TEASER: Meet Mr. Barricade
The War on Cars
The War on Cars, LLC
4.9 • 937 Ratings
🗓️ 28 May 2021
⏱️ 5 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Combine a deep love of cities and urban planning with a penchant for wearing stylish suits, smooth dance moves set to Swedish rap music and a curious fascination with drainage and what do you get? Mr. Barricade, an unlikely TikTok star. Vignesh Swaminathan, who runs his own engineering and design firm in California, has built a huge following on the video-sharing platform based on his unique ability to explain everything from how protected intersections work in busy downtowns to the ongoing impacts of redlining and segregation. In this Patreon bonus episode just for supporters of The War on Cars, Doug talks to Mr. Barricade about his viral videos, tricks for successfully fighting racism online and the power of TikTok to help people see and experience their streets and communities in new ways.
Become a Patreon supporter of The War on Cars for access to this episode and all exclusive content. As thanks, we'll also send you stickers!
SHOW NOTES:
Follow Mr. Barricade on TikTok.
Learn more about Crossroad Lab, Vigesh Swaminathan's engineering and urban design firm.
Read all about Vignesh in the San Jose Mercury News.
Transcript
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| 0:17.5 | Hello I'm Doug Gordon and welcome to a special bonus episode of the War on Cars just for Patreon supporters. Are you on Tik-Tock? I'm old so I am not, but I do know that there are a lot of viral |
| 0:27.1 | stars you might see dancing or stitching together funny videos and among them is a very unlikely celebrity. |
| 0:35.0 | Vignesh Swaminathan, also known as Mr. Barricade. |
| 0:40.0 | Hey all, Mr. Barricade here and I want to show you this post. |
| 0:42.0 | So you see this post. |
| 0:42.6 | So you see this post right here? |
| 0:44.0 | It's just a balloon. |
| 0:45.0 | When I step on it, it folds back and it bounces back up. |
| 0:49.0 | Like nothing. |
| 0:50.0 | Barricade! |
| 0:51.0 | Mr. Barricade here to show how he took away a lane and added an on-street trail in a residential |
| 0:55.6 | neighborhood on Doyle Street in Emoryville, California, designed by yours truly. |
| 1:00.5 | Let's check it out. |
| 1:01.5 | Hey all, Mr. Barricate here to explain the benefits of a shared street. |
| 1:07.0 | Shared streets are designed with pavers, bumps, and art so people will feel the road opposed |
| 1:12.1 | to having to follow lines that have rules. |
| 1:15.0 | Hey all, Mr. Barricate here, to talk about the benefits of outdoor dining. |
| 1:19.0 | As we come out of COVID, there's going to be a need to revamp the businesses and having outdoor dining |
| 1:25.5 | is one of the best ways to do so. |
| 1:27.2 | By taking out a car lane and underutilized parking during this COVID time, we can create this public |
| 1:32.4 | space. |
| 1:32.8 | We can improve the aesthetics of traffic control equipment with vinyl wrap and paint and we always |
... |
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