cross-posted from: https://slrpnk.net/post/30007963
Arguing for the car as a good method of transportation is like arguing that having personal diesel generator to power you home is a good idea
cross-posted from: https://slrpnk.net/post/30007963
Arguing for the car as a good method of transportation is like arguing that having personal diesel generator to power you home is a good idea
There are two problems with that. First one is density. Even if you would ban cars, you still have some locations, where the distance is just too large to just cycle and public transit would basically end up like cars, if made available at the frequency required for a similar level of service to a car. The other part is building the actual cycling, sidewalk and transit networks. That again is going to take decades to do on the scale required to get rid of cars.
It is much better to create working walking and cycling connections to nearby stores, add some mid or high density to low density areas to allow for trams, metros or trains and actually built those as well. Rome was not built in a day and to be honest is still very car brained.
Your suggestions are good, I agree. I also think it’s important to remove zoning (save for heavy industry, harbours, and airports, those should still be isolated).
That said, you’d be surprised how much progress can be made in so little time. For example, under Enrique Peñalosa, who was Bogota’s mayor between 1998-2001 and again from 2016-2019, the city saw a gigantic increase of bicycle pathes. It now has the biggest bicycle network in … all of the Americas. Even if we add in the work of the other one, Antanas Mockus Šivickas, who was mayor between 1995-1997, and 2001-2003, that’s still impressive.
Political will is what is lacking in the US.
Bogota still has no metro system being the largest city in the Americas not not have one. The next largest to lack one is Cali and then Houston. To be fair they are building one right now, but still not a great example
Houston is notoriously carbrained though, they basically have as much land dedicated to parking spot asphalt as they’ve for … office skyscrapers, with almost no good greenery.
tbf i’m not gonna shit on progress. do i want it to be perfect? yes. do i think good is an issue? no. i’ll not go for anything below ‘good’, but definitely will strive for perfect there as an ideal.