Bringing some Dutch-inspired street designs to the Hawai'i Islands
Channel: Active Towns
Date: 2023-11-17

For years, paradise has been plagued by traffic violence, with Hawai'i sporting some of the worst per-capita fatality rates in the nation of people being hit by cars while walking or biking.
In this episode, I reconnect with Mike Packard, a traffic engineer with the firm SSFM, based in Honolulu, Hawai'i, for a conversation about some encouraging signs of improvement in the construction of safe and inviting bicycle and pedestrian facilities across the Hawaiian Islands. Although none of the islands have a working comprehensive and connected high-comfort cycle network yet, each has a handful of facilities to build upon. We also compare and contrast the facilities he recently experienced in Osaka, Japan. 

What you'll see: 
- Historic Honolulu photos
- Low-speed roundabouts
- Dutch-inspired bi-directional cycle paths
- Ultra low-speed narrow streets in Osaka
- Quick build bi-directional cycle paths on King Street 

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Helpful Links (note that some may include affiliate links to help me support the channel):
- SSFM website: https://www.ssfm.com/
- City and County of Honolulu's Complete Streets page: https://www.honolulu.gov/CompleteStreets
- County of Hawaii's Transportation Planning page https://bit.ly/46mXGrU

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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, 2023