California, where there are not that many people using them, except for the beach.

[@13cathie]

Another one: pedestrians have no protection from the elements (sun/rain). No shade because all the buildings are too far from the sidewalk and there are very few trees. Same with rain, no buildings with canopies close to the sidewalk to duck under (and if you're really lucky, the curb-tight sidewalk means you get splashed by cars driving by... because the massive amounts of paved surface means tons of runoff overflowing the gutters)

[@enjoyslearningandtravel7957]

And there’s even some drivers that seem to speed up on purpose so they can splash walkers.!!!

[@sonobitches]

If you had told me a few years ago that 4-lane drive through banks exist in the US I probably would have laughed it off as a joke

[@stevengordon3271]

The artist drawing had really wide bus lanes and really narrow places to wait in the median. The future vision really needs a really safe place in the median for bus passengers to wait and so crossing pedestrians only have to cross half the stroad at a time.

[@Unmannedperson]

If you wanted to expand to a 7x7, another square could be debris in the bike lane (if there is one) and on the sidewalk (if there is one). Bonus points for it being auto debris (hub caps, tire bits, broken pieces of tail lights, etc.), which adds an extra fun dimension to intermodal relations of these facilities.

[@sexygeek8996]

You could add squares for every type of illegal drug.

[@CortezEspartaco2]

Most recently in my case, an entire box of nail gun nails spilled along 20 feet of bike lane. I thought it was shredded paper until I got a flat. As a bonus there's also several bungee cords, presumably what was securing the boxes of nails to a truck. It's been two weeks and the city hasn't done anything about it. I just ride on the sidewalk for that section now.

[@AmyEugene]

The strangest thing I've ever seen on a sidewalk was a large white plastic bucket full of watermelon slices. The sidewalk was along a highway and it was between the bus stop and my work, so I passed it twice a day for 3 or 4 days. Then, after the weekend it disappeared. It wasn't anywhere close to a driveway and it would've been an awkward spot for someone to pull their car over to the side of the road, so that means someone walking down the sidewalk set it down and forgot about their large bucket of watermelon slices and continued on?

[@JosephBlanch]

Damn. I never considered how stroads are “sort of a low-value, residential environment where marginalized people can go and maybe afford to just survive” and yet these environments work to perpetuate their marginalization. Crazy. And stroads are an unfriendly hell-scape to be on for anyone outside of a car.

[@enjoyslearningandtravel7957]

I agree definitely a hell scape for anyone needing to walk instead of drive.

[@robinrussell7965]

It is the only place that a place that serves the homeless in my town was allowed to open. All the others, the nimbys ran them out. There are pedestrian deaths at least once a month on Beach Blvd. Yet that is the site where the facility is located.

[@brutaldomcom]

They’re not trying to say “pets welcome,” they’re saying you’ll receive a welcome fit for a dog, aka a “pet’s welcome”

[@augustvonmackensen3902]

There is perhaps no single better indicator that a city will be good/bad to get around without a car than the quality of the bus stops. One look at even a single one often gives you a very good idea.

[@AssBlasster]

This sounds about right. Many suburban Orlando bus stops only had benches because of a random charity that built and donated them. In my neighborhood, there was like 1 in 5 bus stops that had an actual shelter and often walking an extra 5-10 minutes to wait there because who knows when the bus will show.

[@sunglassesemojis]

In Atlanta, most of our bus stops are just a pole with a little flag to tell you it’s a MARTA stop. Almost none have benches or coverings. Some aren’t even on a sidewalk, just a grassy ditch

[@sunglassesemojis]

We luckily have a passable train system but trying to get anywhere more than .5-1 mile off the train network is a pain

[@BaronBytes]

At least in Vegas they mostly only need to protect from the sun. here in Quebec we need protection from a whole lot more types of weather. (Love the few interior heated ones we have downtown)

[@mindstalk]

Not a perfect indicator. I think my childhood Chicago stop lacked even a bench let alone a shelter, just a pole with a bus sign. But the bus ran every 5 minutes. (Granted that sometimes meant 6 buses coming after 30 minutes, but hey.)

[@TheNAWorks]

Hi CityNerd, you might like to read "Learning from Las Vegas" if you haven't already. it's a very short study on the architectural landscape of LV that was published sometime back in the '70s. It's not quite city planning, however it does focus a lot on the topics of road layouts, with particular emphasis on the strip. Definitely plenty of fodder for your LV specific content

[@lukeman9851]

I call them "wacky wavy inflatable arm people," and so far they're the one thing on this list I feel positively about. Love those guys

[@nscalefan7739]

I live near the far south end of Boulder Highway. The speed limit increases to 55 MPH. Sadly I witnessed an elderly lady get hit in a marked crosswalk. She had the green and a car ran the light. They were already going over 55 MPH and then sped up to run the light. The end result was horrific. Pedestrians don't just get hit often on Boulder Highway but tend to get die when they do. The only thing worse than a stroad is a highway stroad. You couldn't pay me enough to cross Boulder Highway on foot. On the plus side Boulder Highway does have plans for a re-design. While the re-design does make improvements it is still very much cars first. I find it funny the land next to Boulder Highway has been attempted to bring about higher value development that never seems to show up. Huh I wonder why. Instead of Boulder Highway re-imagined why not make Boulder NOT a highway. Seems that would go a long way to truly improving the problems. Also thanks for the shout out in the video for me suggesting Boulder Highway. Try to hang out around Boulder Highway and Lake Mead Blvd and ped watch. I once observed a ped need four light cycles to cross that intersection. As in crossing Boulder and then crossing Lake Mead.

[@enjoyslearningandtravel7957]

Unfortunately, the majority of people go 5 to 10 miles above the speed limit or higher!!

[@enjoyslearningandtravel7957]

This is especially bad when the road or stroad hasmany areas that walkers need to cross.

[@davidty2006]

@@enjoyslearningandtravel7957 Doesn't help that the design of it is basically a drag strip.

[@james-p]

15:34 - Ooooh Yes!!! I want to ride my bike right next to a massive 40,000-pound bus flying past me at 45mph!!! What an absolute hell on Earth.

[@pacerdanny]

Great conclusion! Thank you for putting the issues in context.

[@questioner1596]

As a sometimes RVer, the last thing I want to do when I've finally parked my house after a long drive is secure every drawer, unplug and drive my house on an errand. Unfortunately, most RV parks have little to no public transit or walkability. The best I've found was in Kelowna, BC, where you walk to the beach across the street in one direction, or to sushi and ice cream cream across the street in the other direction.

[@andrewlindstrom9599]

I'd like to request a video for the Top Ten best and worst years in US History for walking/urbanism/transit. Here in Portland, I'd say 1958 is the worst year - with the suspension of all trolleybus service so Rose City Transit could evade regulation, it had the abrupt cancellation of all passenger service on the interurban lines, and it was smack dab in the middle of the the freeway building era. Not sure on the best year... but I'm interested in how much damage the US did to the fabric of its cities in the post-war era and what has been done to undo that.

[@randy4903]

I like that you found a way to end on more of a high note. I'm always interested in discussions about how places like this can be and in some cases have been improved. I hope that one of those Boulder Highway plans can actually be implemented some day.

[@florisjansen5576]

O boy. Seeing these stroads and parking lots as far as the eye can see all I can think of is: cut the amount of car lanes in half. Tramline in the middle, protected bikelanes next to proper sidewalks. Mixed-use infill development... Maybe one day

[@ninja_boy]

10:05 The proper term is "wacky waving inflatable arm-flailing tube man" 😆

[@TFWhitemusic]

I see a lot of car repair and adult stores on the stroads around here - very auto erotic

[@TAllenYT]

"Do people in New Orleans eat gumbo all day?" If that option is on the table?.Absolutely yes!

[@AssBlasster]

14:00 I grew up as a teenager in Orlando, and we indeed went to Disney World or Universal Studios every school break! Employees usually get 3 free tickets for anyone every 3 months (and free admission themselves) so we got tickets from friends' parents. We could even use the Disney transit to park hop if we had those multi-park passes.

[@SeanA099]

The plan for this looks a lot like the new plan for Richmond Highway in Fairfax County, VA. If you’re ever in the DC area, check it out

[@snowstrobe]

That's an encouraging plan, a light rail would be great.

[@shingshongshamalama]

It feels absolutely insane to me to go "hey here's this highway, let's just slap a four-way intersection on it as if it's a boulevard, and also build a load of driveways directly onto the highway, and level pedestrian crossings, what could go wrong?"

[@t.a.k.palfrey3882]

Physically challenged people have a rough time in most of the US. It wasn't so obvious to me whilst I lived in N VA and then in Central CA back in the 90s and early 00s. Now, though I cannot even visit the US. My MS requires I use a wheelchair, but the terrible public transit systems and the dearth of easy access to what buses and trains exist is aweful. Having post-traumatic epilepsy means I have been barred from driving for the past ten yrs too. Hence, my last visit to the US was in 2011. I shall stick to Europe and to visiting family in BC and Australia, each areas which treat the physically challenged as if we are human.

[@yeyeTF2]

watching videos on stroads have become my guilty pleasure

[@alexmccrohan5794]

I think you forgot.... A) Chain gyms where people can drive over to walk on tread mills and ride on stationary bikes. B) Tanning salons where you can get a tan without going outside.

[@chairmanlmao4482]

Hey CityNerd have you ever thought about doing a video about the 10 U.S. cities that have had the biggest fall from grace (in terms of walkability, transit access, how much downtown has been hollowed out to make way for surface parking, etc.) Detroit and Kansas City would surely be #1 and #2 on that list

[@SeanPorterPDX]

That’s a ‘wacky inflatable flailing tube man" 😂😂😂

[@gitgeronimo9375]

Excellent! Reminds me so much of Palatine Road in Chicago’s NW suburbs

[@bromonicide1632]

One of your best videos. Funny but also some hope at the end. Thank you.

[@Henrywildeberry]

I love this channel! Keep up the incredible work.

[@fermun]

At the end there you showed the combination bar/laundromat on Boulder Highway, which is actually something I enjoy and we have some neighborhood ones here in San Francisco, but in my mind I had never thought about one being on a stroad. Getting a $17 beer bucket, drinking 6 Bud Lights while doing laundry, tossing my clean clothes in the back seat, then hopping in my car and driving home. If I'm going to get a little buzzed while doing laundry, I'd prefer having the option to just stumble a block or two by foot.

[@SharienGaming]

the idea that a bar is essentially only accessible by car is a recipe for disaster O_o alcohol and operating a multi ton high speed projectile do not mix well...

[@grackleboi2523]

I had a really interesting experience with boulder highway. In my early teens I lived in a budget suite on Boulder highway between sam's town and Boulder station. We were actually pretty close to that skate rink I think. Anywho, in that particular area, I found it was easy to walk to places or ride a bike (mostly biking) and there were plenty of ways the other kids and myself at the suites could hang out and get into trouble, lol. It was pretty fun, but I think that's specifically because I was in a densly populated budget suite right on the highway. It was definitely dangerous though. Peoplre literally race each other on Boulder Highway. Anywho, that was in the early-mid 2000s, so things are probably different there now.

[@AssBlasster]

Interesting, I spent a yr of my teens in a large motel complex on US-192 in the Orlando area after the 2008 housing crash. I had similar experiences with making plenty of friends with other families there. Plus there was wide sidewalks along that stroad to walk along and access a fast food joint. Although, I also hung out with sketchy fugitives who didn't mind showing their stolen goods and such. They made it tempting to commit crime but luckily I wasn't convinced down that route. Nowadays, that motel is a luxury apartment complex lol

[@heinuchung8680]

@@AssBlasster which motel was it? I live close by us 192 has improved since 08 the ghetto moved now to orange blossom trail

[@AssBlasster]

@@heinuchung8680 I definitely agree about the ghetto OBT. It was the former Home Suite Home near the I4 interchange

[@pixaphy]

As somebody who's still living in Nevada a lot of the time (college student returning home edition) not a whole lot has honestly changed. The area up towards the top of Henderson gets a bit more respectable by a small margin but as you head out into the valley it really gets odd. The jaywalkers on that street actively want to get hit I swear, they wear all black including black hoodies like 50% of the time and a good number of them don't even try to run, they just walk like nothing is happening as you come barreling towards them. As for the racing, yeah that's still a problem but the freeways actually deal with it too late at night.

[@justinmusicandskateboardin9282]

here in texas, so many businesses have gigantic signs right at the front of their driveway that completely blocks the view of the oncoming traffic as every single one of their employees and customers has to pull out of their parking lot onto the street every single day

[@enjoyslearningandtravel7957]

Terrible, that’s definitely a safety hazard to say the least.

[@viniciusmedeiros9822]

this was so great! that dry humor is killer, i was chuckling the whole way through

[@mattchtx]

I grew up in Las Vegas in the 80s and 90s and it’s crazy how much it’s grown. Driving on Boulder Highway to Henderson used to be 20-30 minutes of nothing. Now it’s just continuous city the whole way. A difference with the “local casinos” is that they’re often a hub for a lot of things. They’ll often have movie theaters, a couple restaurants, and a buffet. They used to be pretty cheap too. Boulder Station also had a child care area that I think is still there. Parents can take their kids, drop them off, go to dinner and a movie and gamble a bit (and maybe get a room for an hour or two) and then pick the kids up and go home. No worrying about a babysitter or even planning anything in advance. Plus we always loved it because they had arcade games and a big playground and other fun stuff to do back when we didn’t have internet or tablets or anything. Later as a teenager I went to Sunset Station a lot. It’s across the street from the Galleria mall where we hung out a lot and it has a movie theater and arcade and everything. There are certainly some locals who are slot jockeys and just pump quarters into the machines all day but the Station casinos have always been more than just gambling.

[@steven.l.patterson]

Another great video, thanks for the tour. I’ve been to Vegas a couple of times only to change planes - very glad I never left the airport terminal. BTW, the bus stop shouldn’t have the tactile edge - those are to help the visually impaired at signalized intersections. In fact the sidewalk shouldn’t be a street level because this makes the ramps into the bus steeper than if coming from a raised sidewalk. Ray please see if you can rent a power wheelchair in Las Vegas. If so, then you can experience riding a bus, narrow sidewalks, lack of sidewalks, and all other manor of issues in a whole new way. Also please visit St. Louis and see an MLS match in our new stadium. First match a week from today, first official season match in 2023.

[@garyholt8315]

wheelchairs, narrow sidewalks, abandoned shopping carts are a miserable combination.

[@katiem.3109]

Video idea: America's worst transit deserts (i.e. places that have terrible transit service yet high levels of transit usership/demand--places that have a desperate need for transit that isn't provided for). This is a major problem in Honolulu, where I live. Also, there's a lack of walking and bike infrastructure (many streets here don't have sidewalks, and the ones that do are extremely narrow and in terrible condition, except in Waikiki (tourist area). The bike lanes, where they exist, are extraordinarily dangerous, sometimes less than 3 ft wide, such as the Beretania street bike lane. The Dole street bike lane is less than 2 ft wide in some places).

[@mindstalk]

Do Honolulu buses have payment cards yet? When I visited in 2019 it seemed they were just rolling something out for residents, but it was cash-only for tourists, something I had never experienced in a First World country. Even in the 1980s cities had tokens you could buy to not deal with "$1.35" fares. And heh, I stayed up in the hills a bit. Took 5 minutes to reach a sidewalk, and I mostly just walked downtown from there rather than waiting for a bus.

[@katiem.3109]

@@mindstalk They do have payment cards now. I'm not sure they're only for residents, though. And yeah, the lack of sidewalks is still very much a thing.

[@robinrussell7965]

The bike corral is so cool! BTW Disneyland has one bike rack in front of the employee trailer and that is it. PS around here, they block pedestrians from crossing certain parts of the intersection. At one intersection, where a bike trail starts, they expect you to cross three streets and 14 lanes to get to it, from the other side of the street.

[@akmedman8078]

I live in Lafayette, LA (2 hours from New Orleans) and we eat just as much, if not more gumbo than they do there. And I can say that all of us in South Louisiana do eat gumbo constantly, as I am eating a bowl while watching this.

[@NovaRack]

Congrats on 100K subs! You make excellent content. Thank you.

[@inesalag]

Avenida 9 (or 5) de Julio in Buenos Aires won a sustainable transport award (it went from 14 car lanes, to dedicated lanes for BRT and cycleways... Maybe you can talk about that "stroad" some day

[@Mark-Hall]

Ray! 100k subscribers! Glad to see your channel is receiving the attention that you deserve!

[@RDJ2]

Almost everything about stroads is unthinkable in the Netherlands. I'm in awe at this level of non-planning.

[@garyholt8315]

hey, I am in awe with dutch and danish planners. they put cyclists and foot traffic first. exact opposite of north America.

[@mindstalk]

Not sure if it's non-planning, or planning for cars and their speed.

[@RDJ2]

@@mindstalk it's non planning. The situation for cars is much better here as well.

[@kitbradley2689]

I had the distinction of living close to both Charleston Boulevard and Henderson while growing up. I flinched when you mentioned Boulder Highway. I used to have to cross it a couple times a day when going to high school.

[@cullenanderson173]

Great video. Really love this channel, it’s helping me tap into a whole new sect of my geography/urbanism hobby that’s inexplicably developed in my 20s lol. If you want a fun few hours of google maps stroad torture, check out Broad Street in Richmond, Virginia. I’d say from maybe Lombardy Street to as far west as you can go without wanting to rip your hair out first. It’s a truly miserable experience as both a pedestrian and motorist.

[@nikevisor54]

Woah! New Ray lore with the background change! Congrats on 100K, man. Love your content

[@paullacotta5645]

Excellent video. And you broke my sarcasm meter!😳😂👍

[@inesalag]

I thought i never wanted to go to Las Vegas. But now, I know FOR SURE :)

[@fabiomcmuffin]

I’d love to hear your analysis of some of the ridiculous roads/intersections that exist here in Boston. For example, the intersection at Mass General Hospital is essentially a 7-way intersection with a busy T station directly at its center

[@mindstalk]

Or the double roundabouts near Fresh Pond in Cambridge.

[@popejbryant]

Surprised all the displaced grocery carts didn't get an honorable mention

[@garyholt8315]

every city has them. by law it is theft, but who cares?

[@ACGreyhound04]

I have Cerebral Palsy, and I now walk with a cane. I live in the Boston area, which is known for being better than most of the U.S. in terms of public transit and accessibility, but the near suburbs still have too many stroads, bad sidewalks, and bus stops marooned between wide, busy avenues. I bought a condo a block away from a bus stop for a route that takes me into the city for work, but the stop for the return route is across a four-lane stroad (appropriately named Broadway) from my home, squeezed between the curb and the outer fence of a cemetery. The dead are literally given more respect than bus riders!

[@xbmarx]

First, I absolutely love the content. I have to ask though, are you from the Pacific NW? I'm a linguist and you have the strongest PNW accent I've ever heard, it's amazing 😂

[@AmyEugene]

I think he mentioned in one of his videos that he's from Seattle. He's definitely lived in Portland. I'm from Oregon and I'm curious about what you mean by PNW accent? I've always thought that I couldn't tell any difference in accent between speakers from Bellingham vs. San Diego. I've taught EFL classes, so I'm interested if there's been more research in this region. I've watched all the videos from that accent guy, I think his name's Erik and I'm pretty sure he's on the Wired channel?

[@oregonsenior4204]

Accent? What accent? 😂

[@xbmarx]

@@AmyEugene Short answer: PNW has a very distinctive combination of vowel mergers (cot/caught, bag/egg, father/bother). Mr. CityNerd has all of them at once. 😅 I've worked at a university and I've heard of students in broadcasting journalism from OR/WA sometimes can't even hear the distinction or physically make those vowels without training. The other thing is high-rising terminal, even in compound sentences. This is becoming more common in all of the west coast, but (this is just my observation), the further north, the intonation is otherwise much flatter, so it sounds much less stereotypical. Again, Mr. CityNerd uses high-rising terminal prodigiously and is almost a stereotype (and not in a bad way, I love it) 😅

[@james-p]

@@AmyEugene There is definitely a difference - I've lived in Oregon and Los Angeles, and I'm from Philadelphia (we have our own special East Coast accent there that got beat out of me in boarding school lol). Now that I've lived in LA for 40 years, I can even here the difference between LA proper and San Gabriel Valley accents. I noticed that one (the SGV accent) during an Olympics where one of the US figure skaters was talking and I thought, "she's from Arcadia!" I looked her up, and sure enough...

[@DRL1320]

Ray Delahanty says in other videos that he grew up in Seattle. He played golf on his high school team. (To prove his suburban origin creds.) Look for the episode about urban golf courses.

[@knutthompson7879]

OK, I was totally expecting a "fine dining" square and pan across a Cheesecake Factory.

[@sexygeek8996]

The casinos have restaurants. The overpriced ones can be considered "fine dining".

[@TimothyHalkowski]

Excellent work - thank you.

[@civlover1558]

2:10 Assembly Street in Columbia SC around the Richland Library. Four lane stroad but has metered parking down the median.

[@duerandaggi]

Sidewalk appliance shopping?! LOL, just when you think you've seen everything... And yeah, this time I agree and support everything said 100% :-)

[@sexygeek8996]

That's risky for the store too. Boulder Highway is full of thieves and vandals.

[@garyholt8315]

4 lane drive thru atm's, really?

[@tomreingold4024]

Fantastic video. It takes stock of a lot of things we’ve done wrong in this country.

[@jimmybuckets5863]

I’m gonna start a band called the Stroads and Stroad Bingo will be the first album, with a song about each square. Who wants in?

[@joeg451]

The dry sarcasm physically harmed me when you pointed out the animatronic woodland creatures

[@whitj7288]

This was a really great video! Thank you!

[@hughjackmansdoppelganger6710]

I feel like my city (Fort Worth, TX) could be an entire documentary: Typical Sunbelt City: The meh, the bad, and the who's idea was this. There are stroads EVERYWHERE and the better arterials are few and far in between.

[@ericworkman5335]

You're fighting the good fight. Keep it up. I'm with you.

[@CityNerd]

I appreciate it, thanks so much!

[@ecycled3d]

Great subject matter and presentation as always!

[@CityNerd]

Thanks so much!

[@NoobixCube]

The most sickening thing about this is, in significantly smaller Australian cities I've seen almost equally bad stroads. The only thing keeping them from being just as bad, if not worse, is that they have fewer lanes. Pick any stroad in Mackay, Queensland, for example, and you could probably black that bingo card out (except we rarely have billboards for personal injury lawyers. I think there's some advertising regulations that stop it). *note that I have not lived in Mackay for several years now, so maybe some planner waved a magic wand and made it livable in the past seven years, I don't know. Another fine example is Bell Street, a great scar cut east-west across Melbourne's northern suburbs, which itself intersects with many north-south running stroads.

[@jfwfreo]

A few fine examples of what I consider Stroads here in SEQ: Ferry Road/Bundall Road (same road, different names) Logan Road (from Garden City to Old Cleveland Road at least) Old Cleveland Road through to Carindale

[@mindstalk]

Brisbane probably has stroads, but I wasn't thinking in that term. It did have 2 minute wait times for a walk signal. On Kangaroo Point it took me 4.5 minutes to cross 4 busy lanes. 2.5 to safely cross two lanes to the median, 2 minutes to cross from there to the other side.

[@JetWarrior]

As someone who was born in Vegas, I can tell you that a "Local's Casino" vs a Strip Casino is like the difference between a trendy gym and a local neighborhood gym. The Strip is super shiny, very fast-pased, trendy and modern, all of that. The amenities in those hotels change constantly to keep up with the changing pace of the world of entertainment, but they always cater to the transient tourists so it's always one-and-done attractions like shows and small overpriced exhibits that might be enjoyed one time or so. The games and food are more expensive, the advertising is more in-your-face, and the overall personality is that they want to take your money as quick as they can because you'll never come back (because you're most likely a tourist). Oh...and they are crowded as hell. A Local's casino is a lot slower paced...less flashy, less gimmicky, less of an overt push to take your money right now. They expect people to come back at a regular pace, so they'll have a lot more cheaper machines (nickel and penny slots), a lot friendlier staff, and maybe a slightly higher rate of return to the gambler (85% instead, say, 75%). They aren't as crowded, and it can feel like almost a place of comfort as you slowly but surely ruin your life. And the entertainment tends to cater to locals--you'll see more bowling alleys, sports bars, and local acts come through. End of the day, a casino is a casino and a gambling problem is a gambling problem, but there is an appeal to a local place vs the higher-end strip resorts.

[@WizenedVariations1]

IMO, stroads seem to occur in developing low density residential areas. Businesses that can afford high rents are almost completely "big box" and often are built at the same time that parallel residential areas are constructed. Parking seems based upon strict formulas with parking based upon maximum usage criteria, i.e., build parking for that 1 day per year or 30 minutes per day peak usage. Lot signage seem predicated upon time visible at 45mph from any lane of traffic (walking at 4 mph means that the pedestrian sees the same signage at least 11 times longer. A 200 foot store parking lot frontage for one big box store takes approximately 34 seconds to walk past. A 150 wide street takes approximately 25 seconds to walk across. At 45 mph the respective times are 200ft is passed in 3 seconds and 150ft is passed in approx 2.27 seconds.)

[@garyholt8315]

I spend a big amount of time looking at billboards as I walk by, depressing.