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It is advice like this that gives ammo to those in power to outright reject important ideas. You can't "get rid" of real estate for cars. Why not make it mand

It is advice like this that gives ammo to those in power to outright reject important ideas. You can't "get rid" of real estate for cars. Why not make it mandatory to have a certain number of trees per unit size of parking lots? Cars are cooler in the shade and you can provide employment for upkeep of the trees and cleaning.

ajmadesc 5y ago
Oh but you can! Paris, London, and I'm sure countless other cities in Europe have pedestrianized or reduced traffic in large areas. The Netherlands has done this in most cities. 99.99% of suburbanites couldn't afford their lifestyle if it weren't for obsurd gov subsidies of infrastructure / petrol industry. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=7IsMeKl-Sv0 https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=7IsMeKl-Sv0
- vladvasiliu 5y ago
  > 99.99% of suburbanites couldn't afford their lifestyle if it weren't for obsurd gov subsidies of infrastructure / petrol industry. Don't know how it is in the US, but over here in France (and I presume most of Europe) I'm not sure how much the petrol industry is subsidized, given the high taxes levied on gas – around 60% of the price paid at the pump goes to taxes [0]. Of course, this being France, taxes are themselves taxed [0], but still... --- [0] https://www.economie.gouv.fr/cedef/prix-carburants https://www.economie.gouv.fr/cedef/prix-carburants In French, but the relevant quotes are: In France, taxes account for approximately 60% of the gas price at the pump. 20% VAT, applied to the whole amount, TICPE (Internal Tax on the Consumption of Energy Products) included.
dylan604 5y ago
How about deck the car park with the upper deck being a garden?
freeone3000 5y ago
What do you mean, you can't reduce the amount of real estate used by cars? Sure you can. You expand a lane of sidewalk, remove a lane of traffic, use the margin for a bike lane and seasonal terasses and some tree space... What makes this impossible?
- kumarvvr 5y ago
  What you are suggesting works for perhaps 1% of the area out there. To scale up the presence of trees in cities, that may not be enough.

ajmadesc 5y ago

Oh but you can! Paris, London, and I'm sure countless other cities in Europe have pedestrianized or reduced traffic in large areas. The Netherlands has done this in most cities. 99.99% of suburbanites couldn't afford their lifestyle if it weren't for obsurd gov subsidies of infrastructure / petrol industry. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=7IsMeKl-Sv0 https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=7IsMeKl-Sv0

vladvasiliu 5y ago
> 99.99% of suburbanites couldn't afford their lifestyle if it weren't for obsurd gov subsidies of infrastructure / petrol industry. Don't know how it is in the US, but over here in France (and I presume most of Europe) I'm not sure how much the petrol industry is subsidized, given the high taxes levied on gas – around 60% of the price paid at the pump goes to taxes [0]. Of course, this being France, taxes are themselves taxed [0], but still... --- [0] https://www.economie.gouv.fr/cedef/prix-carburants https://www.economie.gouv.fr/cedef/prix-carburants In French, but the relevant quotes are: In France, taxes account for approximately 60% of the gas price at the pump. 20% VAT, applied to the whole amount, TICPE (Internal Tax on the Consumption of Energy Products) included.

dylan604 5y ago

How about deck the car park with the upper deck being a garden?

freeone3000 5y ago

What do you mean, you can't reduce the amount of real estate used by cars? Sure you can. You expand a lane of sidewalk, remove a lane of traffic, use the margin for a bike lane and seasonal terasses and some tree space... What makes this impossible?

kumarvvr 5y ago
What you are suggesting works for perhaps 1% of the area out there. To scale up the presence of trees in cities, that may not be enough.