Oslo made its city center basically car-free • Hacker News Board

Re: Oslo made its city center basically car-free

#501

Post by Fins » Sat, Jan 26, 2019, 9:03 PM UTC

rootusrootus wrote: post #499

Fins wrote: post #389

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Must be nice living in that SV bubble. How about we make it income-tested, and charge everyone who supports that idea, say, $10/mile and up? Even if you want to go on a road trip in a rental. Or get your kid to a hospital. At least that would be fair to people who actually work for a living, need to get places, and can't afford to live near transit because it has all been bid up through the stratosphere by techbros w…

SV meaning Silicon Valley? Unless that bubble is a couple thousand miles across, then no, I'm not living in that bubble. In your hypothetical world, I would support splitting everyone by ideology so that the people willing to pay for nice things go to one city and the people who want to mooch go to the other. Let them each go their own way. We'd all be happier.

Doesn't really matter all that much if it is SV proper, or Silicon Alley, or Silicon Prairie, or any of the other areas where well-paid tech workers can afford to live without cars, look down on those who can't, and propose what comes across as an extremely blatant "I got mine, so screw you".

Re: Oslo made its city center basically car-free

#502

Post by elcomet » Sat, Jan 26, 2019, 11:35 PM UTC

aembleton wrote: post #500

elcomet wrote: post #355

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Don't you think this is relying a bit too much on private corporation like Uber and Lyft? What if they shut down, or leave the city? How long would it take to reorganize public transport? Also, uber and Lyft would get to decide the prices, that could cost much more to the city. I think a public transport has to be public , ie publicly owned.

Why does it have to be publicly owned? For example, all of London buses are privately owned, but the bus companies are contracted to operate routes and the city sets the fares, colour scheme etc so that they all look the same.

You're right, that's an other option. But can you say that it is really private if the city sets the price, and the routes?

And wouldn't it be better to have the same thing but public (so that benefits are used to actually improve the service, and not pay dividends)?

Re: Oslo made its city center basically car-free

#503

Post by obfk » Sun, Jan 27, 2019, 2:50 AM UTC

danjayh wrote: post #58

themagician wrote: post #8

I want this so bad. My hatred for the automobile grows every day. The cost, the noise, the time wasted in traffic, the pollution, the ridiculous space wasted on parking. When you really add up the costs, both individual and to society, it’s absolutely insane. I wish the cost of gasoline was high enough to internalize all the costs and change behavior. Like really high. A dollar a mile. We are slaves to the automobile…

I'm amazed that so many people who consider themselves inclusive in their thoughts don't realize how exclusionary anti-automobile policies are. As someone who suffers from mild arthritis, the trip to the back of a Wal-Mart can be painful for me, and a walk or bike ride across a city block absolutely foreboding. On the bad days, even standing in line at a checkout for an extended period of time can send my knees and h…

We'll have the drones bring you what you need.

Re: Oslo made its city center basically car-free

#504

Post by apendleton » Mon, Jan 28, 2019, 11:00 PM UTC

throwawaycanada wrote: post #283

apendleton wrote: post #111

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think it's important to recognize, though, that in many cases, heavy road users' road use is subsidized by lighter road users. Roads are expensive both in terms of construction/maintenance and land use, they're mostly not paid for by user fees anymore (gas taxes cover a relatively small share, and same for tolls), and many people benefiting from these subsidies are doing so for lifestyle choice reasons and not out…

You use the words "choosing to live far away" but all that generally means is they are poor. Clearly they should just buy a house and move to downtown San Fransisco like everyone who cares about the environment does.

I don't live in the Bay area. The richest people where I am live in giant single-family homes on large parcels in the suburbs.

Re: Oslo made its city center basically car-free

#505

Post by pertymcpert » Tue, Jan 29, 2019, 3:32 AM UTC

gotocake wrote: post #497

pertymcpert wrote: post #449

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Uh, this comes up quite a bit in Europe too. You say the Bay Area is a bubble and yet you seem trapped in it all the same.

I don’t live or work in CA, so that would be quite a feat for me wouldn’t it.

So how would you know this comes up in the Bay Area? Or is it an assumption?