4 ms·

It's funny how opposite we are in this. To me, me cars represent a frustrating burden, whereas walkable spaces, bike lanes, and subway accessibility represent f

by aqme28 7y ago

It's funny how opposite we are in this. To me, me cars represent a frustrating burden, whereas walkable spaces, bike lanes, and subway accessibility represent freedom of movement.

jakear 7y ago
Some people have larger distances to cover. I can’t walk to Carrizo Plains on a weekend. Can’t bike there either. No busses, and definitely no trains. If I want to go where I want to go, I need a car to get there.
- asdff 7y ago
  And for those people, absolutely keep the car. Maybe a moped would do, but the car is fine for low density areas like you describe. But for the millions stuck in rush hour traffic in every major city across the country, maybe there could be a better way to make that one commute to work. NYC has a lot of subways and 60% of the population uses transit, but they are just about all built for moving people to and from their 9-5 job in Manhattan, not traveling laterally across the outer boroughs.
asdff 7y ago
I grew up in the burbs, and it wasn't until I moved into a major city that actually had other options that I realized how much stress goes just into planning to drive. Where am I going to park? How much is it going to cost? Will traffic be bad? The weather? Am I tired? Do I need to buy gas? All you need to do with public transport is open an app, walk to the spot, and have patience. In LA, the bus network is comprehensive, but it does demand patience. So I just bring a book. Much more peaceful than the bloodsport played on the freeways here.
ctdonath 7y ago
Cars are liberating. I can escape from a city on a moment’s notice, travel 1000 miles on a whim in a day (and do), beholden to none. 8000 miles last summer thru remote spectacular regions, as we saw fit, was exhilarating. Transit is stifling, taking me nowhere at inconvenience and cost.
- arcticbull 7y ago
  > I can escape from a city on a moment’s notice, travel 1000 miles on a whim in a day (and do), beholden to none. Well, you're beholden to your mechanic, your gas stations, your insurance company, whoever you pay for parking at home (or the indirect cost you paid extra for a garage, driveway, etc) and parking away (or the indirect cost you pay extra for the goods and services you obtain at places that have "free" parking). Oh, and the tax man, as America spends $66 billion dollars per year just maintaining the interstates. > 8000 miles last summer thru remote spectacular regions, as we saw fit, was exhilarating. Sounds nice! > Transit is stifling, taking me nowhere at inconvenience and cost. Well, if we didn't spend all that money on the interstates ($66B/yr), imagine how much rail we could lay down? Even California HSR cost $56M/km (where China's cost $17M), so we could lay down 1200km-4000km of high-speed rail each year. Standard speed rail costs $1.3-26M so we could lay down as much as 50,000km of new rail.
AnimalMuppet 7y ago
Being able to walk to, say, the grocery store, would be great. Having to walk to the grocery store, every time, would be miserable. (I remember walking to the grocery store when I had to go, had zero running cars, and it was below zero. It was not fun.) Freedom to not have to drive? Sure. It's great. But so is the freedom to be able to drive.

by aqme28 7y ago

It's funny how opposite we are in this. To me, me cars represent a frustrating burden, whereas walkable spaces, bike lanes, and subway accessibility represent freedom of movement.

jakear 7y ago

Some people have larger distances to cover. I can’t walk to Carrizo Plains on a weekend. Can’t bike there either. No busses, and definitely no trains. If I want to go where I want to go, I need a car to get there.

asdff 7y ago
And for those people, absolutely keep the car. Maybe a moped would do, but the car is fine for low density areas like you describe. But for the millions stuck in rush hour traffic in every major city across the country, maybe there could be a better way to make that one commute to work. NYC has a lot of subways and 60% of the population uses transit, but they are just about all built for moving people to and from their 9-5 job in Manhattan, not traveling laterally across the outer boroughs.

asdff 7y ago

I grew up in the burbs, and it wasn't until I moved into a major city that actually had other options that I realized how much stress goes just into planning to drive. Where am I going to park? How much is it going to cost? Will traffic be bad? The weather? Am I tired? Do I need to buy gas? All you need to do with public transport is open an app, walk to the spot, and have patience. In LA, the bus network is comprehensive, but it does demand patience. So I just bring a book. Much more peaceful than the bloodsport played on the freeways here.

ctdonath 7y ago

Cars are liberating. I can escape from a city on a moment’s notice, travel 1000 miles on a whim in a day (and do), beholden to none. 8000 miles last summer thru remote spectacular regions, as we saw fit, was exhilarating. Transit is stifling, taking me nowhere at inconvenience and cost.

arcticbull 7y ago
> I can escape from a city on a moment’s notice, travel 1000 miles on a whim in a day (and do), beholden to none. Well, you're beholden to your mechanic, your gas stations, your insurance company, whoever you pay for parking at home (or the indirect cost you paid extra for a garage, driveway, etc) and parking away (or the indirect cost you pay extra for the goods and services you obtain at places that have "free" parking). Oh, and the tax man, as America spends $66 billion dollars per year just maintaining the interstates. > 8000 miles last summer thru remote spectacular regions, as we saw fit, was exhilarating. Sounds nice! > Transit is stifling, taking me nowhere at inconvenience and cost. Well, if we didn't spend all that money on the interstates ($66B/yr), imagine how much rail we could lay down? Even California HSR cost $56M/km (where China's cost $17M), so we could lay down 1200km-4000km of high-speed rail each year. Standard speed rail costs $1.3-26M so we could lay down as much as 50,000km of new rail.

AnimalMuppet 7y ago

Being able to walk to, say, the grocery store, would be great. Having to walk to the grocery store, every time, would be miserable. (I remember walking to the grocery store when I had to go, had zero running cars, and it was below zero. It was not fun.) Freedom to not have to drive? Sure. It's great. But so is the freedom to be able to drive.