Earlier quoted context omitted.
Can you give some examples?
I remember when they were trying to put TSA in train stations. Is that still a thing?
They've been in subway stations for years and years.
The High Cost of Free Parking (2005)
71–80 of 108 posts
Re: The High Cost of Free Parking (2005)
#72These maps provide graphic evidence of how parking lots “eat” U.S. cities: https://bigthink.com/strange-maps/parking-lots-eat-american-... America has paid a steep price for parking: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=36197206 The force that shapes everything around us: Parking: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=36758355 Parking Laws Are Strangling America: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OUNXFHpUhu8 Austin Prep…
How much of that is free though? Especially in the urban areas, parking is very expensive and I assume the city (and people) benefit.
Most cities have free street parking, at least overnight.
Re: The High Cost of Free Parking (2005)
#73Sometimes when I hear discussions like this, I can't help but think back to several places I've lived or stayed where using a car was not possible. It sucked. Yes, living in the exact center of a bustling city should be efficient - you should be able to walk everywhere for all your needs and it should be efficient. But the reality was that you couldn't and it wasn't. It took a tremendous toll on your time and the eff…
> Has anyone moved from a semi-dense area where just about anything was within a 10 minute drive, to a situation where they didn't use a car and still lived a decent efficient life? I used to live in Sante Fe, New Mexico in the US. The city was founded in 1610. The city core for the first 300 years was of course walkable, but the last grocery store downtown closed around 2000 so it's a mile walk to the nearest store…
>>> biking isn't really an option in Santa Fe
Genuinely curious, what makes biking not an option in Santa Fe?
Re: The High Cost of Free Parking (2005)
#74Sometimes when I hear discussions like this, I can't help but think back to several places I've lived or stayed where using a car was not possible. It sucked. Yes, living in the exact center of a bustling city should be efficient - you should be able to walk everywhere for all your needs and it should be efficient. But the reality was that you couldn't and it wasn't. It took a tremendous toll on your time and the eff…
My pattern of life is very different in the one situation vs the other. As a pedestrian in a city I just pop out to the corner grocer; I step outside and take a walk (often to the park); I go to nearby restaurants; I get a coffee. Sometimes I ride the bus for no reason. All this is easy. On the other hand, going to IKEA is an all-day adventure. And I do overpay for some groceries.
When I am a car-bound suburbanite, I instead organize trips once or twice a week to the grocery store, where I load up on supplies; I maybe drive to meet someone and go out to eat on one day of the weekend; and otherwise I sit in my house, until I plan an "outing". In general, suburban life seems to require more intention and planning for all the little things, but it makes some big things easier, like "I need to go buy a sofa".
In the urban environment, I save money on a car, but spend more on rent. And dining/entertainment can be cheaper -- it varies -- but I consume more of it.
Life just adapts to whatever environment it finds itself in.
Re: The High Cost of Free Parking (2005)
#75[flagged]
I really want to know what 5D chess went on to make put "livable cities" and "urban planning" on the truther, red-pilled, plandemic, crowds hit list. It is something that should be examined and critically discussed thats not what i'm talking about I'm talking about how suddenly people who have never so much as listened to an episode of 99PI before or showen any interest are suddenly passionately saying livable cities…
I suspect the car industry has a role.
Also, these people live in the burbs, and their experience of driving into a city is their experience of the city. It's one of the reasons they hate cities. Driving in is confusing and stressful. Add an alien system of congestion pricing involving some transponder they've never seen before and it's just too much for them.
To the extent that the concerns are legitimate, I think we need to look at China, and at the way people were locked down in small condo blocks during COVID. There was a fear that the same tactics would be employed in "Western" countries.
There is an irony, however, which is that self-contained condo blocks and "gated communities" are at least as prone to this as are organic grids. Y'know -- actual good urbanism.
Finally, I think they do perceive, in their own way, the housing crisis. They recognize that housing is generally more affordable outside cities, so they see the push towards cities as a push towards renting and non-ownership. I would prefer more affordable housing within cities, but I can sort of understand this argument.
Re: The High Cost of Free Parking (2005)
#76These maps provide graphic evidence of how parking lots “eat” U.S. cities: https://bigthink.com/strange-maps/parking-lots-eat-american-... America has paid a steep price for parking: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=36197206 The force that shapes everything around us: Parking: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=36758355 Parking Laws Are Strangling America: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OUNXFHpUhu8 Austin Prep…
How much of that is free though? Especially in the urban areas, parking is very expensive and I assume the city (and people) benefit.
Parking in urban areas is often a net negative; I.e the motorist doesn’t contribute as much to the local economy as the negative externality they accrue.
Re: The High Cost of Free Parking (2005)
#77Earlier quoted context omitted.
> I prefer trees and grass over parking lots I don't see a meaningful distinction between a consolidated parking lot and one that's distributed along the side of the road when it comes to tree and grass cover. For dense urban situations car parking buildings allow more than either surface lots or surface street parking.
Nearly half of parking lots' space a dedicated to move in and out. That space isn't needed with street parking because the street itself accomplish this function. Parking lots are mostly used only half of the day and empty otherwise, because typically people drive their car around in a few different parking lots. Streets are useful all day long. I'm unconvinced removing street parking would allow for smaller streets…
Have you seen what streets in Japan look like? Very narrow, very walkable, views unobstructed by rows of cars; the streets become a place for interaction, a place for children to play, etc. It works because street parking is not allowed.
Re: The High Cost of Free Parking (2005)
#78Sometimes when I hear discussions like this, I can't help but think back to several places I've lived or stayed where using a car was not possible. It sucked. Yes, living in the exact center of a bustling city should be efficient - you should be able to walk everywhere for all your needs and it should be efficient. But the reality was that you couldn't and it wasn't. It took a tremendous toll on your time and the eff…
> you couldn't and it wasn't What are you talking about, millions of people do it and live without cars in cities. I did it for years in Paris and it's not a "smaller life" — the main things that are smaller are your transportation budget and stress levels.
Absolutely agreed.
Just about everything within 10 minutes drive is a total fantasy in my experience. Whether you’re in the suburbs driving or walking in the urban centre. The only difference is that walking is much more pleasant.
That said, if you expand your time radius to 15 minutes, and allow the use of bikes and/or a good subway system, “just about everything” becomes very realistic.
Re: The High Cost of Free Parking (2005)
#79These maps provide graphic evidence of how parking lots “eat” U.S. cities: https://bigthink.com/strange-maps/parking-lots-eat-american-... America has paid a steep price for parking: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=36197206 The force that shapes everything around us: Parking: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=36758355 Parking Laws Are Strangling America: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OUNXFHpUhu8 Austin Prep…
How much of that is free though? Especially in the urban areas, parking is very expensive and I assume the city (and people) benefit.
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Re: The High Cost of Free Parking (2005)
#80But if there was no parking wouldn't the value of said cities plummet? Do you want to open your place of business where no one can park for a mile?