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Option #3 is, in my opinion, a pipe dream. I say this because in years of studying this topic (first professionally, now avocationally), I have yet to see a new
by burlesona 5y ago
Option #3 is, in my opinion, a pipe dream. I say this because in years of studying this topic (first professionally, now avocationally), I have yet to see a newly built urban area of any meaningful size where life happened primarily within walk-shed rather than a car-shed. The genie is out of the bottle, people want cars, and the only way to have an urban environment where they aren’t helpful is to have an urban environment where they aren’t allowed. this speaks to the utility that cars offer. What has worked is limiting cars, and this is especially effective in pre-car cities such as the urban centers of Europe.
Option 4 is also very difficult to achieve. Even Tokyo, with its legendary transit coverage, also has a ton of car traffic. What is much easier is to recognize that if everyone plows into their car for every trip we’ll all be stuck in gridlock, then put congestion charges in place so that everyone who can feasibly get their trip accomplished without driving is incentivized to do so, and the trips that really require a car are able to pay the fee and then have a nice trip quality.
- adrianN 5y agoI don't think cars can be completely eliminated from cities, but I'm reasonably sure that we can remove at least 2/3rds of the car traffic by a combination of better urban planning, and better public transport. I don't think you have to restrict yourself to walkable distances. Ten minutes on a bike allows you to go several kilometers. I bet I can reach a quarter of my city in less than 15 minutes. If we make cycling safe and comfortable, that alone can eliminate a lot of traffic. Add in good public transport for trips that are longer than a few kilometers, and another big chunk of car traffic becomes unnecessary. I lived a few months in Tokyo, without a car of course, and got by very well with a shitty mamachari and the subway. I wonder what the modal split in Tokyo is like, compared to other cities. I bet most person kilometers are met by trains and subways.
- Dah00n 5y ago>then put congestion charges in place That's less about removing congestion and more about clearing the roads of poor people to make room for everyone else unless you pay road toll as a % of income and assets.