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It's time to ban cars from Manhattan?

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31–40 of 325 posts

Re: It's time to ban cars from Manhattan?

#31
post #29

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Taking public transportation in the bay area is incredibly stressful. Counterpoint: all of the shootings up and down the I-80 corridor, wrong way drivers, sideshows, and road rage. https://www.sfgate.com/news/bayarea/article/Update-4-Killed-... https://www.eastbaytimes.com/2018/06/25/traffic-stop-in-rich... https://www.eastbaytimes.com/2019/05/05/chp-seeks-weekend-i-... https://www.eastbaytimes.com/2019/09/14/shootin…

None of which are things I've encountered while driving. I bet if you ran the stats, you would be far more likely to be a victim of crime on bart than while driving in the bay area. There's a reason all of the women at my workplace drive instead of taking bart. They've tried bart and found it incredibly unsafe. The only disadvantages of driving are traffic and parking. Edit: You've edited your comment to add links, a…

There are people I know who will not take BART alone. I agree that the perceived safety definitely effects ridership. I can't believe this is not taken more seriously by those who wish to encourage more people to take transit! After all, subways are normally considered better than buses which really is what could be implemented more easily!

Re: It's time to ban cars from Manhattan?

#32
post #29

Earlier quoted context omitted.

None of which are things I've encountered while driving. I bet if you ran the stats, you would be far more likely to be a victim of crime on bart than while driving in the bay area. There's a reason all of the women at my workplace drive instead of taking bart. They've tried bart and found it incredibly unsafe. The only disadvantages of driving are traffic and parking. Edit: You've edited your comment to add links, a…

I bet if you ran the stats, you would be far more likely to be a victim of crime on bart than while driving in the bay area. Then run the numbers instead of wildly waving your hands. If you'd like anecdotes I've never been robbed at gunpoint on BART, nor have I ever had anyone threaten to stab me on BART. The only disadvantages of driving are traffic and parking. And air pollution, risk of a crash or injury, cost of…

Is it uncommon to be threatened on BART? I thought that was just normal.

Re: It's time to ban cars from Manhattan?

#33
post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I bet if you ran the stats, you would be far more likely to be a victim of crime on bart than while driving in the bay area. Then run the numbers instead of wildly waving your hands. If you'd like anecdotes I've never been robbed at gunpoint on BART, nor have I ever had anyone threaten to stab me on BART. The only disadvantages of driving are traffic and parking. And air pollution, risk of a crash or injury, cost of…

Is it uncommon to be threatened on BART? I thought that was just normal.

Maybe you're just a bigger asshole than I am? vOv

Re: It's time to ban cars from Manhattan?

#36

I didn't read the whole article but would this include banning trucks that bring in goods? What about trucks that help residents move to and from the city?

Not at all. The plan is to ban private vehicles and through traffic within the cross town streets (East-West direction, numbered roads) in Manhattan. Larger cross-town streets like 14th, 23rd and 42nd would remain open to all traffic. The smaller streets is where the ban would go into a place making them a single grade mixing zone for pedestrians, cyclists and vehicles. Service vehicles (delivery, garbage, taxis) can…

> Larger cross-town streets like 14th, 23rd and 42nd would remain open to all traffic.

Wasn't 14th just closed to cars starting this week? https://www.nytimes.com/2019/10/03/nyregion/car-ban-14th-str...

Re: It's time to ban cars from Manhattan?

#37

I didn't read the whole article but would this include banning trucks that bring in goods? What about trucks that help residents move to and from the city?

Chicago at one time had an underground tunnel system for transporting goods, but it fell into disrepair, and is too small for moving modern trucks/freight. I think most/all of it is closed off today; although the city still uses some of it. Singapore's Certificate of Entitlement (COE) system works really well to reduce cars in the city (you have to bid on the license to buy a car, which can run S$30k to S$90k dependi…

Manhattan is an island. They could work with that kind of system.

Probably better to charge per entry. Or per day a vehicle is on the island.

Re: It's time to ban cars from Manhattan?

#38
This sounds like it would suck big time for musicians and the like who have to transport gear to bars and whatnot, which I've done plenty of times since high school (I live just outside the city in NJ). Having to carry all my gear like 10 NYC blocks (or more) after having to pay tens of dollars to park in a garage (what would availability even be?) would definitely make me think twice about trying to get gigs there. My girlfriend's an artist and does shows there occasionally, and she'd be in the same boat.

Obviously I'm not saying "there'll be no art or live music in NYC if this happens!" I have a car and unless I have a damn good reason I don't drive into the city, especially during the crazy traffic hours (the PATH trains run all night). I think we need to consider what other damn good reasons people have for driving into Manhattan before we consider something as radical as this.

Re: It's time to ban cars from Manhattan?

#39
post #34

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Maybe you're just a bigger asshole than I am? vOv

Haha, alright. Hopefully you can make your case to someone else.

Sorry, did you want a serious reply? You should probably try a less snarky opening then.

Re: It's time to ban cars from Manhattan?

#40
post #19

Unfortunately, New York City was built at a time when people rode horses, and its streets reflect that. And you can't just widen a street, certainly not in a city like NYC. You would have to destroy every building on one side of a street, and build new buildings, all for a gain of a few feet. Large megapolises like NYC need to start exploring the concept of 3D streets. Instead of having a single street level, on the…

> Tl;dr we need to start building Coruscant. Or Taris.

Trantor.
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