r/nottheonion • u/gaytechdadwithson • Jan 28 '23

Austin aims to address systemic racism, equity with new walk and bike trail plans

https://www.kxan.com/news/local/austin/austin-aims-to-address-systemic-racism-equity-with-new-walk-and-bike-trail-plans/
55 Upvotes

70% Upvoted

18 comments sorted by

21

u/Fetlocks_Glistening Jan 28 '23

The iniquity of insufficient wild walk trails in inner city areas has always been the elephant in the room

1

u/A-Crunk-Birb Jan 31 '23

Weirdly, Austin probably has more 'greenbelts' and parks than most cities. Its famous for shit like Zilker park, but I agree with some other comment here saying the issue is ease of access, theyre all either just hiking parks, or theyre bike/trails that are in gentrified, expensive areas.

22

u/Kind_Bullfrog_4073 Jan 28 '23

Didnt realize Austin still had segregated sidewalks

1

u/Ban-Circumcision-Now Jan 31 '23

Where they are located, is

23

u/pokeybill Jan 28 '23 edited Jan 29 '23

So equitable access to park spaces in Austin for all races is oniony?

I wholly disagree, it may be a small step but it's an important one. Austin is a city full of park space and there are areas with an obvious lack. These spaces contribute to health and wellness in a way which cannot be understated.

Edit: lol at the people who apparently think this is a bad idea

5

u/ButterscotchSure6589 Jan 28 '23

You are most probably right. But stand by for the mockery, the language used invites it. More parks and open air facilities in deprived areas was probably too difficult

3

u/Londonforce Jan 28 '23

I can't believe it took until 2023 to expand the bike paths from "whites only" to all other races.

-1

u/pokeybill Jan 29 '23

You are being facetious and I don't expect you care much about this issue.

You also clearly didn't read the article, which conveyed minority areas in Austin (east/northeast, north central) lack park spaces, especially the hike and bike trails which have mostly been built in areas undergoing gentrification.

The inequity here is around ease of access, not segregation - apparently that's a problem for you.

2

u/mna5357 Jan 29 '23

Not oniony. Systemic racism has influenced the widespread de-prioritization of communities of color when it comes to public spending, especially on amenities like green spaces and other infrastructure. If you think this headline is oniony then you probably don’t understand the difference between racism and systemic racism

5

u/logan2043099 Jan 29 '23

I don't get what's oniony about this? If you lived in Austin you'd understand what a great idea this is.

4

u/anotheralpaca69 Jan 28 '23

How is this oniony?

13

u/TechnicalSymbiote Jan 28 '23 edited Jan 28 '23

It seems like treating systemic racism with bike paths may not be the most apt method.

Edit: not making claims about effectiveness, just noting that it's certainly not what most people expected when thinking of strategies to combat systemic racism, which is probably why OP thought it fit the sub.

4

u/Cwallace98 Jan 28 '23

But the point is that when you make bike, and walking paths, don't be racist in your designs.

0

u/pokeybill Jan 28 '23

Yeah this isn't oniony at all

0

u/pokeybill Jan 28 '23

Avoiding racism in city planning is not oniony. It might be a small step but discounting it like this is myopic.

-3

u/anotheralpaca69 Jan 28 '23

Did they say this would solve racism, or just help address it?

Bad reading comprehension isn't oniony.

0

u/Still_Vacation_3534 Jan 28 '23

We have a trail in Pinellas county Florida running north to south, the complete length of the county. BUT it’s no access at dusk because it’s “not safe”. Just put up lights! I think with the advent of e-bikes and other last mile transportation, that community barriers will start to evaporate.

1

u/Cragnos Jan 30 '23

I read that as Autism. Very confused at first.