Introduce yourself!
Hello! My name is Matthew Boepple, I am mostly a lifelong Tucson resident, except for two years. I actually lived in the Phoenix area at Roosevelt Row. I do kind of miss it, but I think I had a greater appreciation for Tucson once moving back.
Car-Free Tucson origin story
What is Car-Free Tucson’s story that brought you to creating content around urbanism and advocating for better, more sustainable infrastructure?
I wish it were a more interesting story or even planned. What happened was, I had 200 followers on my regular Instagram account, mostly friends. I was just posting a lot about car-free living and urbanism on my personal account. At the time, I was still driving, but I was really into urbanism topics, trains, buses, and all that sort of stuff. It got to the point where I started worrying that I might alienate my friends by being that guy who always posted about politics.
So, I decided to create a secondary account. I thought, ‘If people are interested in this, they can follow me there.’ I posted about it, and 50 of my friends followed immediately. From there, it just kind of snowballed.
What was your ‘Urbanism by chance’ moment when you realized that we need to change the business-as-usual approach to our cities?
Not sure if there was one specific moment. It’s just kind of been a ton of stuff. I think back to when I was a kid. I went to a magnet school, so I was going to school across town form where I lived and my parents would have to drive me. I remember being picked up as a kid towards the summer time it would be 100 degrees. The car feels got, it’s like a mini oven and just taking forever to get across town and passing out the backseat I would wake up and I would only be two miles down the road.
It was an awful experience. Another one from my childhood was my dad waiting on the side of the road because his Ford Taurus seemed to always break down. The culmination of all these little awful experiences added up. On the positive side, we were a one car family for a long time and my dad would take the car for work, while my mom and I would use the bus to go shopping and around town. I enjoyed this experience as a kid a lot more.
What was the reasoning behind getting rid of your car?
There is a lot of reason, but the biggest one is just the expense of it. The car was always the top priority in most people’s financials including mine. If you don’t pay the car loan, someone will come and take the car away. It starts to become a burden for people.
Have you noticed a shift in your friend groups over time since you started becoming more active in urbanism and biking?
Yeah. I mean, for one, with this Instagram, I’ve met a lot of people who are car free or have this interest. So it’s great that I’ve met new people with this interest. But I’ve noticed like small shifts in my before friend group, who are willing to give try transit. It caught be off guard one time when I was half joking about taking the Tucson streetcar and my friends were like sure let’s do it!
A few years ago, you shared a photo of a horse at a Chick-fil-A drive-thru, and more recently, you discussed discrimination against cyclists at drive-thrus. While horses aren’t allowed, they’re often served, whereas policies are strictly enforced for cyclists and pedestrians. Why do you think this discrepancy exists?
I mean, for one, I think a horse is a very large animal, comparable to a car. So I think people just kind of look at that and it’s like, well, of course, could get hit by a car, but it’s not going to be as catastrophic. Whereas pedestrians and bikes are very fragile beings. And like, honestly, I don’t want to use the drive through. But if it’s the only an option like I, I think they loosened up a little bit with that policy during the pandemic. And yeah, we went through drive thrus on our bike.
Nobody said anything. But nowadays it’s it’s definitely a no go. But another thing from the pandemic too, is I think a lot of people, or a lot of businesses went in and put like outside windows to serve pedestrians. And they, you know, some of them are still using it, which is great. But it’s the ones that aren’t. And, you know, they, they closed down early because it’s in a bad part of town and they don’t want, you know, they want that safety factor for their employees. But it’s just kind of hard when you’re turning away or paying customers who, who don’t have a car like that is a tough form of discrimination.
Bikes & Travel
How was your experience doing Cranksgiving in Tempe, and was there anything significant from that experience that helped you push what is possible on a bike?
So yeah, Cranksgiving was my first, the Tempe one was my first alleycat style race. Cranksgiving’s the only type I’ve done. And, it was probably the most like a race. The other ones have been kind of more calm and like. Yeah, just hit up all the shops and we’ll give you a raffle tickets. This was like first place, second place, and so on and so forth.
Watching the movies with the bike messengers and you’re like, that’s so cool and it’s just like this experience where you could kind of live it out and you’ve got checkpoints to get to, and you’ve got to decide how you’re going to get to, and, it’s just a lot of fun, but also the logistics of, you know, how am I going to carry these groceries? I think I just had a backpack. I think most people do backpacks, unless you’re got the cargo bike. Part of me wants to take the trailer next time. I have a little pet trailer that I converted into a flatbed, and I want to do as much groceries as I can.
Is it true the City of Tucson Director of Transportation has their own bike parking space?
So yes, they do have at public Works, there’s one designated for the director of transportation. I’ve seen it used, but I don’t think by the director. It’s usually bikes that I recognize as being like, you know, deputy director or some someone a little bit lower down. They know that their boss isn’t using it, so they’ll use it for the day.
How was your experience taking the Amtrak to Greenville, South Carolina and was this your first amtrak trip?
This is not my first Amtrak, trip. My first one was back in 2006. So it’s been almost 19 years of Amtrak, if I’m doing my math right. But yeah, this this this trip was great. I had never been, east of Houston before on the Sunset Limited, went all the way to New Orleans and then switched over to the Crescent. The only downside is I wanted to bring my bike, which you can do on most Amtrak trains, and you could do it on the Crescent, too. The issue was, Greenville, and I think the other two stops in South Carolina on that line do not have staff stations.
So there’s no checked baggage, there’s no express shipping, there’s no bikes. But luckily I was out there seeing, Instagram’s Rebel Without a car, Mary. We’ve kind of become friends over the year, and she was out here in Tucson, about a year and a half ago, so, you know, returned the favor and showed me around Greenville and, luckily, she had a trailer, and I borrowed her boyfriend’s e-bike, and, you know, like most people who cycle, they’ve got a collection of bikes, and it is the best airport slash train station pickup I’ve ever experienced. Somebody rolling up on a bike with a second bike strapped to a trailer.
You’ve traveled a lot around the world. Were visiting these cities an inspiration for your desire to advocate for better cities? If so, why?
I don’t think it was like, an intentional, for the most part, like, London was just, you know, a city I’d always wanted to visit. I am attracted to cities that are very urban and London fits that bill. Scotland was a quick day trip and Iceland was more pushing tourism. So everybody is going to Iceland that year.
What is the best transit agency you’ve experienced?
I’m not sure that I could pinpoint one, and I couldn’t really say that there’s any one transit agency that’s been horrible. But if you had, if I had to choose, I’d probably say the MTA in New York. It is a very big system. The number of people it moves throughout the day. And, the fact that when I’m in New York, I never, I never have to think about, like, taking a taxi. It is everywhere. Everywhere in New York you can get to pretty much by some sort of train, and now bike path as well.
Urbanism
Since becoming more involved with urbanism and promoting community and connections, do you view golf courses in urban areas differently than before?
You saw that I worked in the golf industry. That was actually kind of on accident. I was just looking for a part time job or any job, and I ended up working as a cashier at the golf course because I knew the, deputy director. I would say that I’ve always kind of looked at, we’ve got two municipal courses in midtown Tucson at Reed Park, which is our big Central Regional park. And, the golf courses take up twice as much space as the rest of the park, with the zoo and the baseball stadium and all that stuff does that with zoos.
Yeah, I had wanted that to become like this grand, like Central Park for Tucson and just, you know, get rid of the golf courses. And then I started working there, and I do have to say, like, I gained a little more appreciation for it. I like that, you know, municipal courses make it easier for people to be able to afford an expensive sport, especially for kids who are interested in it. But I still have to say, you know, the city has five municipal courses.
I still want to see the two in midtown become just park and kind of shift that municipal to those other courses, because I feel like there’s, there’s a much better land use in that part of town, and we could have so much more, you know, development. We can have more people living there, more people exercising there, and, it’s not a great use of land like water wise, the number of people who get to experience it.
What policy in the city of Tucson do you see as inhibiting its ability to excel in urbanism?
I would say one of the big ones is, mandatory parking minimums, which we keep pushing for, to make them, you know, if anything, suggestions. I think we should just ax them altogether, let businesses decide how much they need, let residents decide. And then the other is just this, the concept of having to separate our commercial and residential zoning and the density. So I think zoning is basically the short answer to that.
As someone who enjoys nature, why does urbanism appeal to you, and do you think urbanism can help preserve nature?
Yeah. I mean, I think if you are a nature lover, you’re going to want to live in an urban area just because you know, the sprawls. Not good for preserving these areas. One of the things I hate most when I’m out hiking or out for a bike ride is when I come across a major road or, you know, I’m on National Forest land and I can look over and see somebody’s house that they built right there because they were right on the line. It’s not good to have all the sprawl.
And I think if you’re really a nature lover, you’re going to live in the city and you’re going to visit nature and you’re going to make the cities that you live in full of nature, like tree lined streets. You’re going to have beautiful parks. It’s one of the things I love about New York. It’s one of the most dense urban areas on the planet.
But their parks are just amazing. There’s so much nature within New York City if you walk a few blocks in one direction. It’s just there’s less environmental impact as well. Being a city dweller, you know, hopefully you’re taking transit or biking and you’re not contributing to air pollution. And it’s just being conservative and preserving this land that has it has a much better use and it’s for the enjoyment of people and for the enjoyment of animals and their habitats.
You previously lived in Downtown Phoenix for a couple of years. What changes in the downtown area, both good and bad, have you noticed since you last lived there?
Well, luckily, I can’t think of too many things I would say are bad. I used to live in the Roosevelt Row section of downtown. I loved having the streetcar right there. That’s that’s still a great feature, but, I mean, the the new bike lanes that I’m seeing popping up, I’m like, I would have loved that. When I was here, they had started building some of the taller residential buildings and now there is a grocery store too.
What are misconceptions people have about cities and urbanism that you often have to deal with?
I think a lot of people, when they think density, think you’re trying to turn this into New York City, like is is going to be packed. It’s going to be tall skyscrapers. And really what we’re talking about with density is, fewer parking garages and spaces and more apartment buildings and things like duplexes and the ADUs, which is past both, I believe, in Tucson and at the statewide level. So it’s just like little things that we can do to make an area more dense. But yeah, that just the, the panicky fear I think is like, oh, you know, we don’t want to be like New York. We don’t need 70 story buildings.
Rapid Fire
Favorite type of housing?
Brooklyn Brownstone!
Bus or Train?
Train all day!
What’s your favorite airline, either current or formerly existing?
Southwest is usually my go to. Delta has been gaining favor and I gotta give a shout to Virgin Atlantic for afternoon tea in the sky.
One thing you would like to see more in Cities?
Dedicated cycle tracks away from away from traffic.
Best type of food a 24/7 city should have?
Taco stand!
Community advocating
What are some ways you’ve managed to make an impact in your community to better the quality of life and infrastructure in your city?
So I guess for my Instagram account, I always like to joke that I’m just a guy complaining on the internet. And I think part of me sometimes starts to believe that. And I kind of wonder, you know, why am I even doing this? And I think I see the impact when about that time I will get a message from somebody and they’re like, you know, I saw your post about you selling your car and that really inspired me to make the leap. I’ve been thinking about it for a while.
Another great example is, when I first started the account. And so, you know, a couple hundred followers growing these posters started showing up around Midtown, and it was like, you know, are you interested in urbanism? I think it was the War on Cars podcast, not just Bikes on YouTube. And then Car-Free Tucson! So these posters I like saw a couple of them and was just like, whoa, what’s what’s this? And, and a couple of people reach out and they’re like, hey, can I get that template so I can print?
I’m like, I didn’t do that. Somebody went out there and did this on their own. And, I don’t think I’ve ever met them in person, but we we started talking and they’re like, “yeah, I’m a real shy, introverted person. I don’t typically like, go to public meetings, but like, your account has inspired me to get out there and like, I’m going to meetings now. I’m filling out surveys.”
I think so far the greatest impact is just influencing people and inspiring. And I’ve seen other accounts pop up. And now that I’m a little more out there with who I am, having people come up to me and say I love your stuff, and you know, I’m doing this now. It’s just it’s just great having that voice out there.
Tell us about a positive experience you’ve had engaging with your city while advocating for people outside of cars!
It’s a good platform to have because I do get down there and I’ll complain about something. And I’ve noticed the city of Tucson tends not to respond to me directly, but I’ve gone in and complained about something like, oh, you know, we got these dumpsters that are always in the middle of the bike path.. The next day the area was cleaned up and the dumpsters were pushed to the side. And then like maybe a week later, the dumpsters have completely been relocated. And it’s just like they never reached out to me and said, we’re working on this. But you can tell, like when I get on the platform, they they’re listening.
And then most recently, Pima County, they actually started filling this pothole and they actually repaved the whole area. I’ve been complaining about it for years, but I always tag the government agencies and the officials in it, and they actually got back to me and they’re like, oh, well, we don’t want to take credit for this because this could be the city. A couple days later they actually follow it up again and they’re like yeah it turns out it is us. We’re you know we went out there to fix the pothole and so much more needed to be done. So we’re we’re doing that too.
From your experience, how can someone get more involved in community advocacy and make a difference?
Surveys are a great way to start. You can do it if you’re introverted or shy, but, I think going to, just bike events or transit events, we’ve got breakfast by bike, we have, cup coffee outside these types of events where there’s very low, low stress. You get to meet people, they’ll tell you about something else, and it just kind of, I mean, hell, even even starting an Instagram account and posting, like, just being out there, finding like minded people, being another voice out there, like, that’s something you can do if you’re shy and introverted. Nobody has to know it’s you. A lot of accounts are faceless.
Community questions
Give A shoutout to your favorite individual or organization who’s making Tucson a better place!
That’s that’s a tough one. We got so many good organizations. I think top of that list is Living Streets Alliance. They do a lot of, advocacy and work with the city to make things better for people outside of cars.
Do you yell back at car drivers?
Sometimes, yes. I am trying to get better at it because I do need to realize that these drivers are also driving something that can be weaponized very easy and, road rage is a thing. I have been known to yell back at drivers. Lately, I’ve been doing a better job of just keeping it, like you’ll see in some of my videos where I’m just like kind of talking to myself.
Explain why transit app is superior to Google maps and local agency’s app
Yeah. So, I selfishly keep pushing the transit app. They do not pay me in any sort of way. I don’t even know if they know I exist. But I love the transit app because it gets real time data from the transit agencies, but also, data from people actually on busses and trains. So they’ll use that GPS data. And it really helps with those phantom busses. Combined user data, it’s a little more accurate. You’re getting real time data. If that’s not available, it’s going off the schedule.
But when somebody is on the bus and they press the little go button, it will give you that extra, sense of confidence like, well, there’s somebody actually on it.
When are you getting a brompton?
I would need to ride one first. You got to set me up with a test ride. I’m not completely sold on it. It was a funny looking bike. Yeah. I mean, it definitely would have helped in South Carolina. But right now I look at it, it’s just kind of a funny bike with a tall thing like the base is low and the wheels are small.
I do have to say, I’m really intrigued by the French brand, the Bastille, which they have a folding bike, and it looks much more like a traditional bike. And I know that just in France right now, and they’re talking about expanding to Europe and then who knows when the United States.
Farewell
What is one thing you are hoping to see change in your city during your lifetime?
Well, other than every single thing about how cities have been built, I think the big thing would be, inner city rail. I think that’s going to be huge for both Tucson and Phoenix and hopefully in the future, Flagstaff and the Grand Canyon and Nogales and just having this massive state network that is fast and frequent and connecting with, the long distance service, like, you know, right now, Tucson, I mean, Phoenix doesn’t have service.
Anything I missed that you would like to talk about?
Nope!
Feel free to plug anything you are working on and your accounts!
So obviously the main one I’m on is, Car-Free Tucson on Instagram. I did kind of soft launch a Patreon where I’m hoping, offsets some of the costs that I’ve been paying out of pocket, but also looking to get support from my fans to spend a little more time doing this. And, I really don’t want to be out there hacking stuff for brands. So I’m going to the fans first. And, I’m hoping also to start doing some long format videos on YouTube. So that all just really relies on me having the time to do it.
