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The more popular mass transit becomes, the better the proposition of driving a car becomes. You cannot escape that as transit drives down traffic and frees up

The more popular mass transit becomes, the better the proposition of driving a car becomes. You cannot escape that as transit drives down traffic and frees up parking, cars become much more enjoyable to use.

Edman274 2y ago
It is taken as flatly impossible that parking would be reclaimed for other uses?
- rickydroll 2y ago
  We don't build parking smart here in the States, period. Parking lots should be multi-story to serve multiple buildings and have an array of solar panels on the roof to contribute to the city's power needs.
guhidalg 2y ago
In theory? In practice and when I have a choice, I will always pick mass transit instead of driving because I prefer to walk and avoid the hassles of traffic lights, risk of crashing or running someone over, wear and tear on my car, gasoline, etc...
- dmitrygr 2y ago
  > I will always pick mass transit I'm going to guess you've never had some drugged-up crazy try to stab you in a bus? After the second time it happens, you never ever consider it again. Life is too short to die like that.
  - thesuitonym 2y ago
    I'm going to guess you've never had some drugged-up crazy nearly ram into you at high speed in a car? Life is too short to die like that, and to spend it sitting in traffic to boot.
    - dmitrygr 2y ago
      Car has airbags. My chances are better than “knifed on BART”. And your chances of a fatal collision in stop-and-go traffic are as close to zero as a number can be - the kinetic energy just isn't there at those speeds.
      - dwallin 2y ago
        As best as I can tell your gut feeling and anecdotal experience here is not supported by evidence / data. One particular example that had a good breakdown: https://digitalcommons.usf.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1007&context=jpt https://digitalcommons.usf.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1...
      - rsynnott 2y ago
        How many people per year are knifed on the BART?
  - rsynnott 2y ago
    I’ve been using public transport my whole life, and that has never happened. Not even when I’ve visited the US. You may be a statistical anomaly. (If nothing else, the piles of corpses would, presumably, be noticeable and cause scheduling issues.)
outer_web 2y ago
Who doesn't enjoy a good equilibrium?
holden_nelson 2y ago
This is true, but only in a car-centric city like those in the US. If we extend this hypothetical to include additional changes to our infrastructure such as: reclaiming lanes for wider sidewalks, bike lanes, and bus/taxi lanes, restricting car traffic on heavily foot-trafficked streets, or building housing where parking was, cars remain cumbersome to use. I’m not actually pitching this course of action for any specific city; I actually live in an extremely rural area and don’t have a horse in this race. Just want to make the point that mass transit investments can’t happen in a vacuum if we want to achieve the desired results.
rsynnott 2y ago
With working public transport, you’ll generally see more development without parking. Very, very few of the places I go regularly have parking at all.

Edman274 2y ago

It is taken as flatly impossible that parking would be reclaimed for other uses?

rickydroll 2y ago
We don't build parking smart here in the States, period. Parking lots should be multi-story to serve multiple buildings and have an array of solar panels on the roof to contribute to the city's power needs.

guhidalg 2y ago

In theory? In practice and when I have a choice, I will always pick mass transit instead of driving because I prefer to walk and avoid the hassles of traffic lights, risk of crashing or running someone over, wear and tear on my car, gasoline, etc...

dmitrygr 2y ago
> I will always pick mass transit I'm going to guess you've never had some drugged-up crazy try to stab you in a bus? After the second time it happens, you never ever consider it again. Life is too short to die like that.
- thesuitonym 2y ago
  I'm going to guess you've never had some drugged-up crazy nearly ram into you at high speed in a car? Life is too short to die like that, and to spend it sitting in traffic to boot.
  - dmitrygr 2y ago
    Car has airbags. My chances are better than “knifed on BART”. And your chances of a fatal collision in stop-and-go traffic are as close to zero as a number can be - the kinetic energy just isn't there at those speeds.
    - dwallin 2y ago
      As best as I can tell your gut feeling and anecdotal experience here is not supported by evidence / data. One particular example that had a good breakdown: https://digitalcommons.usf.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1007&context=jpt https://digitalcommons.usf.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1...
    - rsynnott 2y ago
      How many people per year are knifed on the BART?
- rsynnott 2y ago
  I’ve been using public transport my whole life, and that has never happened. Not even when I’ve visited the US. You may be a statistical anomaly. (If nothing else, the piles of corpses would, presumably, be noticeable and cause scheduling issues.)

outer_web 2y ago

Who doesn't enjoy a good equilibrium?

holden_nelson 2y ago

This is true, but only in a car-centric city like those in the US. If we extend this hypothetical to include additional changes to our infrastructure such as: reclaiming lanes for wider sidewalks, bike lanes, and bus/taxi lanes, restricting car traffic on heavily foot-trafficked streets, or building housing where parking was, cars remain cumbersome to use. I’m not actually pitching this course of action for any specific city; I actually live in an extremely rural area and don’t have a horse in this race. Just want to make the point that mass transit investments can’t happen in a vacuum if we want to achieve the desired results.

rsynnott 2y ago

With working public transport, you’ll generally see more development without parking. Very, very few of the places I go regularly have parking at all.