In this episode, I connect with Greg Spotts for a conversation about his tenure serving the city of Seattle, WA and the active mobility projects his team completed during this period and a handful of the ones he is most proud of. We discuss the prioritization of hardening of protection in bike lanes previously "protected" by only flex posts and paint, a new protected intersection, and he prioritized connecting with the community members through walks in their neighborhoods to better understand what their pain points were.
#streetsareforpeople #allagesandabilities #bicycleinfrastructure #pedestriansafety #activityassets
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Helpful Links (note that some may include affiliate links to help me support the channel):
π Hockey Stick Graph from The Urbanist newsletter
π Alki Point Healthy Street Project
π Cascade Bicycle Club
π My Non-Driver Interview w/ Anna Zivarts
If you are a fan of the Active Towns Podcast, please consider supporting the effort as an Active Towns Ambassador in the following ways:
1. Join our Patreon community. Contributions start at just $3 per month
2. If you enjoyed this episode, you can also "leave a tip" through "Buy Me a Coffee"
3. Make a donation to my non-profit, Advocates for Healthy Communities, Inc., to help support my pro bono work with cities
Credits:
- Video and audio production by John Simmerman
- Music via Epidemic Sound
Resources used during the production of this video:
- My recording platform is Ecamm Live
- Editing software Adobe Creative Cloud Suite
- Equipment: Contact me for a complete list
For more information about the Active Towns effort or to follow along, please visit our links below:
- Active Towns Website
- Active Towns on Bluesky
- Weekly Update e-Newsletter
Background:
Hi Everyone! My name is John Simmerman, and Iβm a health promotion and public health professional with over 30 years of experience. Over the years, my area of concentration has evolved into a specialization in how the built environment influences human behavior related to active living and especially active mobility.
Since 2010,Β I've been exploring, documenting, and profiling established, emerging, and aspiring Active Towns wherever they might be while striving to produce high-quality multimedia content to help inspire the creation of more safe and inviting, environments that promote a "Culture of Activity" for "All Ages & Abilities."
The Active Towns Channel features my original video content and reflections, including a selection of podcast episodes and short films profiling the positive and inspiring efforts happening around the world as I am able to experience and document them.
Thanks once again for tuning in! I hope you find this content helpful and insightful.
Creative Commons License: Attributions, Non-Commercial, No Derivatives, 2025
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