Reflections from Avital Barnea, Deputy Secretary for California's Transportation Planning
Channel: Active Towns
Date: 07/10/2022

In episode 154, I am honored to share this truly delightful conversation with Avital Barnea, the CalSTA (California State Transportation Agency) Deputy Secretary for Transportation Planning, about her journey to the transportation field, the state capital of California, by way of Washington DC, and why she has chosen to go car-free.

We also discuss the massive challenges California and our nation are facing with regard to climate change and pervasive car dependency and the steps we need to take to turn things around, including modeling what is possible.

Originally from Montana, Avital made her way two the Twin Cities and the University of Minnesota, before making the big move to Washington, DC, which is when she decided to ditch her car, and she has never looked back.

Helpful Links (note that some may include affiliate links to help me support the channel):
- ENOTrans article: https://www.enotrans.org/article/toward-a-multimodal-california-how-the-state-is-investing-in-walking-biking-and-transit/
- CalSTA website: https://calsta.ca.gov/
- Landing page for the episode for access to some of the photos: https://www.activetowns.org/2022/10/05/car-free-by-choice/

Video Timeline/Chapters:
0:00:00 Open
0:01:19 CalSTA Departments and Boards Graphic
0:05:47 Avital shares her career path backstory
0:10:21 Going car-free
0:14:04 Sacramento airport transit access
0:18:37 Impact of Climate Change on California
0:21:17 LA Freeways Postcard from the 1950s?
0:23:15 GHG Emissions Inventory Graphic
0:24:10 Changing Land Use Patterns
0:26:38 Bike & Transit Systems Integration
0:30:17 Potential of E-bikes 
0:31:30 Don't Buy the Ableism Argument 
0:33:19 Parking Protected Bike Lane
0:37:18 Living Car-Free by Choice
0:39:11 Share the Road (Railroad) Cartoon
0:40:34 Car-Free in CA
0:42:57 Being an Ambassador of Active Mobility
0:45:49 Hi-Viz Parisians in 1877
0:52:58 CalTrans Induced Demand Graphic
0:57:16 Closing 

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Credits: Video and audio production by John Simmerman

Music via Epidemic Sound: https://bit.ly/3rFLErD

Resources used during the production of this video:
- My recording platform is Ecamm Live: https://bit.ly/3rwsUup
- Editing software Adobe Creative Cloud Suite: https://bit.ly/35DBDDU

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Background: 
Hi Everyone! My name is John Simmerman, and I’m 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,  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, 2022