Could not be more correct. Public spaces and transit, cities need to be for the people that live there. Not for suburban commuters
I know that James May was always the hippie of the group, but I’m still happy he said it.
James May added: “The thing that really bothers me is road sectarianism. Quite a few people in cars seem to be somehow offended by people riding bicycles because they’ve paid all this money for a car and think therefore they should be rewarded for it, but often they’re just not using the car very intelligently.” 👍
I have to admit I’m a bit guilty of this, but from both sides. I bike more than I drive, and when I’m driving all cyclists are a menace and are in the way, but when I bike all drivers are reckless idiots who are trying to kill me.
The rule of the road is that any one going slower or faster than you is a menace, this applies to everyone with pedestrians being at the bottom of the food chain.
To be fair most cyclists in major cities have a death wish. I don’t have another way to describe wearing all black in winter with no lights driving against traffic in a car lane (where there is also a dedicated, separated bike lane), and ignoring all stop signs and traffic signals. It’s a death wish.
Yes it’s mostly doordash et al, but just because doordash doesn’t care about it’s workers doesn’t mean the workers don’t have to.
in my region the doordash type motorcyclists are the ones with a deathwish, they weave fast through traffic like they are immortal (and traffic laws don’t exist). needless to say they die a lot. the byciclists are rightfully afraid of our chaotic traffic, except when they install a motor on their bikes, for some reason.
He’s always been the one that’s not as much of a cock as the other two
Oh, right, I didn’t remember which one he was.
Never forget Top Gear’s episode racing through the center of London. Results as follows:
- Bicycle
- Boat
- Tube (public transit)
- Car
It wasn’t even really close.
For the lazy https://youtu.be/CkOzNK4l8KY
This times 1000 any dense cities with sufficient transit should be car free.
I regularly transit between Heathrow and downtown. It’s about 13 miles or so. Regularly 45 minutes to an hour and a quarter, and as much as an hour and three quarters if there was some event letting out at the time. For such short distances I don’t think I’ve seen any US city compare. Sure, some have bad hours or short segments of regular congestion, and I’ve driven from one side of the country to another, but London takes the cake for shitty driving most any hour of the day for such a short transit.
This is insane. 13 miles for 45 minutes to an hour plus. Bike, scooter, electric something. All those cars running just to sit and wait.
Have you seen Top Gear’s race across london from 16 years ago? Now it’s even worse
Haven’t seen it but I’ll upvote for your name though.
What is Top Gear?
Very famous show about cars. They made model compete against each other or other transportation mode in various racing contest and discuss a lot about mecanisc. It is British but also famous in France.
Thought it said “cats” for a second.
We could learn from China as they’ve been solving this problem with EVs. See https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AomxytSwrkY
Cars will never go away due to the current city landscape, but things like these would significantly improve transport and livability.
Bit too absolutist imo, people with mobility issues exist, i’d say most cars don’t belong in cities, and it would be solved by good design, traffic restrictions etc.
when I was a kid almost all kids took the bus and walked to school, now I live opposite of an elementary school in a “socialist block” in middle europe and in the morning there is a huge line of cars dropping off kids, the school literally has a roundabout in front of it’s entrance to make it easier, it’s awful design, not to mention there is literally a bus stop on the other side of the school.
There is 0 reason for kids to be driven to school.
With you first point i disagree. I think public transport is often just fine or even preferable for people with mobility issues. If they are wheelchair bound then they cannot drive. And public transport has come a long way in terms of supporting disabled people such as most trains trams buses from were I come from now support wheelchair access.
Although I would be interested if there are any examples were taking public transport is infeasible or unhelpful to specific situations.
Sure no problem, let’s say you live in a village that’s next to a small town and then you are sent to an appointment to another doctor that’s only found in a nearby city, doing all that stuff is a lot of travelling, exhausting
Mobility issues are the first dog whistle of car pros, and the first point to be dissected entirely.
Handicapped people have tools they use to navigate an office floor, and they use those same tools to cross from their apartment to the corner store. Building pedestrian-friendly cities and encouraging low-speed transport like bikes and trams helps them too.
Many handicap users also can’t drive cars, meaning public transit options suited to their common routes are a godsend. Advocates of bikes often encourage having that whole setup, so people can pick between walking, biking, or trains as needed.
I AGREE BAN CARS INVEST IN PUBLIC TRANSPORT 250 MILLION EURO IN ONE EAR SERVED 1 MILLION PEOPLE FOR 20 YEARS!!!
BAN BAN BAN BAN BAN BAN BAN BAN BAN
Calm down
Can’t tell if you’re serious but this unironically
Agreed. Also dog’s do not belong in cities.
They can if people clean after their dog and keep them on leash in public spaces. The problem is always the people in the end.
Bold claim. I’ll tack onto that and say cats don’t belong in cities.
