Mathieu Quesnel-VallièresMay 18, 2023
πšƒπšŠπš›πšŠπšœ π™Άπš›πšŽπšœπšŒπš˜πšŽ πŸš‡

City of #Ljubljana in #Slovenia, population 280,000, kicked cars out in 2007.

Since then, car use has dropped by 32%, black carbon emissions are down 70%, noise pollution is down by 6 decibels.
Unfortunately, going car-free has made the center a living hell, as this video shows:
🧡

May 18, 2023 at 1:33pmWeb
Show threadπšƒπšŠπš›πšŠπšœ π™Άπš›πšŽπšœπšŒπš˜πšŽ πŸš‡May 18, 2023

More on the transformation of #Llubljana. The horror, the horror...

https://www.vice.com/en/article/jg8wq7/slovenia-car-free-city-ljubljana

A City Without Cars Is Already Here, and It’s Idyllic

Slovenia’s capital Ljubljana has been car-free for over a decade. Is it time to export their model?

Show threadπšƒπšŠπš›πšŠπšœ π™Άπš›πšŽπšœπšŒπš˜πšŽ πŸš‡May 18, 2023
To prevent this from ever happening in North America, be sure to:
1/ Never, ever ride transit
2/ Only use a bicycle when you go to a park
3/ Vote for politicians who want to solve traffic congestion by adding one more lane
4/ Take the plane, not the train
5/ Buy a Tesla
Show threadπšƒπšŠπš›πšŠπšœ π™Άπš›πšŽπšœπšŒπš˜πšŽ πŸš‡May 18, 2023
To be clear: cars were evicted from the center of the city. The outskirts remain car-centered.
Show threadAndrej ShaduraMay 19, 2023
@straphanger, to be fair, they’ve also built a network of cycle paths, even though they had to resort to cheap solutions like paint, kerbs and cobblestone separators, but it worked, and it’s surprisingly rideable!
Show threadAndrej ShaduraMay 19, 2023
I haven’t got (m)any pictures, but here’s an example:
Show threadAndrej ShaduraMay 19, 2023

@straphanger, here you can find more examples, also with earlier versions (see the time slider):
βˆ’ https://goo.gl/maps/DTQwdyCy2eE1rwXR8

βˆ’ https://goo.gl/maps/eew75ePk3nh1YAXaA

(I have originally posted this out of the thread somehow)

Bevor Sie zu Google Maps weitergehen

Show threadTor LillqvistMay 18, 2023
@straphanger I dislike car-centric city planning as much as you do, but still, some map showing how large the car-free zone actually is would be useful. And information on how large a part of the population live inside it. (I suspect the car-free zone is just a few blocks wide on the sides of the river, and that the large majority of inhabitants live outside it.) Claiming that β€œLjubljana is car-free” is an exaggeration and not really helping the cause. Many cities have pedestrianised streets.
Show threadJernej Simončič �May 18, 2023
@tml @straphanger Some streets in the centre of Ljubljana are closed to cars, but not that many (though they did close the most direct way between the northern part of the city and the south). I generally avoid those parts, because they're usually full of tourists, so on bike it's faster to go around.
Show threadSteve8282May 18, 2023
@tml @straphanger huge parking lots at the edges.
Show threadHistoPol (#HP) 🏴 πŸ‡ΊπŸ‡Έ 🏴May 19, 2023

@straphanger

#Environment

"A City Without Cars Is Already Here, and It’s Idyllic
#Slovenia’s capital #Ljubljana has been car-free for over a decade. Is it time to export their model?"

https://www.vice.com/en/article/jg8wq7/slovenia-car-free-city-ljubljana

A City Without Cars Is Already Here, and It’s Idyllic

Slovenia’s capital Ljubljana has been car-free for over a decade. Is it time to export their model?

Show threadHelen MarshallMay 19, 2023
@straphanger
I'm so envious! Nowhere in Australia is as enlightened
Show threadex or current IDF unwelcomeMay 18, 2023
@straphanger 2 buses a day nowhere near supermarkets. Car essential
Show threadMichaΕ‚ "rysiek" WoΕΊniak Β· πŸ‡ΊπŸ‡¦May 18, 2023

@straphanger I think it's important to note that #Ljubljana ("Lj", not "Ll", btw) is also the capital of Slovenia.

So it's not some touristy town somewhere off the beaten path. It's the capital city of an EU country, with all the administrative buildings and traffic and needs related to that.

And it works just fine.

Show threadTim RichardsMay 18, 2023
@straphanger lovely city, visited it a few years ago and will be passing through it again next week by train.
Show threadbillheywoodMay 18, 2023
@straphanger
It’s a vision of hell 😱
Show thread🍸PookaπŸ₯•Boo🍸May 18, 2023

@straphanger

Of course...

Show threadmatthijsMay 18, 2023
@straphanger So this is where Dante's inspiration came from
Show threadhΓΆmmaMay 18, 2023

@straphanger

tagging @SheDrivesMobility

Show threadPeterMay 18, 2023
@straphanger Sorry but it is not so perfect as you would like to portray.
We only closed the center of the town (600m by 600m). We still get 140.000 daily job migrations to the city of 280.000 people, which amounts to heavy traffic outside near center and only moderate air quality.
Show threadVayl Larkin (they/them)May 18, 2023

@straphanger How do disabled folks get around? I'm not seeing any here. Anywhere. Even though we're a third of the world's population.

I believe in an Extreme reduction in private motorized travel, but access to electric vehicles, safety regulations in place to protect them, and other elements Need to be part of any strategy, or you Will leave people behind. Not just a few.

Show threadπšƒπšŠπš›πšŠπšœ π™Άπš›πšŽπšœπšŒπš˜πšŽ πŸš‡May 18, 2023
@VaylLarkinPoet People with limited mobility can use the free and widely available Kavalier electric shuttles to take them where they need to go...
Show threadAxelMay 18, 2023
@straphanger @VaylLarkinPoet
That service is really amazing! We visited Ljubljana last October and were pleasantly surprised about the fact that elderly and disabled people seemed to have no trouble to get around and participate in the social life along the riverside.
A waitress at our hotel showed us a video of the traffic on the center bridge in the late 1990s - and the gain in quality of life in that area is really astonishing 
Show threadVayl Larkin (they/them)May 19, 2023
@tetrapyloctomist @straphanger I appreciate this, but unfortunately these anecdotes don't tell me anything. You see disabled people, but the question is, how much of the population is actually making it around? An athlete with spinal paralysis May be pain-free and stronger than ever. Someone with a degenerative condition may be in a life-sustaining wheelchair with no autonomous movement. See the problem? I just really want to keep pushing this conversation in community.
Show threadUrsuUrsula 🎢🎡🎢May 18, 2023

@straphanger

Laibach

Show threadSander van KasteelMay 18, 2023

@straphanger omg! The horror... Do hear it? Do you see it?

Al those local businesses that went bankrupt because of the carfree implementation.

/s obviously!

Show threadLee 🌏May 18, 2023
@straphanger
Absolutely shocking example of the WEF trying to enslave humanity! #15minutecity
Show threadskuaMay 19, 2023

@straphanger

Agent of change:
You've got a simple choice to make humanity.

A livable climate, healthy air, clean rivers and oceans, no wars, meaningful lives, city squares with bicycling familes and piano accordions, ..."

Humanity: Stop right there. Did you just say piano accordion?

Agent of change: Why yes, but ....

[Humanity speeding away in cars]

Show threadSellaTheChemistMay 19, 2023
@straphanger Jeez! Without the traffic noise you are forced to listen to non-stop accordion music! πŸ˜‚