this post was submitted on 03 Feb 2024
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Fuck Cars

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Your hub for collection of materials that contribute to a world with less car ownership. Including buses, motorcycles, bicycles, skateboards, longboards, scooters, hoverboards, e-scooters, pedestrians, walking, running

Community can decide if: truck have a place here.

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I like cars but… (lemmy.ca)
submitted 7 months ago by hddsx@lemmy.ca to c/fuckcars@lemmy.ca
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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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[–] drkt@lemmy.dbzer0.com 14 points 7 months ago (1 children)

Rail doesn't carry me to my doorstep. Bike does!

The ultimate solution is a combination of all mobility options, without subsidized personal cars.

People will get the fuck out of their cars real quick if they had to pay the real price for it. Instantly, if long and short distance rail is easily accessible and micro-mobility is available generally.

[–] hddsx@lemmy.ca 2 points 7 months ago (1 children)

Why not walk the last mile?

But being able to bike is nice. I just feel like, like cars, we shouldn’t force a bike or car driven society. They should be a choice

[–] drkt@lemmy.dbzer0.com 4 points 7 months ago

Walking is a micro-mobility. I apologize if it didn't come across clearly, but my comment was exactly about choice.

[–] bionicjoey@lemmy.ca 10 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago) (1 children)

I think the best possible form of transportation to design our cities around is feet. It's extremely feasible to build neighborhoods where 90% of what you need to live and work is within a 10-20 minute walk. Density and mixed use are key.

Then I honestly don't think it matters that much how people get between said neighborhoods. Just by prioritizing walkability we would get rid of 90% of trips.

[–] BCsven@lemmy.ca 5 points 7 months ago (1 children)

There are newer developments in suburban BC, that have done the village model. storefronts on bottom, and townhomes, or low highrise above. everything you need for daily existance is in the plaza below. I had culture shock in chicago, where the only way across road from hotel to restaurants was by car. No sidewalks, no pedestrian crossing. Just make a run for it and don't fall in the ditch either side of roadway

[–] bionicjoey@lemmy.ca 3 points 7 months ago

That development style is awesome. It's hard to find outside of older, more run down neighborhoods in most cities.

[–] driving_crooner@lemmy.eco.br 5 points 7 months ago (1 children)

A metro cannot reach all the population of a city, electric bikes + metro can.

[–] hddsx@lemmy.ca 1 points 7 months ago (1 children)

You can walk anywhere you can bike

[–] driving_crooner@lemmy.eco.br 1 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago) (1 children)

Me walking 2 hours to the office instead of biking for 30 minutes because it's technically possible 🚶‍♂️.

[–] hddsx@lemmy.ca 1 points 7 months ago

If the metro is planned correctly, you it should then 2 hours to 15 minutes.

And nobody is saying you CANT bike. But, like cars, no one should be forced to bike

[–] rxbudian@lemmy.ca 2 points 7 months ago

https://www.youtube.com/@RMTransit is a channel about using and designing public transit system. He looks at what works and doesn't work in different systems.
Interesting videos

[–] vowedaloha@lemmy.ca 1 points 7 months ago

Walking, bikes and various forms of public/mass transit are all good, but are still not sufficient in a North American environment.

  1. Weather sucks. From ankle deep snow that melts to slush and then freezes to be extremely uneven and slippery makes walking unpleasant to dangerous. As much as my city tries to keep up, there is only so much time and funds to clear snow.
  2. Not everyone is fully able bodied. I'll skip the obvious mobility impaired that people can identify by sight, but include those who look fully able, but for various reasons cannot. ie people with middle ear issues who cannot ride a bike due to lack of balance, or a medical issue where they can do a 30-40 minute walk, but takes them hours to recover.
  3. Not everything CAN be within a 15-20 minute walk! There are lots on specialty and mom & pop stores that I go to that require longer range transport.
  4. If you have kids, and they are involved in extracurricular activities, especially sports, you need a vehicle to get them to and from their destination.
  5. Whatever city you live in is different than someone else's. From city design, availability and safety of public transit, environment etc. Should every city aspire to be more friendly to those without a car, sure. But the reality is that most cities have spent the last 50 years being built around a car. Making changes to small pockets to be walk-able is a good start, but the reality is that it will be decades before any major overall change would be feasible. Until then we should also look to minimize the environmental impact of cars and EVs are a good start to that.