4 ms·

> This is an extremely small fraction of traffic Public transit was made into a small fraction of traffic. [0] It absolutely doesn't have to be that way. If yo

> This is an extremely small fraction of traffic Public transit was made into a small fraction of traffic. [0] It absolutely doesn't have to be that way. If you live in a city you are likely going somewhere that a lot of other people are going to as well. With proper urban planning a door to door car should only really make sense in a rural environment. And that is absolutely a needed mindshift to curb GHG emissions. I made a deliberate choice of moving to a country and city with good governance and planning. I haven't owned a car in 5 years. When I do absolutely need a car I will just rent one for a weekend trip or for hauling big things. It still is a huge saving. The only pro-car argument I can think of is the prepper aspect of having a getaway vehicle in the event of a natural disaster. [0] https://www.vox.com/2015/5/7/8562007/streetcar-history-demise https://www.vox.com/2015/5/7/8562007/streetcar-history-demis...

nomel 4y ago
> Public transit was made into a small fraction of traffic. I think "was made" is the key term, since that is what defines the current state of reality, which is where our solutions must exist. Any feasible solution will not requiring destroying the last 100 years of development, in the US. Improvements are still a good thing, especially if they can be implemented as a glorified, cooperative, cruise control. I'm all for rail, since more trams could mean my 20 minute drive wouldn't have to be 3 hours by track + bus + 3 mile walk, but putting enough metal on the ground isn't trivial [1]. 1. https://www.vox.com/videos/2022/7/29/23283654/california-high-speed-rail-palmdale-warning https://www.vox.com/videos/2022/7/29/23283654/california-hig...
- nicoburns 4y ago
  Worth noting that Europe went a long towards being car centric during the 20th century, and has since revered course. Of course, it was never as car centric as the US is, but it absolutely can be done.
  - nomel 4y ago
    > but it absolutely can be done. Could you explain how this could be approached, with the wide sprawl of suburbs that exists, today?
    - DoingIsLearning 4y ago
      "Park&Ride" hubs. Rather than having everyone commuting through the same routes and bottlenecking the same roads on rush hour you could drive/cycle/walk to your local suburb hub and catch a train/tram/metro to where you need to go. There is nothing ground breaking or sci-fi about it. It has been done many times over in several places around the world both dense and sparse. It just needs political will and budget. The main problem you guys have in the US is how entreched lobbyists are.

nomel 4y ago

> Public transit was made into a small fraction of traffic. I think "was made" is the key term, since that is what defines the current state of reality, which is where our solutions must exist. Any feasible solution will not requiring destroying the last 100 years of development, in the US. Improvements are still a good thing, especially if they can be implemented as a glorified, cooperative, cruise control. I'm all for rail, since more trams could mean my 20 minute drive wouldn't have to be 3 hours by track + bus + 3 mile walk, but putting enough metal on the ground isn't trivial [1]. 1. https://www.vox.com/videos/2022/7/29/23283654/california-high-speed-rail-palmdale-warning https://www.vox.com/videos/2022/7/29/23283654/california-hig...

nicoburns 4y ago
Worth noting that Europe went a long towards being car centric during the 20th century, and has since revered course. Of course, it was never as car centric as the US is, but it absolutely can be done.
- nomel 4y ago
  > but it absolutely can be done. Could you explain how this could be approached, with the wide sprawl of suburbs that exists, today?
  - DoingIsLearning 4y ago
    "Park&Ride" hubs. Rather than having everyone commuting through the same routes and bottlenecking the same roads on rush hour you could drive/cycle/walk to your local suburb hub and catch a train/tram/metro to where you need to go. There is nothing ground breaking or sci-fi about it. It has been done many times over in several places around the world both dense and sparse. It just needs political will and budget. The main problem you guys have in the US is how entreched lobbyists are.