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Car-Free Streets Will Soon Be the Norm

citylab.com

81–90 of 286 posts

Re: Car-Free Streets Will Soon Be the Norm

#81

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>Car friendly infrastructure widens the technological and class divide. They create a base state where you are required to own and maintain an expensive piece of equipment in order to be an equal member of society. Great, so if we can't all have something, none of us should have it! Forget the fact that the vast majority of families own and benefit from personal transportation, the important thing is that we're all e…

> Great, so if we can't all have something, none of us should have it! Forget the fact that the vast majority of families own and benefit from personal transportation, the important thing is that we're all equal, even if the equal case is on average worse for everyone, right? This is entirely the opposite of what the car-free movement is trying to accomplish. Car-free is strictly concerned dense urban areas, where pr…

Impression of the "car free" movement is complete elimination of vehicles, urban and rural alike. "Move closer to a train station" seems axiomatic.

Re: Car-Free Streets Will Soon Be the Norm

#82
post #54

Earlier quoted context omitted.

America is certainly decades (if not centuries) behind in public transportation. However, these CityLab articles are doing a great thing by highlighting our unhealthy dependence on cars and making it a part of everyday conversation. If we're ever going to change we need to start by agreeing there is a problem and discussing realistic solutions. I don't quite understand your point about the "technological and class di…

The EU is over 3x as population dense as the USA. Any plan to make the USA transportation system to look like the EU's is doomed to failure from the beginning. You need to be realistic. You are never going to win hearts and minds by railing against cars - Americans love their cars, and for good reason. A bus is not going to pick you up at your front door the second you walk out, and it's not going to drop you directl…

And most people I know in Europe--especially those who are not just out of school--have cars. Europe is hardly some carless utopia even if public transit is, on the whole, better than in the US.

Re: Car-Free Streets Will Soon Be the Norm

#83
post #54

Earlier quoted context omitted.

America is certainly decades (if not centuries) behind in public transportation. However, these CityLab articles are doing a great thing by highlighting our unhealthy dependence on cars and making it a part of everyday conversation. If we're ever going to change we need to start by agreeing there is a problem and discussing realistic solutions. I don't quite understand your point about the "technological and class di…

The EU is over 3x as population dense as the USA. Any plan to make the USA transportation system to look like the EU's is doomed to failure from the beginning. You need to be realistic. You are never going to win hearts and minds by railing against cars - Americans love their cars, and for good reason. A bus is not going to pick you up at your front door the second you walk out, and it's not going to drop you directl…

HN is definitely not a representative sample of the world population. But HN is definitely not all single, young people trying to start their own businesses.

Re: Car-Free Streets Will Soon Be the Norm

#84

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Honest question: why? It seems patently absurd to me, especially when you're visiting. I'm visiting Berlin right now. It's a car friendly city in a car friendly country and I wouldn't want to drive anywhere here if you paid me. Too much of a hassle. Besides driving is so incredibly boring. If you're visiting, you're not going to really experience the city from behind the windows of a metal box. Maybe Northern America…

other options in USA are 1. Being abused by TSA 2. Take amtrak and get left middle of nowhere at 1 am , 2 days late. 3. Take greyhound/

But that's between cities. Fwiw, I'm in Berlin by train. But by car would have been an option, too. But in the city? There are so many better options!

Re: Car-Free Streets Will Soon Be the Norm

#85

Earlier quoted context omitted.

America is certainly decades (if not centuries) behind in public transportation. However, these CityLab articles are doing a great thing by highlighting our unhealthy dependence on cars and making it a part of everyday conversation. If we're ever going to change we need to start by agreeing there is a problem and discussing realistic solutions. I don't quite understand your point about the "technological and class di…

> America is certainly decades (if not centuries) behind in public transportation. However, these CityLab articles are doing a great thing by highlighting our unhealthy dependence on cars and making it a part of everyday conversation. If we're ever going to change we need to start by agreeing there is a problem and discussing realistic solutions. Then let's discuss some realistic solutions: Outside of densely populat…

Virtually no one (or at least no one with any sense) is advocating for the elimination of automobiles anywhere aside from dense urban areas. This article is from CityLab, who are chiefly concerned with those sorts of areas, and the article only discusses city centers.

You are arguing against a strawman here.

Re: Car-Free Streets Will Soon Be the Norm

#86

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Honest question: why? It seems patently absurd to me, especially when you're visiting. I'm visiting Berlin right now. It's a car friendly city in a car friendly country and I wouldn't want to drive anywhere here if you paid me. Too much of a hassle. Besides driving is so incredibly boring. If you're visiting, you're not going to really experience the city from behind the windows of a metal box. Maybe Northern America…

I have really liked driving in Europe. The true benefit of driving is seeing what is in between cities.

Depends what part of Europe. Around the mediterranean, sure. But in the industrial north / Benelux - not so much to see, but the cities are gorgeous.

Re: Car-Free Streets Will Soon Be the Norm

#87
post #66

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> the technological and class divide will only widen. Car friendly infrastructure widens the technological and class divide. They create a base state where you are required to own and maintain an expensive piece of equipment in order to be an equal member of society. You are required to have parking for those cars, both at home and at your work. Forcing people to pay thousands of dollars per year to participate in so…

> Forcing people to pay thousands of dollars per year to participate in society is highly repressive. You're right. We should charge them thousands of dollars per month so they can live downtown and walk everywhere instead. Problem solved!

.... or have a functional mass transit network so that they don't have to live downtown.

Re: Car-Free Streets Will Soon Be the Norm

#88
post #54

Earlier quoted context omitted.

America is certainly decades (if not centuries) behind in public transportation. However, these CityLab articles are doing a great thing by highlighting our unhealthy dependence on cars and making it a part of everyday conversation. If we're ever going to change we need to start by agreeing there is a problem and discussing realistic solutions. I don't quite understand your point about the "technological and class di…

The EU is over 3x as population dense as the USA. Any plan to make the USA transportation system to look like the EU's is doomed to failure from the beginning. You need to be realistic. You are never going to win hearts and minds by railing against cars - Americans love their cars, and for good reason. A bus is not going to pick you up at your front door the second you walk out, and it's not going to drop you directl…

How about we just stop subsidizing the shit out of cars? Let them pay their own way.

Also, we do not need 'one size fits all' solutions for the entire US. What's appropriate for Wyoming might not be appropriate for the California Bay Area, which is plenty dense.

Re: Car-Free Streets Will Soon Be the Norm

#89
For those claiming this can’t be done in the USA: the article talks about streets, not roads.

https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/street: "a thoroughfare especially in a city, town, or village that is wider than an alley or lane and that usually includes sidewalks”

https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/road: "an open way for vehicles, persons, and animals, especially one lying outside of an urban district”

Street implies relatively dense building and, historically, implied people walked and kids played on them.

This doesn’t claim you won’t be able to drive a car between neighbourhoods.

Re: Car-Free Streets Will Soon Be the Norm

#90
Yeah, I live in Berlin and we have an increasing number of car free zones here where people can move around without being afraid of getting killed.

Even children play outside again in such areas without risking their life. Not to mention the lack of noise, pollution and clogged up space with parking cars.

Cafes thrive and people stroll around to spend their time and money. Businesses return from the outskirts etc. It's a dream for everybody. Also crime rates drop as drug dealers can't drive through anymore.

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