Qagggy 
2008 v. 2023: I don’t think people realize the extent to which parked cars degrade public space.
jcalais@qag When you think about it, it's pretty insane that virtually all bigger cities have designed the infrastructure around car-traffic above ground. What if we had underground infrastructure with highways, massive parking garages, and branching smaller lanes to the most important hubs in the city. Then, above ground it would look like your second picture.
Stygian Lizard
legumancer Davy@shadyspotlight @jcalais @qag Rochester NY had an extensive streetcar/trolley/lightrail system and a subway line in the 1950s. When the streetcar system aged enough to need a refurbishment project, auto industry lobbyists bribed the city council to scrap it and replace it with busses (so that cars wouldn't have to wait behind streetcars - ignoring that busses of the time were loud, smelly and a less comfortable ride). The same thing happened in lots of other small cities at around the same time.
I live in a town of 8,000 people that's very walking accessible because it's so dang old, cars weren't invented yet when the overall layout was established. They've made it work as a destination for people who arrived from the surrounding rural areas by car, by making a few large parking lots around the edges of the town core.
I agree with underground roads not being the most practical option.
lux ⛥@legumancer @shadyspotlight @jcalais @qag I live in Kansas City MO, and our first streetcar line since the 50’s opened in 2016. It’s free to the public and has really contributed to the revitalization of downtown. There’s a couple extensions in development, with more planned, that have me excited for the future. I think it’s a very slow process here in the US, but cities are starting to become less car-dependent.