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xkcd #2832: Urban Planning Opinion Progression
(imgs.xkcd.com)
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If they're going to make people ride bikes and scooters in traffic, then it should at LEAST be legal to do the Snow Crash thing where you use a hook-shot-style harpoon to catch free rides from cars.
I was in very bike-friendly Copenhagen last summer and yes, it was nice. I do think in order for cars to move out of cities, we need to focus more on public transportation in the suburbs of big cities, so people could easily access the city without paying an arm and a leg for parking.
I lived in a suburb about 20 min outside of Philadelphia in high school, and It was nice hopping the train in and out, then getting into my car and driving home.
Yeah, parking really kills it.
In Houston, by the time you've paid for the parking and the light rail ticket you've spent more than you would paying for extra gas and for a space in the parking garage at your destination.
So public transit ends up costing more AND adds 30-60 minutes to the commute, plus a 5-block walk in 115°. Why wouldn't I take my air-conditioned recliner?
Yeah, NYC is horrible for this too, and even the parking in NJ across the river is ridiculous if you want to ride in from there. There is a train, but that's gotten expensive too. It's just a shitshow.
I'm not anti-car or bike but we really don't have a good system in place for either when it comes to cities.
As a resident, I just use a monthly pass and it's cheaper than when I had a car and the insurance, gas, and maintenance in a lower cost of living area.
Sure, the MTA isn't perfect, but you can access a lot of the city through the trains and buses. If you've ever driven in the city it can be a lot worse when you include parking. If we were to convert buildings into parking, you would end up with a ton of sprawl and a less walkable city.
The Danish public transit infrastructure is a joke and there isn't any political will to improve it so it's just unreliable and extremely expensive.
I did have a very confusing time taking a bus out of Copenhagen. I got yelled at by a driver but I didn't understand how to pay (I thought you paid on the bus?) And there was no instruction on how to do it and no one would help. He just let me get on, but he was mad about it, lol.
I figured out how to pay for my trip back though, due to a very kind lady.
Take a look at Oulu. If you don’t live in the city center, you can ride your bike to get there. The lames for light traffic are numerous and we’ll maintained. The busses are fine, as long as you are mindful if the schedules.