Every time an ignorant person says bicycling and public transit would never work in America like it does in Europe…

[StretfordRed]

Why do Americans act like sprawling cities can’t be transformed into more dense areas?

I don’t think I remember which video it was but basically he hinted that it’s all due to the automobile industry and the lack of city planning departments that are willing to make the change to more density packed areas.

Also racism.

 

[MajesticLion]

No political will.

 

[Robbie3000]

Weather, physical fitness, times, and a desire for convenience play into this. I haven’t walked to my corner store since I was 10 years old.

Like most Americans, you are deprived. You only know one way of life. Communities build for people and not cars are safer, more vibrant, healthier and happier.

I feel bad for most North Americans and this dream of Suburbia that you were sold.

 

[Baka's Weird Case]

it is 100 percent lobbies. threads like this are sad because you see how effective they have been. advocate for better public transit systems because people think its a challenge to their freedom to own a car

 

[Remote]

Imagine thinking a place that is a 2 hr drive isn't going to be closer to 3 with mass transit.

I ride the metro north to midtown.
Wanna guess how long that drive would take?

 

[BigBlackSea]

Would have to restructure the way cities are planned. In most of these European cities, everything you need is within walking distance.

It's not impossible though, just that oil lobbys are fighting tooth and nail to stop that from happening. Same with air travel lobbies constantly killing high speed rail.

Now that I think about it, that car being a status symbol starts real early. I remember being in high school, thinking that riding the bus in senior year was lame as opposed to having a car. Funny thing is, a few months later I was car-less on campus in college since the parking fees were exorbitant. We have to change our perception of public transport, by not listening to douchebags like Elon talking about public transport is "unsafe and dirty ".

 

[Will Ross]

it is 100 percent lobbies. threads like this are sad because you see how effective they have been. advocate for better public transit systems because people think its a challenge to their freedom to own a car

it’s giving up freedom when you have to rely on the government for your transportation.

 

[Remote]

Would have to restructure the way cities are planned. In most of these European cities, everything you need is within walking distance.

It's not impossible though, just that oil lobbys are fighting tooth and nail to stop that from happening. Same with air travel lobbies constantly killing high speed rail.

Now that I think about it, that car being a status symbol starts real early. I remember being in high school, thinking that riding the bus in senior year was lame as opposed to having a car. Funny thing is, a few months later I was car-less on campus in college since the parking fees were exorbitant. We have to change our perception of public transport, by not listening to douchebags like Elon talking about public transport is "unsafe and dirty ".

The funny thing is that cities were destroyed and restructured for the car.

All it would require is undoing it.

It’s not a “new” concept in America.

Our towns and cities were literally already designed the way Europe is.

 

[Remote]

it’s giving up freedom when you have to rely on the government for your transportation.

Call “sitting in traffic” and paying thousands of dollars a year in gas and insurance a “freedom” brehs

 

[Baka's Weird Case]

it’s giving up freedom when you have to rely on the government for your transportation.

you still have to rely on them when you drive

 

[Will Ross]

Call “sitting in traffic” and paying thousands of dollars a year in gas and insurance a “freedom” brehs

it’s worth it

 

[Wink Beaufield]

DC used to have an extensive streetcar network but that got bushed back in the 60s.

 

[Windows 91]

I do wish we could have some high speed rail in this country. I think the coolest thing about Japan was how you could walk up to a regular street station and hop on a train that would whip you across the country. No TSA, no metal detectors, no airport traffic, no lines, no boarding, no taxiing on the runway, nothing. You just walked up to the platform and got on like it was the subway.

I guess Amtrak is like that but it's slow as shyt.

 

[Robbie3000]

The funny thing is that cities were destroyed and restructured for the car.

All it would require is undoing it.

It’s not a “new” concept in America.

Our towns and cities were literally already designed the way Europe is.

There was a thread yesterday showing how the sunbelt cities looked in the 40s. No different that European cities.

 

[Remote]

There was a thread yesterday showing how the sunbelt cities looked in the 40s. No different that European cities.

Word? Oh man that must have been cool.
Amazing how that worked for so long.

Because everyone knows the sunbelt was full of populous cities of millions of people in the 1940s