I know! We build more roads and then there will be room for all the cars and the problem will be solved. This is the most rational solution to the problem.
Building more roads will work. Induced traffic is an evil lie peddled by socialist hippies who hate freedom.
My local govt wants to expand the highway through town (it was originally built on the outskirts but nowadays it cuts the city in two)
Everyone is saying "induced demand" and they're like nah it won't be like that this time, and btw this is actually good for the climate because less congestion! :agony-shivering:
I've heard the following arguments for building more highways instead of spending the money on public transit:
- More roads means more traffic which means more growth. And we need growth so we can afford to do the green transition things.
- Building more highways is actually not that bad for the climate as we plan to have a million electric cars on the road in 2030 (in a country of almost six million people and three million cars).
- Modern families need the flexibility of the car to get everything they have to do done.
There's also quite easy policies that could make commuting much less awful even without much change to existing infrastructure.
Could you imagine if 1/3 of offices started work at 8, 9, and 10am respectively and ended 8 hours after that? Both public and private transport would be so much more pleasant without people cramming in at the same time to meet an arbitrary time.
There’s also quite easy policies that could make commuting much less awful even without much change to existing infrastructure.
Yeah, create a network of alternative means like public transport, cycling, e-scooters or whatever funky vehicle people wanna by barring cars from certain streets. It's a sign and a few poles.
Could you imagine if 1/3 of offices started work at 8, 9, and 10am respectively and ended 8 hours after that? Both public and private transport would be so much more pleasant without people cramming in at the same time to meet an arbitrary time.
You'd get more people driving lol
You’d get more people driving lol
Even in cities which are considered to have exceptional public mass transit, like Tokyo, rush hour on trains is awful. Not much you can really do about it from an infrastructure view point since trains are already arriving every 2 mins at peak times and they're still crammed full.
Before COVID hit, the Tozai line (which is the most crowded) was experimenting with bribing people with free lunch vouchers if they rode earlier or later than rush hour.
It's a shame that COVID ruined the results of that experiment, because there were rumors of the govt planning to give incentives to offices to get them to shift their starting times away from the ubiquitous 9am.
Even in cities which are considered to have exceptional public mass transit, like Tokyo, rush hour on trains is awful. Not much you can really do about it from an infrastructure view point since trains are already arriving every 2 mins at peak times and they’re still crammed full.
Yeah, but cars are a different breed there as far as regulations and cost go.
That was my point. You change little else in your typical western nation (which seems what the comment is aiming at with easy regulation), i.e. you keep subsidizing the car to no end at every opportunity and stretching traffic out more will do nothing than get people back into the car because of cost/time/convenience mixed with a good bit of brainworms.
Changing nothing else it's a policy aimed at making it nicer to go by car and it will function as such.
That was my point. You change little else in your typical western nation (which seems what the comment is aiming at with easy regulation)
Well I didn't say that this was about a "typical western nation" and even if we are strictly talking about the West for some reason this would still be a good policy in large parts of Western Europe which already have good mass transit and aren't as reliant on cars.
Also, I never said that this would be a change that would take place in a vacuum, so I don't see why you're assuming that it should. My original post refers to "easy policies", plural.
Lastly, I don't think you're accounting for the increased draw of public transport if people could be more confident that they could sit down on a bus or a train for their commutes, or at least not be packed in like canned fish.
Turn
halfthe car lanes into bike lanesduring rush hour:panting:
Yeah. I have a PMC-ish job with flexible hours and leave home at different times. Often there are no more than fifteen minutes between empty and congested roads.
Yeah I'm also lucky to be able to go to work 30 mins later than most people and it's the difference between sardine can trains and able to get a seat half the time.
I will never give up my bicycle. Stay mad! Also, that's rookie bike parking! You can pack 'em way more densely.
I will never give up my bicycle. Stay mad!
we need to change the infrastructure of the city to allow bikes to be used safely
Building more roads will work. Induced traffic is an evil lie peddled by socialist hippies who hate freedom.
4 out of 5 transportation planners actually believe this
making more roads is good, but it's not enough
we also need to make BIGGER roads
and then make bigger cars to balance those roads.
also there's an ancap joke in here somewhere
On the bike photo: I've always thought about that. For less than 5,000 you can buy a moped which can go up to 35 MPH. These days, they can be fully electric. It seems kind of strange that we ended up in a state where most people drive by themselves about 90% of the time in a car built for 4+ people.
It becomes an arms race, mopeds and e-bikes and normal bikes become safety hazards because of these giant cars and monster trucks which permiate our roads--I'd love to ride my bike to work, but I know for sure It wouldn't be long before I was hit by a driver, in my city it happens every day and the bike routes suck. Sorry, I'm not relying on "sharrows" to keep me safe on the street.
Its in most cities interest to roll out battery-electric shuttles/buses and make them free at point of use. I'd gladly pay a little extra in taxes for such a service because the benefit to the public at large is so huge.
easier to imagine the end of the world than the end of car-prioritized infrastructure
I mean, building more roads will work. Except for it to work the entire place has to be a road basically.
