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Superblocks: how Barcelona is taking city streets back from cars

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Re: Superblocks: how Barcelona is taking city streets back from cars

#41

Post by bjelkeman-again »

happyslobro wrote: post #8
gkya wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How exactly self-driving cars would help for pedestrian-dominated urban areas?

You could send the car back home after it drops you off, or release it to pick up someone else. That is, if it is fully autonomous. I suspect that long before then, the "self driving" term is going to get abused by marketing until it means nothing more than "autonomously maintains RPM relative to pedal angle".

Or share the car with other people for a lot fewer cars overall. Imagine a town with 1/5 as many cars as today. How nice it would be.

Re: Superblocks: how Barcelona is taking city streets back from cars

#42

Post by Avshalom »

happyslobro wrote: post #8
gkya wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How exactly self-driving cars would help for pedestrian-dominated urban areas?

You could send the car back home after it drops you off, or release it to pick up someone else. That is, if it is fully autonomous. I suspect that long before then, the "self driving" term is going to get abused by marketing until it means nothing more than "autonomously maintains RPM relative to pedal angle".

Well on one hand you can move parking lots, on the other hand you end up with a lot of empty cars driving around which means even more traffic.

Re: Superblocks: how Barcelona is taking city streets back from cars

#43

Post by TheCoelacanth »

pmontra wrote: post #2

Great idea! The only puzzling point is the 10 km/h limit. In my experience it's almost impossible to go that slow. Better to set the limit at 20 km/h and cope with the conditions of the road. It will be slow for bicycles too. It forces bikers to go on the roads for cars or be very patient. Maybe it's the intended effect but I don't approve it.

The point is for the cars to be going the same speed as pedestrians so that pedestrians can safely use the roads. Cars would use it only to access the interior of the super-block; never to go through the super-block. Think of it as more like driving in a parking lot than like driving on a road.

Re: Superblocks: how Barcelona is taking city streets back from cars

#44

Post by johngalt »

This seems like the urban version of road hierarchy. With the local roads being more like a large shared driveway. Similar to how cul-de-sacs are used in suburban settings.

The place to spend the money on improvements would be the roads outside of the 9 block cube. Obviously they would now have a lot more traffic.

Re: Superblocks: how Barcelona is taking city streets back from cars

#45

Post by gkya »

bjelkeman-again wrote: post #41
happyslobro wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You could send the car back home after it drops you off, or release it to pick up someone else. That is, if it is fully autonomous. I suspect that long before then, the "self driving" term is going to get abused by marketing until it means nothing more than "autonomously maintains RPM relative to pedal angle".

Or share the car with other people for a lot fewer cars overall. Imagine a town with 1/5 as many cars as today. How nice it would be.

Why not just hop on a bus then? How is it different?

Re: Superblocks: how Barcelona is taking city streets back from cars

#46

Post by adrianN »

gkya wrote: post #45
bjelkeman-again wrote: post #41

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Or share the car with other people for a lot fewer cars overall. Imagine a town with 1/5 as many cars as today. How nice it would be.

Why not just hop on a bus then? How is it different?

The bus has a fixed route, the robocar takes each person exactly where they want to go.

Re: Superblocks: how Barcelona is taking city streets back from cars

#47

Post by massysett »

"Modern cities are ruled by cars."

"Some folks, however, still cling to the old idea that cities are for people,"

How strange. Every time I see a car, one or more people are in it. I also see other vehicles, such as trucks, that not only have a person in it, they also are carrying things (such as food or building materials) that other people need.

Re: Superblocks: how Barcelona is taking city streets back from cars

#48

Post by massysett »

jurip wrote: post #13
bb101 wrote: post #7

Very interesting idea. However, losing two through-streets out of every three will triple the traffic on the remaining through-street. The people living on the interior of the superblocks will enjoy a more peaceful car-free environment, but the people overlooking the through-streets will experience more noise, pollution and congestion. I wonder how Barcelona plans to compensate the residents of through-streets for th…

I'd expect the total automobile traffic to be reduced, rather than all of it concentrating on the through streets. Making driving less convenient will push people who don't have to drive to leave their cars at home and go with public transport, bike or foot instead.

It can also do a number of other things:

* cause people not to travel at all, thus keeping money in their pockets rather than spending it to benefit the economy

* cause people who do not live in the city to drive to other places--places where their preferred mode of transportation is accommodated--to work or transact business

* cause people who live in the city to leave due to increasing frustration with their inability to go where they wish.

Re: Superblocks: how Barcelona is taking city streets back from cars

#49

Post by egypturnash »

gkya wrote: post #45
bjelkeman-again wrote: post #41

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Or share the car with other people for a lot fewer cars overall. Imagine a town with 1/5 as many cars as today. How nice it would be.

Why not just hop on a bus then? How is it different?

The dream of the automated public car:

It comes to you within a couple of minutes when you call it, instead of having to wait for the next bus. Which can be around a half hour or worse in the US outside of the cores of cities.

It goes directly where you want to go, instead of going vaguely near your destination and stopping every three blocks for passengers.

Cargo can go in the trunk, rather than get hauled onto the bus by hand and fight for space with passengers when the bus is full

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