Earlier quoted context omitted.
Wait till you find out you breath those microplastics as pm2.5 dust too
I believe that was LaGrange's point.
It was. I was differentiating between eating them (evidence unclear) and breathing them (pretty clear).
Mayor of Paris removed parking spaces, reduced the number of cars
231–240 of 392 posts
Re: Mayor of Paris removed parking spaces, reduced the number of cars
#232Earlier quoted context omitted.
I would wager it's the usage of payments and ignoring of pedestrian lights by cyclists is a big factor. As a pedestrian, I've had FAR more encounters with aggressive cyclists than aggressive drivers (also anecdotal). Makes walking downtown more stressful.
The difference in severity of a crash between a car and a bicycle is on the order of 20x. Are you seeing 20x more agressive cyclists than motorists? Anyhow, talking about the hospitalization rate without the mortality rate is very odd and smells of manipulation one way or the other.
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Re: Mayor of Paris removed parking spaces, reduced the number of cars
#233Earlier quoted context omitted.
Exactly correct, ULEZ and LTNs have created a mess in London. These policies are driven by socialism not environmentalism. Climate is the excuse, reduced personal freedom is the intent. Thankfully many citizens in the EU and UK are waking up to it, so I hope a lot of these authoritarian policies get reversed in the future.
The "mess" being a massive reduction in harmful particulates?
Yes that is literally the only impacts, no unexpected consequences whatsoever...
Re: Mayor of Paris removed parking spaces, reduced the number of cars
#234People keep saying Hidalgo's policies made people angry, but then voter turnout when she actually asks for confirmation of her policies is low. For example, 2024's vote on whether to triple the parking fees for big SUVs. [1] Turnout was tiny, but the measure passed. Well what does that mean? It certainly doesn't mean that there is a huge wave of enthusiasm for the measure. But conversely it also means there's not a h…
I cannot read the fiery letters, but it’s quite possible, depending on how the affected metro vs the voting block overlaps, that those who vote aren’t those complaining. Also complaining is easy, I could do it right now here on HN from any bathroom in the world; voting is comparatively much harder.
I've noticed in my city that a lot of the complaining about impinging upon the car-centric status quo comes from people who live outside the city.
Re: Mayor of Paris removed parking spaces, reduced the number of cars
#235Earlier quoted context omitted.
I don’t know how you’re defining “rich” but the wealthiest folks I know all go to work physically. They get in their cars, or in one case on their bike, and commute to work like everyone else.
The wealthiest people I know are philanthropist that spend their day on zoon meetings to decide who get the grant. A couple of time a week someone arrange a visit for them to check on "things are going" on the trenches. They also spend a lot of time on the phone strategizing with other folks like them. -- But that's not a contest!I'm sure your rich people are richer than my rich people. -- If we were looking at a for…
I wasn’t really looking to argue about who knows the wealthiest people. I’m just curious who you are looking at.
If you’re looking at billionaire philanthropists, I don’t know what they do but at that level of wealth it’s probably whatever they want.
Re: Mayor of Paris removed parking spaces, reduced the number of cars
#236Earlier quoted context omitted.
Correct. Rich people can easily afford the congestion charges and higher parking fees. These policies impact working class people more.
Were the working class driving SUV's into Paris before the changes?
What has got to do with it? Some of them are driving vehicles even larger than SUVs, e.g. tradesmen driving vans, builders with pickups etc.
The obsession with SUVs is classist.
Re: Mayor of Paris removed parking spaces, reduced the number of cars
#237Hmmm... "Mayor of Paris drastically reduces productivity of city by removing parking spaces"
Yes because wasting 2 to 3 hours in traffic every day surely makes people more productive.
Re: Mayor of Paris removed parking spaces, reduced the number of cars
#238In an American city I would bet on the mobility impaired people to win the cage match against the fewer cars people. They are tougher than they look. Edit: The responses reasonably talk about the officially mobility impaired people. I was thinking more about the unofficially mobility impaired people by obesity, like me. French obesity rates are ~16% compared to ~42% in the US. That contributes to a fierce US constitu…
> I was thinking more about the unofficially mobility impaired people by obesity, like me The vast majority of obese people are not meaningfully mobility impaired.
As an obese person I disagree. Even 40 pounds is a meaningful mobility impairment, a difference between a joy and a trudge. I've experienced 200 pounds, and it is a kind of prison. Even a little bit of that prison is deeply meaningful. Have you not experienced it? I think I did more intensely as a yo-yo dieter. I knew what it was like to be fit from recent memory when I wasn't fit, and hated the difference.
Re: Mayor of Paris removed parking spaces, reduced the number of cars
#239Yes, she's the poster-child for gentrification, that's why France is about to have a far-right government in the near term. But I guess she has made some Parisian bobos really happy, good for her.
Big cities in France never vote far-right, and the PS (left) candidate is leading the polls in Paris' next election, so I'm really not sure what you're talking about. Gentrification is hardly a cause for far-right coming to power.
Re: Mayor of Paris removed parking spaces, reduced the number of cars
#240Earlier quoted context omitted.
Yeah, unless you’re a pedestrian. Cyclists in NL in cities like Utrecht or Amsterdam are worse than car drivers.
As a pedestrian, I would rather risk a crash with a cyclist than with a car.
As a pedestrian I would hope that those cyclists remember when they’re pedestrians too. Both can kill you easily. But cars don’t sneak up on you silent from behind when you’re on a sidewalk.