RE-RELEASE: The High Cost of Free Parking with Donald Shoup
The War on Cars
Donald Shoup, a towering figure in the world of urban planning and a distinguished professor emeritus at the UCLA Luskin School of Public affairs, died this week. He was 86 years old. As a tribute to such an influential, brilliant, and witty scholar, we are re-releasing this episode from 2023. ---- Parking is at the heart of every fight about how we build our cities and towns, with effects that go far beyond transportation. Minimum parking requirements — laws that dictate how many parking spaces are required for various types of buildings and businesses — make housing more expensive,...
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TEASER: The Romance of the Automobile
The War on Cars
This is a preview of a . For complete access to this and all of our bonus content, plus ad-free versions of regular episodes, merch discounts, pre-sale tickets to live shows, and more, . You’ve probably heard us talking about how we have written a book that will be coming out this fall. We are super excited to share more about that very soon. We’ve spent a lot of the last year in the research and writing process. And what became apparent very soon was that there were a lot of things that we weren’t going to be able to fit into the book, no matter how hard we tried. So we put together a...
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Biden's Transportation Legacy with Dani Simons
The War on Cars
As the new Trump regime begins, we talked with Dani Simons—who until recently led the Office of Public Affairs for the federal Department of Transportation—about the Biden administration’s legacy on transportation. What are the stakes as we go from Amtrak Joe and DOT Secretary Pete Buttigieg to an administration made up of oil barrels disguised as people? What are the last four years’ biggest achievements on the transportation front? How do we communicate better about federal investments in active transportation? And how do we hold onto the hard-fought policies aimed at pedestrian...
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Congestion Pricing Is Finally Here
The War on Cars
At last, New York City started its congestion pricing program on January 5. We knew that the local mainstream press would be out in force interviewing drivers and elevating the voices of those who were against the toll. We knew that because the New York press corps has a long history of putting the people who commute by car in New York above those who don’t. So we went out on congestion pricing’s first weekday morning and talked to some people who weren’t driving. Some of the people we talked with were random New Yorkers, but mostly we heard from advocates who knew we would be...
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Cities and Fashion with Derek Guy, The Menswear Guy
The War on Cars
How do dense, walkable cities influence what people wear? Derek Guy has some thoughts. Otherwise known as The Menswear Guy, Derek rose to fame on social media for his takes on men's fashion, but he also dips his toes into urbanism from time to time, arguing that the ecosystems that support quality craftsmanship and expert tailoring are strongest in places where it's easy to get around without a car. Derek joins us to talk about what the great fashion capitals of the world have in common, why Tokyo is a hotbed of fashion enthusiasts and craftspeople, how the housing crisis is affecting style,...
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TEASER: Your Best Things of 2024
The War on Cars
This is a preview of a . For complete access to this and all of our bonus content, plus ad-free versions of regular episodes, merch discounts, pre-sale tickets to live shows, and more, . For our year-end bonus episode, we asked our Patreon supporters to tell us the best things that happened to them or in their communities in 2024. We heard from listeners around the globe about the many victories, from the political to the personal, that stood out to them in the past year and that give them hope for the future. There was a lot to celebrate, including lower speed limits, new bike...
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How Cars Change Us with Tara Goddard
The War on Cars
Why do people behave so badly behind the wheel of a car? Why do reporters and the police use passive language to describe automobile crashes and traffic violence? How do the words we use make a difference in street safety? , one of the top scholars studying what it is that cars do to our brains and the way we treat each other in the world, has some thoughts — and she’s done the research. Tara is an associate professor in the Department of Landscape Architecture and Urban Planning at Texas A&M University. Her work focuses on creating a just transportation system through safe roadway...
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Changing Hollywood's Car Culture with Ed Begley Jr.
The War on Cars
From mockumentaries to dramas to situation comedies, Ed Begley Jr. has done it all. His truly one-of-a-kind acting career has seen him work with some of the biggest names in Hollywood, including Jack Nicholson, Meryl Streep, and more. But beyond his impressive resume, Ed Begley Jr. is also known for his environmental activism. He's probably the most famous person to have owned some version of an electric vehicle for a lot longer than most people have even been aware of EVs. Ed has been been committed to environmental conservation since at least the 1970s, and he’s designed his life so...
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TEASER: Doug Ford and Ontario's War on Bikes
The War on Cars
This is a preview of a . For complete access to this and all of our bonus content, plus ad-free versions of regular episodes, merch discounts, pre-sale tickets to live shows, and more, . Back in 2010, the notoriously pugnacious Toronto mayor Rob Ford declared that “the war on the car is over,” and vowed to halt the city’s expansion of bike lanes, transit, and anything that inconvenienced motorists even slightly. Fourteen years later, his brother — Ontario Premier Doug Ford — has continued the family crusade against bike lanes. The Ford government is pushing a bill that would require...
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Election Extra
The War on Cars
We’re not going to sugarcoat it. That election was tough. But there are some points of hope that can help us make our way forward. We got together in the studio to look at victories around the country for transit and safe streets, and to discuss how we can all hang in there together and continue making positive change in our communities. *** and receive access to ad-free versions of all our episodes, special bonus content, stickers, merch discounts, and more *** LINKS: The good news from Nashville () The good news from Seattle () wins Seattle City Council seat The good news from San...
info_outlineNOTE: This is part two of a two-part episode. To hear both parts right now and without ads, become a Patreon supporter of The War on Cars.
In part two of our deep dive on John Forester and his 1976 book Effective Cycling, we take a look at the paltry data and research underpinning the alleged safety benefits of vehicular cycling and the long-term impact Forester had on cycling for transportation in the United States. Even though cities such as New York started building protected bicycle lanes in earnest in the late 2000s and early 2010s — and even though quality bike infrastructure has existed in places such as Davis, California for decades — John Forester's legacy continued well into the 21st century, with federal guides such as AASHTO's "Green Book" discouraging or even prohibiting things such as parking-protected bikeways until as recently as 2018. On top of that, many of Forester's disciples held positions atop major advocacy organizations and city bike planning departments for years, and used their influence to prevent the construction of protected bike lanes. In a lot of ways, we're still pedaling in the world John Forester created.
This episode was sponsored by Bull Moose Softgoods and Cleverhood. Listen to the episode for the latest discount codes.
LINKS/SOURCES
Read Peter Flax in conversation with John Forester, via Bicycling Magazine.
Northeastern University's Peter Furth takes on John Forester.
STUDY: "Risk of injury for bicycling on cycle tracks versus in the street," by Lusk, Furth, et. al.
PAPER: "A Historical Perspective on the AASHTO Guide for the Development of Bicycle Facilities and the Impact of the Vehicular Cycling Movement," Schultheiss, Sanders, and Toole, 2018
AASHTO’s Draft Bikeway Guide Includes Protected Bike Lanes and More, Streetsblog 2016
Key Design Guide to Finally Include Protected Bike Lanes, Streetsblog 2018
'Death Of A ‘Dinosaur:’ Anti-Cycleway Campaigner John Forester Dies, Aged 90, by Carlton Reid in Forbes
Read Bike Boom: The Unexpected Resurgence of Cycling, by Carlton Reid.
Read Bike Battles: A History of Sharing the American Road, by James Longhurst.
How the former Dallas bicycle coordinator held back cycling infrastructure for years, via the Texas Observer.
Dallas' Former Bike Czar Tells Newbie Riders to Go Play in Traffic, via the Dallas Observer
Access John Forester's website via the Wayback Machine.
If you're a glutton for punishment, pick up a copy of John Forester's Effective Cycling.
Grab some merch in our official store!
This episode was edited by Yessenia Moreno. It was recorded by Josh Wilcox at the Brooklyn Podcasting Studio.