How not to create traffic jams: Don’t let people park for free

Re:How not to create traffic jams: Don’t let people park for... by CydeWeys on Saturday April 08, 2017 @02:36PM (#14068277)

You can tell that they haven't even spent any real time in Manhattan, right here in the US! No rest of the world is even necessary.

All of the "positives" of individual personal transportation quickly turn into negatives when everyone else is simultaneously trying to avail themselves of them in a dense, congested city. Then you realize that trying to have a car in the middle of a big city is more hassle than it's worth, and that walking, biking, public transit, and ubiquitous cabs actually work quite well, way better than individual cars could ever work in such conditions.

So yes, we've got suburban Americans who can't even conceptualize what life is like in our biggest city, despite it being a constant subject in pop culture.

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Re:How not to create traffic jams: Don’t let people park for... by ams6110 on Saturday April 08, 2017 @03:27PM (#14068547)

> trying to have a car in the middle of a big city is more hassle than it's worth

I've lived in Chicago, and came to the same conclusion. I like having a car so that's one of the reasons I don't live there anymore.

But most of the US is not big cities. Yet even in modest sized towns you see people advocating for public transit and bike lanes, etc. where they will never be used enough to justify the taxpayer expense.

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Re:How not to create traffic jams: Don’t let people park for... by CydeWeys on Saturday April 08, 2017 @03:38PM (#14068588)

I disagree with you on justifying the public expense. Bike lanes increase safety, both for cyclists and pedestrians. One preventable death is worth many millions of dollars. Bike lanes are incredibly cheap when all externalities are factored in.

EDIT: Also, we spend far, far more money on our road infrastructure than on all public transit combined. You are looking at the cost of public transit but assuming that roads were/are free. They are not. Taking steps towards equalizing funding levels between the two would go a great ways towards making public transit better while remaining revenue neutral.

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Re:How not to create traffic jams: Don’t let people park for... by baddox on Saturday April 08, 2017 @04:27PM (#14068827)

I'm not sure why you both conclude that people are unaware that public transportation works well in some cities and countries. I'm aware of that, but it's not relevant to my own ability to travel if I don't live in one of those areas. Could I move? Sure, but if everyone who complains about traffic or public transportation moved to Manhattan I suspect Manhattan's infrastructure would no longer perform so well.

[ Parent | on HN ]