3 ms·

As a resident of near-downtown Boston, I want cars out of my neighborhood, ideally the entire downtown. I love the wide sidewalks and want bigger ones. Mostly I

by krisdol 10y ago

As a resident of near-downtown Boston, I want cars out of my neighborhood, ideally the entire downtown. I love the wide sidewalks and want bigger ones. Mostly I'm jealous that we can achieve neither the efficiency nor the beauty of transportation in Central European cities like Zürich because the suburbanites, their remote matchboxes, and their eyesore parking garages are obstacles to every proposal to improve (or even maintain) public transportation. To choke those folks out of the area with narrow streets and zero-car zones would be a blessing. Although a more effective solution would be to scrap zoning laws and actually make the suburban blight towns convenient for workers and pedestrian residents.

tropo 10y ago
If you got narrow streets, they'd be bumper-to-bumper spewing exhaust. You would be unhappy. If you excluded cars, the place would turn into a downtown version of a strip mall. (expensive tourist trap) There would be no jobs other than things like waiter, retail clerk, manicurist, etc. -- is that how you wish to be employed? You are focusing on the bad of cars, and ignoring all the benefit they bring. They even bring benefit to people without cars. Heck, you can rent one. I bet you've done it.
- trgn 10y ago
  Consider Delft and Leuven. Two small vibrant cities, near Rotterdam and Brussels respectively. Both don't have a lot of cars in their center, are completely walkable, both are wealthy cities, both are not tourist traps, both offer employment for all ages from retail clerk to PhD computer chip researcher, they are most certainly not outdoor strip malls. Those are just two examples that I know personally, but there are hundreds more the world over. Cars indeed have benefits, but they are noxious to cities. In my experience, the fewer cars there are in the city, the more pleasant that city is. And as the above examples demonstrate, that doesn't mean you are suddenly killing the economy or your job prospects.

by krisdol 10y ago

tropo 10y ago

If you got narrow streets, they'd be bumper-to-bumper spewing exhaust. You would be unhappy. If you excluded cars, the place would turn into a downtown version of a strip mall. (expensive tourist trap) There would be no jobs other than things like waiter, retail clerk, manicurist, etc. -- is that how you wish to be employed? You are focusing on the bad of cars, and ignoring all the benefit they bring. They even bring benefit to people without cars. Heck, you can rent one. I bet you've done it.

trgn 10y ago
Consider Delft and Leuven. Two small vibrant cities, near Rotterdam and Brussels respectively. Both don't have a lot of cars in their center, are completely walkable, both are wealthy cities, both are not tourist traps, both offer employment for all ages from retail clerk to PhD computer chip researcher, they are most certainly not outdoor strip malls. Those are just two examples that I know personally, but there are hundreds more the world over. Cars indeed have benefits, but they are noxious to cities. In my experience, the fewer cars there are in the city, the more pleasant that city is. And as the above examples demonstrate, that doesn't mean you are suddenly killing the economy or your job prospects.