The damned thing is done. Sort of.
It’s not what I had originally intended. Last year, when I published a tongue-n-cheek trailer for this video, I was planning a documentary about bicycling in Springfield, Missouri with comparisons to Amsterdam (realizing, obviously, that such comparisons are difficult at best given the radically different contexts). The comparison was never the point. The point was — still is really — to caution people hereabouts (and all over the USA) about bicycle lanes and tracks.
Well, several things went wrong along the way — none of which are worth going into detail about. You can piece together most of it if you care to dig through a year’s worth of posts on this blog.
Anyway, think of this video as a draft. It’s rough in spots. It needs further work. I’ll be interested in your feedback for making it better.
By better, I mean helping me do the rhetorical work of furthering my point: Dutch bicyclists made a bad bargain in Amsterdam by surrendering the streets to cars and cramming themselves into lanes and tracks; we Americans ought not follow their example.
Get the popcorn ready. A cold beer wouldn’t hurt either. This is a video only traffic bicycling geeks can appreciate.
UPDATE: Many good suggestions for polishing this draft are flowing in by various means. Please keep suggestions coming. Known issues:
- Length: This needs to be 15 minutes tops.
- Hazards: Needs more explicit explanations of certain hazards.
UPDATE: I’ll keep a list of persuasive suggestions here:
- Lose the parking segment; doesn’t advance the thesis
- No long segments without verbal or textual commentary
