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I assume you are referring to parking requirements. Even if you can go without a car 99% of the time (like by using ZipCar), the one day you want to bring home

I assume you are referring to parking requirements. Even if you can go without a car 99% of the time (like by using ZipCar), the one day you want to bring home a large appliance or piece of furniture, monthly Costo haul, etc. what are you going to do if there is no place to safely/legally stop within several blocks?

revelation 10y ago
You only have a "monthly Costco haul" because you are stuck in a car-dominated mindset where you drive however many miles to get to that Costco. I buy fresh weekly...
- burger_moon 10y ago
  One thing I noticed about the references to costco throughout this thread, is that people only go there to buy a full overs-zed shopping cart full of supplies. Maybe I'm just weird, but I walk there weekly and it's the only grocery store I use. Going early in the morning on weekends or an hour before closing weeknights means I can get from my apt and back with groceries in an hour.
Symbiote 10y ago
In Denmark, Ikea has "furniture taxis" so you can take what you've bought home with you. I've not seen the same service arranged by other stores, but the taxi companies can be called. (Ikea doesn't run the taxis, it's a local company.) Or you can ask for a normal delivery, but of course you'd need to be at home. Furniture and many large appliances don't fit in typical cars anyway.
- superuser2 10y ago
  Where do they stop? Do they just double park? When setting up a new apartment, in addition to the big stuff, I always find myself bringing home ~5 carloads of stuff from Target and Home Depot. Does that just explode into several dozen bicycle trips, or do you also use taxis for that? Where do they unload?
  - rspeer 10y ago
    I can answer based on the Boston area. It's not that Boston is consistently perfect for walking and biking, but it's awful for driving, so the car-free life is pretty appealing. I guess you could describe what delivery trucks do as "double parking". It's far from the worst traffic sin and you quickly learn not to follow a delivery truck on a one-lane street. Delivery drivers tend to be a lot better at solving this constraint problem than me in a Zipcar, anyway. If you're moving, the best thing to do is to reserve street space for a box truck or moving truck in advance. Or you can wing it and just be in the way (a popular choice in September, when many new people move in).
  - Symbiote 10y ago
    Within the city centre, but not on a large road, they will double-park if there isn't a space for loading nearby. Outside the centre, there will almost always be a parking space available. 26% of people use private cars to get to work in Copenhagen, and few of these people are driving to the city centre -- parking is too difficult. That means a badly parked delivery van isn't as much of a problem as it might be in other cities. At least, so long as it's not blocking a cycle lane. Danish apartments tend not to have much furniture. It's the Scandinavian, minimalist style. I don't think many people would make dozens of bicycle trips; they'd either have, rent or borrow a car, or use taxis. Students might be an exception, but they don't have much space. You couldn't have fitted 5 carloads of stuff in my student apartment, especially in addition to the big stuff.

revelation 10y ago

You only have a "monthly Costco haul" because you are stuck in a car-dominated mindset where you drive however many miles to get to that Costco. I buy fresh weekly...

burger_moon 10y ago
One thing I noticed about the references to costco throughout this thread, is that people only go there to buy a full overs-zed shopping cart full of supplies. Maybe I'm just weird, but I walk there weekly and it's the only grocery store I use. Going early in the morning on weekends or an hour before closing weeknights means I can get from my apt and back with groceries in an hour.

Symbiote 10y ago

In Denmark, Ikea has "furniture taxis" so you can take what you've bought home with you. I've not seen the same service arranged by other stores, but the taxi companies can be called. (Ikea doesn't run the taxis, it's a local company.) Or you can ask for a normal delivery, but of course you'd need to be at home. Furniture and many large appliances don't fit in typical cars anyway.

superuser2 10y ago
Where do they stop? Do they just double park? When setting up a new apartment, in addition to the big stuff, I always find myself bringing home ~5 carloads of stuff from Target and Home Depot. Does that just explode into several dozen bicycle trips, or do you also use taxis for that? Where do they unload?
- rspeer 10y ago
  I can answer based on the Boston area. It's not that Boston is consistently perfect for walking and biking, but it's awful for driving, so the car-free life is pretty appealing. I guess you could describe what delivery trucks do as "double parking". It's far from the worst traffic sin and you quickly learn not to follow a delivery truck on a one-lane street. Delivery drivers tend to be a lot better at solving this constraint problem than me in a Zipcar, anyway. If you're moving, the best thing to do is to reserve street space for a box truck or moving truck in advance. Or you can wing it and just be in the way (a popular choice in September, when many new people move in).
- Symbiote 10y ago
  Within the city centre, but not on a large road, they will double-park if there isn't a space for loading nearby. Outside the centre, there will almost always be a parking space available. 26% of people use private cars to get to work in Copenhagen, and few of these people are driving to the city centre -- parking is too difficult. That means a badly parked delivery van isn't as much of a problem as it might be in other cities. At least, so long as it's not blocking a cycle lane. Danish apartments tend not to have much furniture. It's the Scandinavian, minimalist style. I don't think many people would make dozens of bicycle trips; they'd either have, rent or borrow a car, or use taxis. Students might be an exception, but they don't have much space. You couldn't have fitted 5 carloads of stuff in my student apartment, especially in addition to the big stuff.