Just gonna put this out there that I don’t know a single serious urbanist who believes in a “no cars at all” position and it’s rather exhausting to see smart people bring up this straw man. Asking drivers to pay for the negative externalities they cause does not equal “ban cars.”
You want to move a mobile living room through the densest city in North America, a place with generally excellent transit that most people access without bringing 5,000 pounds of metal, glass and plastic with them? You can! All we’re asking is that you pay for the costs you impose on others.
TBH, I didn't think that before, but now that congestion pricing is dead, it is starting to seem like an option. Not all of Manhattan below 60th, of course, but largish no-car zones? Scattered throughout the city? Sure, why not?
Gosh...I can't even be controversial about this if I tried.
BTW, listened to your podcast for the first time with the Hochul emergency episode and I...enjoyed it? That doesn't seem right...more like, found it VERY cathartic to listen to.
I support the congestion charge, even though I will continue to drive through the tunnel to the 42nd St. parking lot when I go up to see a show. At least until NJTransit figures out how not to schedule their 4 weekend trains/hour all within 15 minutes of each other.
It’s always so frustrating when an issue like this is in the news and otherwise smart people just spout uninformed vibe takes about these policies or issues
While I personally believe in "ban cars", I think of it kinda like "dismantle capitalism" in that I know that it's not realistic in the short-to-medium term so it's basically a waste of effort when there are more achievable priorities like congestion pricing or minimum wage increases
When I tell intelligent, educated people that I bike to work, about 1 in 5 say, “but we can’t all do that. I can’t because…” fill in the blank. IOW many reasonable people are totally irrational about cars.
I feel like I’m personally as close to this as anyone I know (disclaimer: I am a crank who represents no one, possibly not even myself) and even I would admit that in my personal car free utopia there’s gonna be quite a few ICE vehicles still kicking around.
Add congestion pricing and transit to the long list of things a large chunk of the rest of the world has good solutions for, but is considered impossible here.
I live in NC and road maintenance costs are at least in part paid for by gasoline taxes. I’ve got an electric car and there’s an extra fee to cover the tax revenue that would have otherwise come from gas, and it’s wild to me how many EV owners RAIL against the “unfair” fee. 🙄
Yeah I fucking hate cars and predominately use public transit and bikes. It would be insane to ban all cars. That's not at all what I'm saying. I just want balance and alternative options.
I have seen people suggest no cars downtown even in a medium-small city next to a bigger city…. And getting rid of suburbs entirely…
But I don’t want to believe they were serious. Least not about getting votes.
Indeed. And it's exhausting to hear otherwise smart people kvetch about increasing funding for transit as though better transit doesn't reduce traffic congestion for the people who still choose to drive!
This is absolutely true. What I wish more anti-car people understood is that the better transit needs to come first. You’re not getting more support while people in East Flatbush have to keep paying for dollar cabs because the MTA is an unreliable clusterfuck.
I’m not an anti-car person, but am often mistaken for one because I don’t drive and my spouse, who does, hasn’t owned a car since 2006. I agree that for transit to be successful, it needs to be convenient, fast, and frequent enough that it’s a good option for people who have a choice.
I’m on your side on the issue in general, but it’s simply incorrect that there isn’t a sizable contingent of people who want to “ban cars” in cities. I talk to them all the time.
It's because they know deep in their heart that cars are massively socially as well as financially subsidized and without that subsidization they don't work as a transportation method
My first introduction to urbanism was humorless zealots ~20 years ago that insisted an unloved bit of urban highway in Dallas (I-345) should be demolished. No ideas for the traffic that would reroute, dO tHe ReSeArCh response to criticisms.
This put me off urbanism for a ~decade since the same group was very very angry at suburbanites for ... following powerful economic incentives and living in the suburbs. Eventually came back to the idea through different avenues, but hipsters or zealots can absolutely wreck a message.
