3 ms·

Is it, really? Or is cars as the default transportation the problem? Come to Tokyo, you'll see how well things work with effectively no parking in general.

zanny 10y ago
Its an American problem, but it isn't one you just solve banning cars or something. Post-war US built up all its major metro areas on the hype for the automobile. Where European and Asian cities are walkable, American ones are not, and to try to retrofit car cities into public transit / bike / foot traffic is insanely expensive. Add to that America has a systemic car culture (there is a reason cars are all bigger in the US, and why it is pretty much the only market for pickup trucks) and you will never be in a position politically to transition elsewhere without destroying your favorability.
- geomark 10y ago
  "... pretty much the only market for pickup trucks" I thought, huh? 'cuz where I live it's pickup trucks as far as the eye can see. Turns out that my country has the highest per capita ownership of pickup trucks [1] [1] http://wardsauto.com/industry/pickup-trucks-reign-thailand http://wardsauto.com/industry/pickup-trucks-reign-thailand
- Lazare 10y ago
  > Its an American problem, but it isn't one you just solve banning cars or something. We're discussing a law that forces people to provide excess parking whether they want to or not, and your counter example is banning cars? There's a universe of options in between those two extremes.
- voldemort87 10y ago
  Not all cities in Asia are walkable. I was in Thailand recently and I found it's cities incredibly difficult to walk around. Roads often don't have sidewalks, often have many lanes, and pedestrian crossings are just marked on the road - without traffic lights - and are ignored by the traffic. The level of traffic makes the roads extremely difficult to cross. Everyone in Thailand, even the very poor, seems to have a moped. If they don't have a moped they have a pickup truck. Tourists are forced to take taxis - the locals think you are weird for wanting to walk even 200 metres to a shop.
closeparen 10y ago
Judging by photos of the crowding on Tokyo public transit, staggeringly poorly.

zanny 10y ago

Its an American problem, but it isn't one you just solve banning cars or something. Post-war US built up all its major metro areas on the hype for the automobile. Where European and Asian cities are walkable, American ones are not, and to try to retrofit car cities into public transit / bike / foot traffic is insanely expensive. Add to that America has a systemic car culture (there is a reason cars are all bigger in the US, and why it is pretty much the only market for pickup trucks) and you will never be in a position politically to transition elsewhere without destroying your favorability.

geomark 10y ago
"... pretty much the only market for pickup trucks" I thought, huh? 'cuz where I live it's pickup trucks as far as the eye can see. Turns out that my country has the highest per capita ownership of pickup trucks [1] [1] http://wardsauto.com/industry/pickup-trucks-reign-thailand http://wardsauto.com/industry/pickup-trucks-reign-thailand
Lazare 10y ago
> Its an American problem, but it isn't one you just solve banning cars or something. We're discussing a law that forces people to provide excess parking whether they want to or not, and your counter example is banning cars? There's a universe of options in between those two extremes.
voldemort87 10y ago
Not all cities in Asia are walkable. I was in Thailand recently and I found it's cities incredibly difficult to walk around. Roads often don't have sidewalks, often have many lanes, and pedestrian crossings are just marked on the road - without traffic lights - and are ignored by the traffic. The level of traffic makes the roads extremely difficult to cross. Everyone in Thailand, even the very poor, seems to have a moped. If they don't have a moped they have a pickup truck. Tourists are forced to take taxis - the locals think you are weird for wanting to walk even 200 metres to a shop.

closeparen 10y ago

Judging by photos of the crowding on Tokyo public transit, staggeringly poorly.