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Re:First town in America to ban new gas stations by cjtrowbridge on Wednesday August 18, 2021 @09:46AM (#28220848)
Lots of towns have already done this. Berkeley did it years ago. It doesn't matter at all. The fact that Berkeley bans certain land uses means that the town next door, Emeryville, falls prey to fiscalization and simply makes their whole urban strategy be making money off of encouraging all the things Berkeley bans. The effect is that there are probably more gas stations than Emeryville than there would otherwise be in both Emeryville and Berkeley. The same goes for big box stores which Berkeley also banned. Emeryville is just a long endless chain of box stores and gas stations right next to Berkeley.
Re:First town in America to ban new gas stations by bombcar on Wednesday August 18, 2021 @10:01AM (#28221014)
Ojai bans "fast food" though the definition of that is a bit slippery - and so there are fast food places just outside city limits.
Re:First town in America to ban new gas stations by plussed_reader on Wednesday August 18, 2021 @10:12AM (#28221129)
Cupertino, CA is like this too.
Re:First town in America to ban new gas stations by ericbarrett on Wednesday August 18, 2021 @10:17AM (#28221240)
Santa Cruz, CA—no new "big box" national retail chains allowed since the early 2000s (or maybe even 90s, I forgot). So they're all in Capitola, 5 miles away, creating incredible traffic on Highway 1.
Re:First town in America to ban new gas stations by gnramires on Wednesday August 18, 2021 @10:38AM (#28221559)
> It doesn't matter at all

That's not true: it will cause an inconvenience to Berkeley residents using gas-powered vehicles. It's not definitive, but it has an effect on stimulating energy transition.

Re:First town in America to ban new gas stations by whatshisface on Wednesday August 18, 2021 @10:41AM (#28221609)
I'm sure the gas stations in Emeryville are very happy that the residents of Berkeley have to burn all that extra gas to drive to the big box stores outside of town.
Re:First town in America to ban new gas stations by emodendroket on Wednesday August 18, 2021 @11:02AM (#28222008)
Now imagine more cities starting passing these laws. Gee, before you know it, it's less trouble to have an electric car.
Re:First town in America to ban new gas stations by whatshisface on Wednesday August 18, 2021 @11:03AM (#28222034)
I think it would be more effective to have cities pass laws that say what follows:

"We will ban gas stations when more than m out of n nearby cities have either banned gas stations or passed this law."

Re:First town in America to ban new gas stations by emodendroket on Wednesday August 18, 2021 @11:06AM (#28222084)
I could see that being more effective or less, but either way I don't think it's totally pointless.
Re:First town in America to ban new gas stations by whatshisface on Wednesday August 18, 2021 @11:08AM (#28222114)
I can understand your point about marginal inconvenience having a marginal benefit, but I think that car use may be so inflexible (I know that I literally need my car and would be willing to put up with any conceivable inconvenience law because I have to) that inconvenience laws, especially ones with direct gas-burning effects on anyone who keeps their car, can easily be net negative even for small increases in fuel consumption.
Re:First town in America to ban new gas stations by dublinben on Wednesday August 18, 2021 @11:40AM (#28222795)
Car use (as measured by Vehicle Miles Traveled) is more elastic than you may think. There were pronounced dips during the oil price spikes of 1974, 1979, and 2008, showing that the price at the pump has a direct effect on how much people drive.[0] Last year we obviously saw an even more significant decline as many people stayed home during the pandemic.[1] There's also more positive, lasting ways of reducing VMT like improving alternatives, introducing congestion charges, or replacing gas taxes with cost per mile fees.[2]

[0]https://afdc.energy.gov/data/10315

[1]https://highways.dot.gov/newsroom/us-driving-last-year-was-l...

[2]https://www.urbanismnext.org/what-to-do/congestion-vmt-reduc...

Re:First town in America to ban new gas stations by emodendroket on Wednesday August 18, 2021 @11:37AM (#28222738)
Right now, even if you only ever travel short distances and an electric car would be totally suitable for you, the path of least resistance is to buy a gas car. It seems smart to try and shift that calculus.
Re:First town in America to ban new gas stations by agumonkey on Wednesday August 18, 2021 @10:56AM (#28221896)
Is this pattern named ?
Re:First town in America to ban new gas stations by HonestOp001 on Wednesday August 18, 2021 @10:59AM (#28221947)
Virtue signaling to unseen consequences. (VSUD)
Re:First town in America to ban new gas stations by jeffbee on Wednesday August 18, 2021 @10:15AM (#28221187)
You must be joking. Berkeley loves its gas stations. There is nothing more Berkeley than a Volvo 240 getting 5MPG and spewing smoke all over town. When someone tried to develop apartments at 3000 Shattuck on the site of "Smog and Gas" -- a quite ironic name indeed -- the city's grey NIBMYs went to war, writing the zoning board that "Berkeley Smog & Gas better serves the needs of the working class of my neighborhood than the proposed speculation housing." The ZAB agreed, disapproving the project! It is on-the-record that the people of Berkeley prefer gas stations over housing.

Also I have no idea what you are talking about with Emeryville. They have three gas stations, all on Powell St. Berkeley has at least 20.