People keep making excuses for cars but it goes the other way around too.
Disabled people and kids may not be able to drive. Public transportation can give them more independence (also in other countries, disabled people use single passenger electric vehicles to get around and that works fine).
I generally feel more secure when taking public transportation when I'm in a well lit area with more people. Walking down suburban or sparse city streets is a lot scarier.
I've traveled to cities with and without public transportation and I've always preferred the cities with public transportation. It's cheaper and simpler than trying to drive in a new area.
I can see public transportation being difficult if you need to transport equipment but we shouldn't be building cities for the edge cases. Other cities do just fine with transporting work equipment despite being mostly built for public transit (eg. New York City). In fact, by supporting 99% of use cases with public transit, you free up road capacity for the edge cases. It's a win-win.
Funnily enough, if you replace parking lots with homes, businesses, entertainment, education, and commercial buildings, you are likely to get
- More and better public transport
- Disabled people can go where they need to more easily
- Streets will be less dangerous
- You have more shops nearby
Excessive parking lots are the cause of almost all of the problems you mention. Keeping parking lots around won't fix the problems caused by parking lots.
(The exceptions are vacations and transporting equipment. You probably need a car for that. Depending on how often you go on vacation or transport equipment, you may or may not need your own personal car sitting idle 98 % of the year. But if you do, great, you're in the small minority we should build parking lots for. We don't need very many parking lots for you.)
But the topic at hand is heat islands, which is inherently an urban problem. I don’t think anyone here is meaning to suggest rural Montana should ban cars.
If I drive to a remote place in a car, I will need a car to get back. But if I go to a remote place by walking, on a bicycle or public transport, I don't need a car to get back.
Ever tried imagining building a life that isn't centred around using a car?
xmprt|4 years ago
Disabled people and kids may not be able to drive. Public transportation can give them more independence (also in other countries, disabled people use single passenger electric vehicles to get around and that works fine).
I generally feel more secure when taking public transportation when I'm in a well lit area with more people. Walking down suburban or sparse city streets is a lot scarier.
I've traveled to cities with and without public transportation and I've always preferred the cities with public transportation. It's cheaper and simpler than trying to drive in a new area.
I can see public transportation being difficult if you need to transport equipment but we shouldn't be building cities for the edge cases. Other cities do just fine with transporting work equipment despite being mostly built for public transit (eg. New York City). In fact, by supporting 99% of use cases with public transit, you free up road capacity for the edge cases. It's a win-win.
kqr|4 years ago
- More and better public transport
- Disabled people can go where they need to more easily
- Streets will be less dangerous
- You have more shops nearby
Excessive parking lots are the cause of almost all of the problems you mention. Keeping parking lots around won't fix the problems caused by parking lots.
(The exceptions are vacations and transporting equipment. You probably need a car for that. Depending on how often you go on vacation or transport equipment, you may or may not need your own personal car sitting idle 98 % of the year. But if you do, great, you're in the small minority we should build parking lots for. We don't need very many parking lots for you.)
adrianN|4 years ago
eloisius|4 years ago
globular-toast|4 years ago
Ever tried imagining building a life that isn't centred around using a car?
unknown|4 years ago
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unknown|4 years ago
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