Results tagged “theweeklywhatif”

Install recumbent bicycle benches at CAP Metro Bus stops? Outdoor stair climbers on Congress Ave.? In-ground trampolines on Guadalupe? Criss-crossing balance beams on 2nd Street? Concrete ping pong tables at intersections throughout town? Climbing boulders on East 5th Street? Let's face it, many of you would consider me quite out of my mind if I were to suggest that we turn Austin into one big playground, a landscape of physical challenges and gleeful adventures by installing outdoor stair climbing machines, 30 foot wide slides, rock climbing boulders and in-ground trampolines at our bus stops, on our sidewalks and in the unused spaces of our overly wide streets. The diagnosis of insanity would surely be cemented were I to claim that by creating a streetscape that is more challenging to traverse we will lure children away from the television, increase their mobility, create a generally healthier Austin and decrease our community health care costs.

Building A Healthier Austin- Tonight! Time: 7.00-9.00 pm Location: The Independent- 501 Studios @ East 5th and Brushy. Extra's: It's free and open to the public. Local, organic appetizers will be kindly offered by East Side Showroom and free beer will also be provided. The design of our public spaces, the layout of our streets, the distribution and condition of our schools and the availability of affordable housing impact the well-being and economic health of all Austinites? Really? Our urban environment is more than a visual backdrop for our lives— it creates opportunities for where and how we work, learn, gather, commute, eat, and play. By promoting opportunities for healthy everyday living our community can ultimately impact the greater well-being of Austin. Join us tonight at 7.00 pm for a panel discussion that will feature short presentations of visions for a healthier urban future for Austin from six leaders in the community on critical issues such as food access and community agriculture, affordable housing, youth environmental education, alternative transportation, playgrounds and urban connectivity, and access to health care. These presentations will be followed by a discussion of how to implement these visions for a healthy future, and how citizens can advocate and support their visions by getting involved in Austin's current comprehensive planning process.

How far were you allowed to travel alone when you were a kid? Are you per chance Vicky Thomas, from Sheffield? If by some very unusual fluke you’re from Sheffield, England and your name is Vicky, you are now in your late thirties, married and have a lovely son named Ed. Most of your extended family has lived in Sheffield for the entirety of their lives; the Thomas’ are Sheffield through and through. When you were eight years old your parents let you walk a half a mile by yourself to the local pool. At the very same tender age of eight, your father was allowed to walk a mile to the woods, while your great grandfather walked unattended six miles to the local pond. For a host of complicated reasons ranging from dangerous streets to a lack of nearby play spaces to a largely media induced fear of many things, I am sorry to report, that you only feel comfortable letting your son walk by himself to the end of the block. Otherwise, you drive Ed to the football pitch and the entire family drives to the countryside for bike rides.

What if you and your neighbors decided one day to turn your street into grassed- over park, replete with pony rides, an oompah band and vegetable gardens? When presented with such a possibility, most would laugh derisively or mention something along the lines of, ‘Have you lost you ever-loving mind?!’. In many respects, this is a completely reasonable reaction. Imagining the possible benefits of greening a street, prioritizing public life over cars through design or even conceptualizing how such a space might look or function is absurdly hard for anyone. For a car-centric culture, greening a street is such a radically different idea that many will reject it out of hand not because they don't like it but because it is so absolutely foreign it is impossible to evaluate; it doesn't match any of our traditional reference points for judging whether something is good or bad, whether it works or doesn't work.

How about a brief quiz to start things off, shall we? 1. Which would cause drivers to be more careful and drive conservatively when passing through an area with a substantial deer population? a. A high-tech flashing sign with animated deer. b. A deer carcass on the side of the road. 2. Which of the following is more effective at causing drivers to slow down as they pass through a neighborhood with lots of children? a. A sign stating ‘Children Playing’. b. A child’s bicycle left on a sidewalk. 3. What bad conduct did a former mayor of Bogota, Colombia successfully modify through the use of behavior mocking mimes in his formerly lawless city? a. Narco-terrorism. b. Traffic violations. 4. Which is more effective at getting you to slow down? a. A ‘Speed Zone’ or ‘Traffic Monitored By Radar’ sign. b. A cop sitting on the side of the road with a radar gun.

How about slower traffic, less accidents, safer streets for children and wait for it, No more text messaging while driving? That’s right, in a never ending quest to make our streets safer and more predictable, we may have actually made them more dangerous and so mind numbingly easy to drive that we enable bad behaviors such as texting while driving. Let me reiterate that: The design of our streets may be partially to blame for drivers text messaging.