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We really need to eliminate car dependence in our cities.
by foxes 5y ago
We really need to eliminate car dependence in our cities.
- fennecfoxen 5y agoPerhaps, but the existence of regional rail transit on the Istanbul-to-Basra scale is only weakly connected to "car dependence in cities".
- Ericson2314 5y agoMmm don't sell it too short. Long distance passengers become non-drivers art least initially at either end. Good city-center stations will not have parking or rental cars nearby.
- 0x0nyandesu 5y agoSpeak for yourself. The last thing I want during covid is to be stuck in a metal box with 100 strangers uncomfortably wearing masks instead of in my own car blasting music with the window down.
- dr_dshiv 5y agoAvoiding car dependence in cities doesn't mean they will take away your car. It just means that I don't need to use a car to live there.
- Mirioron 5y agoIt kind of does though. People online cheer when city centers become closed to cars. Spreading it further probably means restricting cars more. I don't really disagree with your overall stance, but those two do often go hand in hand. Perhaps that's why progress is slow on that front.
- Gigachad 5y agoYou still get to have your car, it just means you can't drive it right through the middle of a dense living area, you'll have to park on the edge and walk/tram/scooter in. Which is the best for everyone.
- pjmlp 5y agoExcept for those in a condition not to easily walk or use any kind of two wheels device. Then there is the whole issue that local city transportation is pretty lousy, even in Europe. Sure big cities have it good on the innermost district, live a bit more on the outskirts or in a smaller town and taxi becomes the only option for those not willing to wait between 1-2h for each bus into each direction plus additional commute. A 30m drive quickly turns into 2h.
- Gigachad 5y agoElectric wheelchairs are likely the best option for the first group. Good thing is making an area better for walking makes it better for disabled people as well. A car centric area is extremely hostile for people with disabilities which make it difficult/illegal to drive.
- pjmlp 5y agoI am all for improvements in such areas, unfortunately even in countries like Germany, there are plenty of local subway stations and local train ones where those requirements are just ignored. There are cars specially tailored for people with disabilities, and electric wheelchairs are only practicable in sunny weather.
- dr_dshiv 5y ago>electric wheelchairs are only practicable in sunny weather. In the Netherlands, at least, electric wheelchairs are out in all weather.
- 5y ago
- mrsuprawsm 5y agoIt also means that, often, it will be slower and/or more inconvenient to use the car. For example, in my city, for distances inside the urban core, bicycle is usually the fastest mode of transport, public transport is about 1.5x - 2x the bicycle (fine if you are feeling lazy), and car is 1.5x - 3x the bicycle depending on time of day and associated traffic levels. Sure, if the weather is horrible and I am feeling lazy, I might use my car instead of jumping on the bike, but often after reaching my destination I'll realize that it wasn't really worth taking the car.
- throw0101a 5y ago> The last thing I want during covid is to be stuck in a metal box with 100 strangers uncomfortably wearing masks instead of in my own car blasting music with the window down. Or you could walk or take a bicycle (e.g., Amsterdam/Netherlands).
- rayiner 5y agoAnd get rained/snowed on like an animal?
- jtwaleson 5y agoPlenty of things you do are “like an animal”. I cycle in Amsterdam all the time, and while rain is unpleasant it is really not the end of the world.
- nec4b 5y agoWalking barefoot and living in a cave is also not the end of the world, but most of us would not prefer that kind of life. Not everybody is like you and not everywhere is like Amsterdam.
- 0x0nyandesu 5y agoI have an aunt/uncle in Germany and when I visited them I'd occasionally take one of their bikes out and bike to my grandparents dacha about two miles away. It's cute and super euro but as soon as it's a little cold or rainy I'm over it. Of course they still own two cars and drive to work despite it being "only" a 15 minute bike ride. They are both MDs.
- xyzzyz 5y ago> Of course they still own two cars and drive to work despite it being "only" a 15 minute bike ride. They are both MDs. Yeah, I always marvel at Americans who think that Europeans walk, cycle, or take public transit everywhere. Some do, especially students and retirees. However, for working people, car is still king.
- mrsuprawsm 5y agoThere are other modes of transport than trains/cars. For example: bicycles.
- Gigachad 5y agoLife is so much more enjoyable when you move away from the suburbs and get rid of your car. The freedom to just walk to your destination and having everything within walking range is priceless.
- gromitss 5y ago
- bpodgursky 5y agoHow to tell the world you don't have children, in two sentences.
- dionidium 5y agoAutomobile accidents are the leading cause of child death.
- bpodgursky 5y agoThat's true. It's also true that people very, very commonly move to the suburbs once they have children, and it's not because those people are all morons.
- dionidium 5y agoI just turned 41 and my son turns one in January. I can think of a million reasons to leave the city and in fact my wife and I are strongly considering it, but the necessary reliance on cars in the suburbs is an enormous deterrent. I’ve lived that way before, so I know what’s bad about it. We are probably only going to consider walkable small towns (as opposed to car dependent exurbia).
- AlgorithmicTime 5y agoI disagree. The freedom to get in my car and go anywhere in the country, in the company of my entire family, no less, is priceless.
- rayiner 5y agoNope. More electric cars and more highways. Dallas is the future.
- dionidium 5y agoThe conservative tendency to car apologia is really disappointing. For some reason, it's perceived to be consistent with the conservative worldview, but it isn't. Automobile supremacy requires massive social engineering and state intervention and car-based cities can only remain as such by artificially limiting homebuilding (and therefore density). If you set individuals free to build what the market demands they will create cities in which it's very unpleasant to drive (i.e. densely populated city centers) and those cities will need to solve the transportation problem some other way. The only way you can prevent that is to, well, literally prevent it -- i.e. make it illegal (via zoning). It’s true that progressives are wild about transit, but I wish more conservatives resisted the urge to view cars as the natural political opposite.