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Life in the Spanish city that banned cars

theguardian.com

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Re: Life in the Spanish city that banned cars

#691

Post by kevstev »

notyourday wrote: post #601
kevstev wrote: post #522

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Contrary to that anecdote, Jersey City (across the Hudson river from Manhattan), created a no-car zone near one of its busier subway stops and what was once a dead-zone after 8pm is now an extremely vibrant place filled with bars, restaurants and shops. Proximity to mass transit and having density that already discourages driving helps.

It has nothing to do with car free streets and everything to do with the Jersey City being on the other side from Manhattan with rents being 50% or lower than the rents in Manhattan and Jersey city being accessible by PATH.

I don't think you understand. The mayor closed off a stretch of Newark Avenue, which leads right into the Grove St Path Station in late 2014. Prior to this, Newark Avenue was a strip of fairly grimy stores, a few restaurants, and some new promising places like Word Bookstore had been moving in since 2010 or so.

Still, this was a pretty dead place at night. In 2008, I would go to one of the two bars there and it would be a literal ghost town, with stores boarded up with metal gates and such- it looked almost post-apocalyptic. It was a little better from 2011-2014, but still it was a quiet area at night.

After the pedestrian plaza was put in, the amount of foot traffic increased ten fold, particularly during the day when it was a heavily traffic-ed street. This brought in a new wave of bars and restaurants to the area, and its now a destination on its own, filled with people nearly 24/7. In fact it has gotten so popular and become such a destination, the city is now trying to introduce ordinances to reduce noise at night.

The change was instantaneous after the pedestrian plaza was put in place.

People seem to forget these days how much Jersey City was shit on up until 2011 or so. It was "jersey" and it was absolutely not a definite that it would gentrify.

Re: Life in the Spanish city that banned cars

#692

Post by Basketb926 »

pixelbeat__ wrote: post #613

It's interesting how people's expectations and attitudes develop. I remember landing at San Diego airport and asking how I could walk the relatively short distance into the city center. I just got looks of derision and directions to the taxi rank. I did attempt to find a walkable route myself to no avail. It's an interesting contrast to banning cars and essentially banning walking

San Diego airport website does give some walking details that were not known by the people you met https://www.san.org/to-from/Walking-Biking

Re: Life in the Spanish city that banned cars

#693

Post by notyourday »

kevstev wrote: post #691
notyourday wrote: post #601

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It has nothing to do with car free streets and everything to do with the Jersey City being on the other side from Manhattan with rents being 50% or lower than the rents in Manhattan and Jersey city being accessible by PATH.

I don't think you understand. The mayor closed off a stretch of Newark Avenue, which leads right into the Grove St Path Station in late 2014. Prior to this, Newark Avenue was a strip of fairly grimy stores, a few restaurants, and some new promising places like Word Bookstore had been moving in since 2010 or so. Still, this was a pretty dead place at night. In 2008, I would go to one of the two bars there and it would…

> People seem to forget these days how much Jersey City was shit on up until 2011 or so. It was "jersey" and it was absolutely not a definite that it would gentrify.

Bed-Stuy Bushwick Gowanus East New York Bronx Inwood

Re: Life in the Spanish city that banned cars

#694

Post by bentoscher »

minikomi wrote: post #687
bentoscher wrote: post #671

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Take a bit of time to walk; Look, wonder, have a talk. There is no journey without the ´jour´; All should at least once be a flaneur.

An original poem? Lovely :)

Yea, its original. Thanks. Ive been a long time lurker here on HN, and thought i might contribute by putting my on topic thoughts into rhyme.

Re: Life in the Spanish city that banned cars

#695

Post by moneytide1 »

sxv wrote: post #658
jimmaswell wrote: post #489

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I lived on a college campus for two years without a car, with on-campus amenities and a very walkable town right next to it. Now that I live elsewhere with a car, I can't see myself ever going to a pedestrian-only area. I just do not like having to walk everywhere. The closest on-campus food was a five minute or so walk away from my dorm room, which doesn't sound like a lot, but I didn't like having to walk even that…

I felt similarly while at college.. until I got a bike. Urban bicycling has changed my life entirely. Did you ever try it? What used to be a 20 minute walk becomes a 5 minute glide. In SF and Montreal, google maps even acknowledges that most routes are fastest by bike.

Even here in TN where it's easy to drive without congestion, biking allows me to simultaneously save fuel, get blood pumping, and run errands. Feels practical

Re: Life in the Spanish city that banned cars

#696

Post by moneytide1 »

notyourday wrote: post #603
kristiandupont wrote: post #254

Earlier quoted context omitted.

New York, SF, Boston and San Diego are quite nice for walking IMO. But it's definitely more prevalent in Europe. My commute here in Copenhagen consists of a 10 minute bike ride and it makes me happy every day.

> New York Oh please. Call spade a spade - you are talking about Manhattan, Dumbo or Williamsburg, Harlem and newly gentrified, serviced by subway places with white cafes and bars and restaurants loved by the lily white people working in tech or in finance. The thing is... it is a very small part of NYC. People in Queens take a car to get to a subway because it takes thirty to fourty minutes to get to it otherwise an…

Coincidentally, I recently came across an interesting quip while reading "the Fountainhead" recently:

[Peter Keating discussing whether or not he and his wife should build a country home away from the city] "Will you like commuting?" "No, I think it will be quite an awful nuisance. But you know, everybody that's anybody commutes nowadays. I always feel like a damn proletarian when I have to admit that I live in the city."

Re: Life in the Spanish city that banned cars

#697

Post by cimmanom »

notyourday wrote: post #603
kristiandupont wrote: post #254

Earlier quoted context omitted.

New York, SF, Boston and San Diego are quite nice for walking IMO. But it's definitely more prevalent in Europe. My commute here in Copenhagen consists of a 10 minute bike ride and it makes me happy every day.

> New York Oh please. Call spade a spade - you are talking about Manhattan, Dumbo or Williamsburg, Harlem and newly gentrified, serviced by subway places with white cafes and bars and restaurants loved by the lily white people working in tech or in finance. The thing is... it is a very small part of NYC. People in Queens take a car to get to a subway because it takes thirty to fourty minutes to get to it otherwise an…

Even in Queens only a relatively small percentage of people own cars and even fewer use a car as part of their commute. Recent data indicate that less than 3% of low income workers commute by car. Your average outer borough janitorial worker is going to be taking a bus to the subway (though if citibike and some protected lanes were available I’m sure some would consider that option).

Washington Heights and Inwood are quite walkable and most people there commute by subway, without having to drive to it. The same goes for Crown Heights and Bed-Stuy.

Re: Life in the Spanish city that banned cars

#698

Post by chadash »

Double_a_92 wrote: post #648
chadash wrote: post #232

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Just to clarify, there is no law that I know of prohibiting car traffic on yom kippur in Tel Aviv. However, since this is the most important holiday of the year, even many Israelis who don't celebrate other holidays will celebrate this one. I believe that virtually all businesses are closed that day, even those that don't close on other Jewish holidays (again, not illegal to operate, but customary). So in practice, f…

What about hotels? E.g. if somebody wants to visit especially for that holiday.

Generally hotels will run with a skeleton staff.

Re: Life in the Spanish city that banned cars

#699

Post by dvdhnt »

CalRobert wrote: post #421
dvdhnt wrote: post #271

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My wife and I want to move to Europe from the U.S., however, while I do have 5+ years of experience, I haven't finished my degree...

Some things to check out: * Dutch American Friendship Treaty (self employ in the Netherlands) * Working Holiday visa Irealnd (one year and have to be within a year of school or in school, but if you get a job that sponsors you can stay) * Germany. Germany is just supposed to be a relatively easy place to get a visa, comparatively. Be sure to look up blue cards. * Ancestry. Got any history in a European country? Start…

Wow, can't believe I missed this response.

> Dutch American Friendship Treaty (self employ in the Netherlands)

This was my first thought. I was hoping to move abroad for some time before quitting my remote U.S. job.

> Working Holiday visa Irealnd (one year and have to be within a year of school or in school, but if you get a job that sponsors you can stay)

I'm going to check this one out, thank you. I have a few classes I'd like to take, plus the GI bill to pay for finishing my degree (I have a semester left).

> Ancestry. Got any history in a European country? Start looking at grandparents' birth certs.

My wife's mother was born in Italy (well, Sicily), her family migrated to the U.S. when she was just a few years old.

Thank you!

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