HILVERSUM: A quick bike tour with local resident, Robert Lawson

In this on-bike interview, I explore Hilversum, a Dutch city within easy commuting distance by train to Amsterdam and Utrecht, with Robert Lawson, a recent resident of the area who is piloting his family SUV, an Urban Arrow cargo bike, naturally. He shares with me some of the reasons why he and his wife decided to move their young, growing family to Hilversum about one year ago. He shows me some of the new and old protected bike lanes, separated cycle paths, shared streets, edge lane roads (also known as advisory bike lanes), pedestrian areas, and a woonerf (shared street or home street.)
Hilversum lies 24 km (15 mi) southeast of Amsterdam and 15 km (9.3 mi) north of Utrecht and is home to several major radio, television, and newspaper companies such as Nederlandse Omroep Stichting. Hilversum is thus known for being the mediastad (media city) of the Netherlands.
#streetsareforpeople #bicycleinfrastructure #allagesandabilities

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Background:
Hi Everyone! My name is John Simmerman, and I’m a health promotion and public health professional with over 35 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.

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Creative Commons License: Attributions, Non-Commercial, No Derivatives, 2025