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Active Towns

@activetowns.bsky.social
14K followers 1.6K following 2.5K posts

Hi! I'm John Simmerman, founder of Active Towns, a channel dedicated to profiling the people, places, and programs promoting a "Culture of Activity" for "All Ages & Abilities." Learn more 👉 www.youtube.com/@activetowns

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Active Towns @activetowns.bsky.social · 6h
In this excerpt from my “Walk ’n Talk” with Bob Babbitt, we discuss the power of community-based running and triathlon events to grow the Culture of Activity movement. youtube.com/shorts/Qq0be...
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How Events Help Create A Culture of Activity #shorts
YouTube video by Active Towns
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Active Towns @activetowns.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
Change is Hard - Better Block Makes it Easier - Ep 359 Excerpt: People freak out if you remove parking or narrow the street to slow drivers down, but they adjust and get over it. That's the beauty of what Better Block does. youtube.com/shorts/_N2pf...
youtube.com
Change is Hard - Better Block Makes it Easier #shorts
YouTube video by Active Towns
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Active Towns @activetowns.bsky.social · 04/10/2026
Click here to watch the full episode: youtu.be/jzqKI2tAKoA
youtu.be
My Bike Ride from the Wellington Airport to Downtown
YouTube video by Active Towns
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Active Towns @activetowns.bsky.social · 04/10/2026
Wellington Airport Ride Short: Alex Dyer @axleryde.bsky.social shows me an impressive Dutch-inspired protected intersection. youtube.com/shorts/Z2Xrv...
youtube.com
Checking Out a New Protected Intersection in Wellington #shorts
YouTube video by Active Towns
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Active Towns @activetowns.bsky.social · 04/10/2026
Aloha Everyone! Here’s my Active Towns “Month-In-Review” Newsletter for September 2026. Please check it out and subscribe if you find this format helpful. mailchi.mp/activetowns/...
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Active Towns @activetowns.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
NEW VIDEO ALERT: In this special bonus episode, I turn the tables on one of the best interviewers in endurance sports by interviewing Bob Babbitt on Wednesday, September 30, the day before he launched the 15th Edition of his Ironman World Championships Breakfast with Bob series youtu.be/a8JICUb9gJg
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A Walk 'n Talk with Ironman Hall of Famer Bob Babbitt
YouTube video by Active Towns
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Active Towns @activetowns.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
YAY! IT’S PREMIERE DAY: Pls tune in today, Fri, Oct 2nd, at 2 pm Eastern for the Season 11 Finale featuring a conversation with Krista Nightengale, Executive Director of the Better Block Foundation, about creating safer, more livable, and lovable spaces and places. youtu.be/EtvBDDmoRU4
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How to Build a Better Block
YouTube video by Active Towns
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Active Towns @activetowns.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
Love this so much! ❤️
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Active Towns @activetowns.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
Help grow Bike Bus 👇
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Active Towns @activetowns.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
YAY! IT’S PREMIERE DAY: Please tune in today, Wednesday, September 30th, at 2 pm (7 am Oct 1st in Wellington) for this special on-bike interview with @axleryde.bsky.social, who graciously met me at the Wellington Airport and rode with me to my downtown hotel this past March. youtu.be/jzqKI2tAKoA
youtu.be
My Bike Ride from the Wellington Airport to Downtown
YouTube video by Active Towns
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Active Towns @activetowns.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
If we want to be successful in advocating for better streets, we need to tell better stories. A short excerpt from episode 358 with Sara Stace 👇 youtube.com/shorts/X0o8t...
youtube.com
For Better Streets We Need to Tell Better Stories #shorts
YouTube video by Active Towns
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Active Towns @activetowns.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
Watch the fall episode here: youtu.be/r9PM_NWFMo8
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Active Towns @activetowns.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
Bentonville is Integrating Paved Urban Trails as a Default Tyler Overstreet, Bentonville Planning Director, talks about integrating active mobility infrastructure (including Dutch-inspired red cycle tracks) into the formal planning process. youtube.com/shorts/AV9xP...
youtube.com
Bentonville is Integrating Paved Urban Trails as a Default #shorts
YouTube video by Active Towns
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Active Towns @activetowns.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
YAY! IT’S PREMIERE DAY: Please tune in today, Friday, September 25th, at 2 pm Eastern for a conversation with Sara Stace on how we can more successfully advocate for better streets for everyone, all ages and abilities, and all mobility modes. youtu.be/nwPaj4CzSqM
youtu.be
A Better Streets Down Under Update with Sara Stace
YouTube video by Active Towns
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Active Towns @activetowns.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
PREMIERE ALERT TODAY! Please tune in later today, Wednesday, September 23rd, at 5 pm Eastern (that’s just about an hour from now) for this very special CNU34 Bike Tour of Bentonville led by David Wright, Bentonville Parks & Rec Director. @cnunewurbanism.bsky.social youtu.be/r9PM_NWFMo8
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The Congress for the New Urbanism Bentonville Bike Tour - 2026
YouTube video by Active Towns
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Urban Truth Collective @urbantruth.bsky.social · 19/09/2026
The WAR ON WALKING has taken many forms around the world. It’s often as simple as how we signal who space is and isn’t for. Once our eyes are opened to all the ways we’ve prioritized cars over people, we can’t unsee it. Frustrating photo contributed by @stadsplanering.bsky.social. #WarOnWalking
Background photo from North Macedonia, where “sidewalks are mostly used to park cars” as explained by photo contributor Carl-Henrik Barnekow. Text says “Don’t buy the lie that there’s a war on cars. They’ve been waging a war on walking for a century.” Via the Urban Truth Collective. #WarOnCars #UrbanTruth
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Active Towns @activetowns.bsky.social · 19/09/2026
This Principal is Leading a Safer Streets Revolution at Her School and Nationally: In this short excerpt, students demonstrate a New Zealand Kea Crossing, a temporary, part-time crossing zone used near schools to help children cross the street safely. youtube.com/shorts/lNw-T...
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Principal is Leading a Safer Streets Revolution
YouTube video by Active Towns
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Active Towns @activetowns.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
YAY! IT’S PREMIERE DAY: Please tune in today, Friday, September 18th, at 2 pm Eastern (8 pm CET) for a conversation with Gemma Simón i Mas, Postdoctoral Researcher, Blanquerna - Universitat Ramon Llull, about the global reach and impact of the Bike Bus Movement. youtu.be/yi-3IWB28UM
youtu.be
Global Impacts of Bike Bus Are Being Documented & Celebrated
YouTube video by Active Towns
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Active Towns @activetowns.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
Watch the full tour here: youtu.be/p2bF8vbSaDA
youtu.be
I Think I Found North America's Most Bicycle-Friendly Corporate Campus
YouTube video by Active Towns
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Active Towns @activetowns.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
This is a short excerpt of the CNU34 Northwest Arkansas Bike Tour of Walmart's newly opened headquarters campus, which features the Razorback Greenway running through the heart of the property. You have got to check this out. youtube.com/shorts/h0Jwx...
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CNU34 Walmart Campus Bike Tour #shorts
YouTube video by Active Towns
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Active Towns @activetowns.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
Yet another example that there’s a culture of activity shift happening within your family and community 👇
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Urban Truth Collective @urbantruth.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
For those in the UK and other countries where the lie is called a “war on motorists” rather than a “war on cars,” here’s a poster version for you to use and share. Either way, never forget, if there’s REALLY been any war in cities, it’s been a century-long WAR ON WALKING. #UrbanTruth #WarOnWalking
Black text on white background. “Don’t buy the lie that there’s a war on motorists. They’ve been waging a war on walking for a century. Via the Urban Truth Collective. 
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Active Towns @activetowns.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
YAY! IT’S PREMIERE DAY Pls tune in later today, Wed, Sept 16th, at 2 pm Eastern for a special successful School Street case study video profile of a primary school in Auckland, New Zealand. Hopefully, the actions of this Principal will inspire you to help transform your streets youtu.be/cJZKMFWR6lA
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Auckland School Street: Principal Found A Way to Make it Happen
YouTube video by Active Towns
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Nicole McEntee @nikkimcentee17.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
Love days when the bike bus starts small, then grows as you go along the route! Perfect weather for a bike bus today!
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Urban Truth Collective @urbantruth.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
Sometimes the WAR ON WALKING results in no sidewalks at all. Sometimes they put “something” in — but does that really make things walkable for anyone except those without any other choices? The #WARonWALKING takes many forms, but it’s always about making things comfortable for vehicles, not people.
Image of a wide concrete overpass with a huge truck travelling dangerously close to a thin, uncomfortable looking concrete “sidewalk.” The text says “Don’t buy the lie that there’s a war on cars. They’ve been waging a war on walking for a century.” Tagline at the bottom says the Urban Truth Collective. #UrbanTruth #WarOnCars
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Active Towns @activetowns.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
Best to watch the tour video and the accompanying presentation video... the campus is well integrated (within walking and biking distance) into the community where there is a lot of very encouraging gentle density taking form
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Active Towns @activetowns.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
Look, I get it, I'm always hesitant to celebrate the actions of any large corporation for a variety of reasons, but I will say that this is one of the best corporate campus and community active mobility integrations I have seen and documented globally in my 36 year career. It's worth learning form.
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Active Towns @activetowns.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
YAY! IT’S PREMIERE DAY: Pls tune in today, Mon, Sept 14th, at 2 pm Eastern, for this very special recording of the CNU34 Bike Tour of the Walmart Campus in Bentonville. The network of paved pathways, bike parking, and landscaping is amazing @cnunewurbanism.bsky.social youtu.be/p2bF8vbSaDA
youtu.be
I Think I Found North America's Most Bicycle-Friendly Corporate Campus
YouTube video by Active Towns
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Active Towns @activetowns.bsky.social · 13/09/2026
Yup. While that, and playing by the current land-use and parking minimum zoning that is in place, has certainly been largely the case, there are some encouraging monumental shifts happening on this front, including in Bentonville, so hopefully this could be a case study for changing the status quo.
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Active Towns @activetowns.bsky.social · 13/09/2026
You bring up a great point @rholt.bsky.social - Businesses and community developers can help by encouraging local municipalities to transform the built environment to support active mobility infrastructure for all ages and abilities. Just as @culdesac.bsky.social did in Tempe: youtu.be/Ognw7NSzuMU
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TEMPE, AZ: A conversation w/ Culdesac co-founder and CEO Ryan Johnson (exclusive on-bike interview)
YouTube video by Active Towns
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Active Towns @activetowns.bsky.social · 13/09/2026
And you can watch the full episode here: youtu.be/Af1MH8k6yFM
youtu.be
2026 Update: Bike Bus World with Coach Sam Balto
YouTube video by Active Towns
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Active Towns @activetowns.bsky.social · 13/09/2026
ICYMI: On Friday, I released a @bikebusworld.bsky.social Update with @coachbalto.bsky.social. Here’s a short excerpt from that conversation: youtube.com/shorts/ezEB6...
youtube.com
Kids Love Bike Bus and So Do Celebrities #shorts
YouTube video by Active Towns
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Active Towns @activetowns.bsky.social · 13/09/2026
Mahalo for the share! 🙏 Delighted to hear you enjoyed the conversation 🙌
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Active Towns @activetowns.bsky.social · 12/09/2026
Watch the full episode here: youtu.be/k4n1lErO_2k
youtu.be
A World Cup People-Oriented Street Holdover - Should it be Permanent?
YouTube video by Active Towns
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Active Towns @activetowns.bsky.social · 12/09/2026
Why Are Car-Free Streets So Scary? ICYMI Here’s a short excerpt from Ep 355, a conversation with @brenttoderian.bsky.social about the 7-Week Extension of the Car-Free, People-Oriented Granville St in Vancouver, BC, and what other cities can learn from their experience. youtube.com/shorts/uOgAa...
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Car-Free People-Oriented Streets Are Scary!
YouTube video by Active Towns
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Active Towns @activetowns.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
We’re rolling now! Please join us if you can… Aloha!😀👇
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Active Towns @activetowns.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
Alright, alright, alright... We're in the final countdown, with just under 30 minutes to go until we start rolling. Please log in to your Google/YouTube account to join us for the Live Chat. It's always wonderful having you along for the ride. Aloha! 😀👇
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Active Towns @activetowns.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
PREMIERING TODAY: Tune in later today, Friday, Sept 11, at 2 pm Eastern for the release of this @bikebusworld.bsky.social Update with the one and only @coachbalto.bsky.social. And sending a special shout-out to all the amazing Bike Bus advocates helping to grow this movement. 🙌 youtu.be/Af1MH8k6yFM
youtu.be
2026 Update: Bike Bus World with Coach Sam Balto
YouTube video by Active Towns
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Urban Truth Collective @urbantruth.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
Don’t buy the lie about a war on cars. They’ve been waging a WAR ON WALKING for a century. #UrbanTruth #WarOnWalking
Same text message as in the post, on a new poster from the Urban Truth Collective. Background image is a massive wide freeway, splitting neighbourhoods and filled with cars. #CarDependency #Traffic #Congestion
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Active Towns @activetowns.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
PREMIERE REMINDER: Tune in tomorrow, Friday, Sept 11, at 2 pm Eastern for a @bikebusworld.bsky.social Update Chat with the one and only @coachbalto.bsky.social. youtu.be/Af1MH8k6yFM
youtu.be
2026 Update: Bike Bus World with Coach Sam Balto
YouTube video by Active Towns
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Bikepedantic @pedantic.bike · 10/09/2026
A fun fact about our bike bus is that the safest lowest-volume streets in our neighborhood are almost all one-way inbound. To ride home, the safest route our city provides is to break the law and ride contraflow on those same one-way streets. It ain’t ideal.
A kid riding in a single traffic lane with parked cars facing toward us on each sideA kid riding in a single traffic lane with parked cars facing toward us on one sideA kid riding in a single traffic lane being passed by an adult on a bike, with parked cars facing toward us on each side
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Active Towns @activetowns.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
Mahalo my friend 🙏🤙❤️
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Active Towns @activetowns.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
Don't want to wait until Friday? I've gotcha covered... You can watch the episode now on Patreon here: www.patreon.com/activetowns/...
patreon.com
2026 Update: Bike Bus World with Coach Sam Balto | Active Towns
2026 Update: Bike Bus World with Coach Sam Balto by Active Towns on Patreon. Join Active Towns's community for exclusive content and updates.
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Active Towns @activetowns.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
Tags: @bikebusworld.bsky.social
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Active Towns @activetowns.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
PREMIERE ALERT: Please tune in this coming Friday, Sept 11, at 2 pm Eastern, for a conversation with @coachbalto.bsky.social for a Bike Bus World Update. youtu.be/Af1MH8k6yFM
youtu.be
2026 Update: Bike Bus World with Coach Sam Balto
YouTube video by Active Towns
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Active Towns @activetowns.bsky.social · 08/09/2026
YAY! IT’S PREMIERE DAY: Please tune in today, Tuesday, Sept 8th at 2 pm Eastern for something a little different… a test ride up Mauna Loa Access Road with a new bike, new camera equipment, and a new camera setup for multiple views. I’d love your feedback. youtu.be/h7kc7pfy9BA
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New Equipment Test Ride Mauna Loa Access Road
YouTube video by Active Towns
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Active Towns @activetowns.bsky.social · 06/09/2026
Aloha Everyone! Here’s my Active Towns Update newsletter for August 2026. It was a crazy month with Hurricane Lala hitting us hard here on Hawaii Island, but it was also a busy month for fresh new videos on the channel and a few flashbacks. mailchi.mp/activetowns/...
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Active Towns @activetowns.bsky.social · 04/09/2026
More bike bus magic... 'tis the season! ❤️👇
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Active Towns @activetowns.bsky.social · 04/09/2026
Active Towns Classic: In this excerpt, Ashton Schottler, with the fabulous TypeAshton Channel, gives us a taste of the emerging cycle network in Freiburg im Breisgau, and we check out a “new” fish ladder. Wait, what? See for yourself 👇 youtube.com/shorts/XhcFM...
youtube.com
Active Towns Classic: Freiburg with @TypeAshton Part Two Excerpt #shorts
YouTube video by Active Towns
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Active Towns @activetowns.bsky.social · 04/09/2026
YAY! IT’S PREMIERE DAY: Pls tune in today, Fri, Sept 4th, at 2 pm Eastern, for a chat w Vancouver, BC-based planner @brenttoderian.bsky.social, about what should happen with Granville Street. A challenge most cities trying to create more people-oriented places will relate to. youtu.be/k4n1lErO_2k
youtu.be
A World Cup People-Oriented Street Holdover - Should it be Permanent?
YouTube video by Active Towns
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