This was during the buildout of US city transportation infrastructure, including bridges, but still with compact commutes. So "I want to go just over there. I

This was during the buildout of US city transportation infrastructure, including bridges, but still with compact commutes. So "I want to go just over there. I can see it. If the river was frozen I could easily walk it. Instead, time/expense/unpleasantness/hazard." Modern equivalents might be "the door is right there... but I need to find parking", "I'm going half a mile to shop on the other side of this Appalachian hill... it's a half hour fast drive", "I'm going just across this bay... it's a two hour commute", "I'm taking public transit from point A to nearby B... but because of route topology and schedules, I'll travel 10 times as far, and take longer than if I could go direct, crawling". Fast automotive transportation has duck taped a lot of infrastructure gaps.