5 ms·

Laughs in San Francisco

SOLAR_FIELDS 4y ago
SF, NY, Chicago are not at all representative of 99% of America when it comes to parking. Even in these cities, the second you go 30km out to actual suburbs parking is ample and overwrought. That being said it’s not really a groundbreaking or even particularly interesting thing to point out that America has a cultural problem with favoring cars, and that too much parking is a simple consequence of that.
- zoltar 4y ago
  99% of what? It's nearly 4% of the US population (2021).
  - SOLAR_FIELDS 4y ago
    Land area, since we are talking about things that take up space (parking) and have to take into account that most people in these cities don’t own cars because of adequate (not great) public transportation. It’s more interesting to have this conversation about a city like Dallas or Houston or St Louis or Tulsa, all of whom have absolutely kowtowed to car culture to create negative externalities like what this article is going on about and for which public transportation probably could not easily be described as “adequate” in comparison to the aforementioned cities of NY, SF, Chicago.
  - f1yght 4y ago
    Almost 10% if you include the metro areas. SF, NY, and Chicago account for a significant portion of how Americans experience the world.
- hot_gril 4y ago
  Yeah, it's not even like parking is the cause of the extra spacing, only the effect. In any city where space is extra valuable, this free parking "problem" quickly goes away.
- PM_me_your_math 4y ago
  Yet having a car isn't a problem. America is really big and things you need to do or places you need to go are rarely just down the block. The country is bigger than any one city, and self-transportation is fundamentally essential for our economy.
  - f1yght 4y ago
    According to the census, 80.7% of americans live in urban areas. We really should be creating spaces where people don't have to have a car to do the basic necessities. When talking about car dependence, it's about creating viable options that are more sustainable and more equitable for getting where you need to go. Kids, elderly, disabled people all have issues driving and if we create a way for them to get around without a car, it makes the city a better place. The issue isn't cars specifically. The issue is our built environment requires cars. Maybe more things should just be down the block.
  - nitwit005 4y ago
    The size of America isn't relevant. People aren't driving across five states to get to work or buy groceries. People used to be able to just go down the block here. That's been made illegal many places by zoning.
  - circuit 4y ago
    > America is really big and things you need to do or places you need to go are rarely just down the block The continental United States has about 3.5 million square miles of land. By comparison China has about 3.7 million square miles. Roughly the same, give or take a few. Observe the number of public passenger rail lines that China has and the timeframe in which they were built them. The idea that America is just too geographically big for public rail or any kind of public transportation system and we must be beholden to the car is categorically false.
renewiltord 4y ago
SF has loads of parking. The only place I really worry about is the Mission. Everywhere else parking is abundant.

SF, NY, Chicago are not at all representative of 99% of America when it comes to parking. Even in these cities, the second you go 30km out to actual suburbs parking is ample and overwrought. That being said it’s not really a groundbreaking or even particularly interesting thing to point out that America has a cultural problem with favoring cars, and that too much parking is a simple consequence of that.

zoltar 4y ago
99% of what? It's nearly 4% of the US population (2021).
- SOLAR_FIELDS 4y ago
  Land area, since we are talking about things that take up space (parking) and have to take into account that most people in these cities don’t own cars because of adequate (not great) public transportation. It’s more interesting to have this conversation about a city like Dallas or Houston or St Louis or Tulsa, all of whom have absolutely kowtowed to car culture to create negative externalities like what this article is going on about and for which public transportation probably could not easily be described as “adequate” in comparison to the aforementioned cities of NY, SF, Chicago.
- f1yght 4y ago
  Almost 10% if you include the metro areas. SF, NY, and Chicago account for a significant portion of how Americans experience the world.
hot_gril 4y ago
Yeah, it's not even like parking is the cause of the extra spacing, only the effect. In any city where space is extra valuable, this free parking "problem" quickly goes away.
PM_me_your_math 4y ago
Yet having a car isn't a problem. America is really big and things you need to do or places you need to go are rarely just down the block. The country is bigger than any one city, and self-transportation is fundamentally essential for our economy.
- f1yght 4y ago
  According to the census, 80.7% of americans live in urban areas. We really should be creating spaces where people don't have to have a car to do the basic necessities. When talking about car dependence, it's about creating viable options that are more sustainable and more equitable for getting where you need to go. Kids, elderly, disabled people all have issues driving and if we create a way for them to get around without a car, it makes the city a better place. The issue isn't cars specifically. The issue is our built environment requires cars. Maybe more things should just be down the block.
- nitwit005 4y ago
  The size of America isn't relevant. People aren't driving across five states to get to work or buy groceries. People used to be able to just go down the block here. That's been made illegal many places by zoning.
- circuit 4y ago
  > America is really big and things you need to do or places you need to go are rarely just down the block The continental United States has about 3.5 million square miles of land. By comparison China has about 3.7 million square miles. Roughly the same, give or take a few. Observe the number of public passenger rail lines that China has and the timeframe in which they were built them. The idea that America is just too geographically big for public rail or any kind of public transportation system and we must be beholden to the car is categorically false.

renewiltord 4y ago

SF has loads of parking. The only place I really worry about is the Mission. Everywhere else parking is abundant.