this post was submitted on 03 Feb 2024
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Fuck Cars

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19
I like cars but… (lemmy.ca)
submitted 1 year ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]
31 comments fedilink hide all child comments
 

I can’t help but think that cars (EV included) just aren’t the answer. I feel like bikes aren’t the answer either. I feel like the metro and high speed rail are.

Most people don’t drive because they like driving (US), most people drive because they have to. And that sucks. You shouldn’t feel like you’re forced to drive. Because that’s auto insurance and auto registration that you have to pay.

You can’t eliminate roads altogether. You need at least one or two lanes for fire trucks, ambulances, garbage trucks, etc. but you can create pockets of no car zones.

People like me who like cars, should be able to have places we store our cars. We should have places where we can explore the limits of our cars instead of driving through traffic. But that should be a strictly extracurricular activity.

In the no car pockets, you should be able to walk to a grocery store, hardware store, that has what you need. You should be able to have mixed zoning. Single family units shouldn’t be the norm. If I own a car but it’s not my dedicated form of transportation, I can buy a cooler car and I don’t need a garage next to where I live to store it. I can store it outside no car pockets so that I can take public transport to my car and then take my car to the track.

Yes, it’ll take awhile to get there but why aren’t we doing more to that end? Am I too idealistic?

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[–] [email protected] 6 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Years ago I lived in a major city on the east coast with decent public transit and high "walkability index" ratings. I could walk to a bodega, three pubs, two pizza places, a chinese restaurant, an organic grocery store, and the gym. I biked to work and to school, and could take public transit to the regional rails to get out of the city if needed.

I still needed a car.

What on Earth for? I honestly can't think of a reason why you would need a car in a situation like that. I live in a very walkable neighborhood but with considerably less amenities and I get by just fine without a car or a bike.

Public transit takes two or three times as much time compared to driving point to point.

No it does not. That's only true if cities invest all of their transportation budget into car-centric infrastructure. Public transit is way more efficient.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (2 children)

That's pretty arrogant to tell me the reality I lived is a lie. You say you can't think of any reasons when I just gave you a whole bunch of reasons. How should I interpret that?

Not that it matters, this isn't an opinion. I mean, you could go to google maps right now and see the difference.

Here was one of my commutes to work.

https://www.google.com/maps/dir/Aspen+Street+%26+Haverford+Avenue,+Philadelphia,+PA/Benjamin+Franklin+High+School,+550+N+Broad+St,+Philadelphia,+PA+19130/@39.9644239,-75.1921844,13z/data=!4m8!4m7!1m2!1m1!1s0x89c6c6e0603a75e7:0x60419d67af2d983e!1m2!1m1!1s0x89c6c7d3da35c16f:0x4d340bce9140c1f!3e0

Right now, 16 minutes by car and 32 minutes by public transit.

Here's a trip to Ikea.

https://www.google.com/maps/dir/IKEA,+South+Christopher+Columbus+Boulevard,+Philadelphia,+PA/Benjamin+Franklin+High+School,+550+N+Broad+St,+Philadelphia,+PA+19130/@39.9372884,-75.1514966,13z/data=!4m8!4m7!1m2!1m1!1s0x89c6c8b2d85cab5d:0x6311fc151459e887!1m2!1m1!1s0x89c6c7d3da35c16f:0x4d340bce9140c1f!3e0

14 vs 35 minutes, but try carrying a couch home on the bus.

Here's another work commute.

https://www.google.com/maps/dir/South+12th+Street+%26+Reed+Street,+Philadelphia,+PA/E+Erie+Ave,+Philadelphia,+PA/@39.9456148,-75.1338933,13z/data=!4m8!4m7!1m2!1m1!1s0x89c6c61a450a43cd:0xa68e23054f88f593!1m2!1m1!1s0x89c6b7c45c9a0245:0xcd9fb0b8c6c17e09!3e0

Currently 26 vs 48 minutes.

Keep in mind, all of those public transit numbers assume you catch the next bus, and it's on time. I haven't lived in the city for almost 20 years, but I don't believe that the transit has gotten that much more reliable.

And Septa is pretty good as far as transit systems go.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (1 children)

That's not an actually good public transit system. Decent for North America maybe but trash compared to other countries.

Try telling a Manhattanite or someone from a Japanese city that cars are inherently 3x faster for point-to-point trips compared to transit.

Edit: also, why were you buying a week's worth of groceries at a time? I just walk to the bodega as I run out of stuff because it's close enough. It takes a few minutes. Sorry you couldn't see your way out of needing a car but I can pretty much guarantee based on the neighborhood you've described that you could have gotten by without one.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (2 children)

Ah, no true Scotsman it is, then.

So no public transit counts unless it's Manhattan or Japanese? Have you driven in Manhattan? A pogo stick would be faster than driving.

The USA is the country that needs public transit the most. We have 9 cars for every 10 people, and 300 million cars on the road. China has more cars, but only 2.2 cars per 10 people. No other country has more than 100 million cars, and no country with more than 100,000 cars has more cars per capita.

So when we're talking about replacing cars, you cannot simply ignore the entire USA because we haven't developed as much infrastructure as Manhattan.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 1 year ago

We want to replace cars AND build actual good infrastructure. The current system heavily favors cars so of course they're more convenient in some ways. In a more balanced and sustainable system the advantages cars have would significantly decrease.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago

Where did you get the impression that I was talking about "replacing" cars? I said we should replace the urban design approach itself to one which prioritizes walkability over cars. Driving a car rarely be the most practical way of getting from point A to B, but unfortunately it is in most of North America.

What I was responding to was your suggestions that no amount of transit infrastructure or walkability can be good enough to make it so people don't still need a car, and that car travel is inherently more efficient for getting around.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago

Ikea delivers. And where I'm at, with traffic, the bus or train sometimes becomes a quicker option due to priority lane for busses, and not dealing with parking