Helen CzerskiThe evidence that cars don’t work as primary mass transport in cities is everywhere: traffic jams, air pollution, accident rates, the shocking fraction of city space taken up by parking spaces, safety barriers/bollards etc. This 100 year experiment should be declared over, and we should put proper effort into the systems that HAVE been shown to work and scale: walking, cycling, e-cargo bikes, cheap/accessible/reliable public transport. This “argument” about LTNs is just lazy delay. #LTN #cities
inaforest@helenczerski be nice to see some effort put into rural transport solutions, too, often forgotten or overlooked, we don't all live in a city OR work at desk-based activities..public transport in the burbs and beyond is a joke with a terrible punchline
Dave Mc@inaforest @helenczerski cars have enabled people to live in rural areas and the 'burbs. At least some of that behaviour has to be reversed over the next few decades.
@guigsy @helenczerski I'd be interested to hear how this would be achieved.
@inaforest @helenczerski In the US, policy changes that allow new denser housing would be a start. Better planning with cities that have amenities within a short distance, and convenient non-car ways of getting there. But above all this, there needs to be a culture reversal. This applies to the UK too... and I don't know how to encourage that.
@guigsy @helenczerski indeed, changes made to policy moving forward. Some of the families in my area have lived here for centuries..policy change won't alter this, or speaking personally, lived rural for near twenty years, made a life, making a living ..never ever going back to city life. Infrastructure needs to meet everyone's need, in a sustainable way, for where they live, right now. Hugely unworkable to relocate people's lives to address the issue.
@inaforest @helenczerski what work do those people do though? Do they still work the fields like their ancestors?
Commuting an hour to work, school runs that are many miles, long drives to the supermarket with a diversion to grab a drive thru coffee. Those things are the things that meant cars wrecked the system.
@guigsy @helenczerski I think some of your assumptions of rural life are dated and generalised. Come and pay a visit, It'd be my pleasure to show you around, anytime, genuine offer.
@inaforest @helenczerski just because someone's ancestors did something, it doesn't make sense that their descendants do the same.
There's plenty of rural life that's fine. And using the car is inevitable for doing a few miles to other rural destinations. But if you work a long way off in a distant town, you're part of the problem.
@guigsy @helenczerski I know that, and what I'm trying to say to you is that your assumption of rural living/commuting to work an hour away is not entirely true.
WoodswalkedIn much of the U.S. it is.
This is not saying that cars aren’t a problem, it is saying that trams are not a solution for most here. The complexity is deeper than in major cities. It is a deeply entrenched problem.
cc: @guigsy @helenczerski
@Woodswalked @guigsy @helenczerski Well, thank goodness we don't all live there, an often overlooked fact by usa-centric culture.
Yes! You are absolutely correct. Also, as a terribly rude and U.S.centric person, please lead the way with any solution that works anywhere. Every bit of progress is in the right direction.
cc: @guigsy @helenczerski
@guigsy @helenczerski and, fyi, our glorious leader, a spoof but the intent is unchanged....nothing is changing in the UK without a fight.
