Severus_SnapeClosing Central Madrid To Cars Resulted In 9.5% Boost To Retail Spending, Finds Bank Analysis
Trying to replicate that elsewhere requires either parking spaces away from the main streets, or decent public transit.
In San Diego, the Gaslamp District is a prime example of an area that should be pedestrian only. Yet when they did try it, the city yanked it back with the unbelievable excuse that the road blocking bollard mechanisms cost too much (thesandiegosun.com/gaslamp-quarter-car-free-zone-…).
Downtown retail in a lot of cities are boarded up. Making those streets pedestrian-only is the only way to revive them and bring back shops.
infinitesunriseThat’s all a lot less complicated then most infrastructure redesigns within a CBD. It’s crazy how how whole neighborhoods can be leveled for highways, subway systems can be drilled through underground, a city like London can bollard off their entire downtown in the name of anti-terror without much of any public conversation. But close the streets to cars and “it can get complicated quickly”. OK. Most cities have a small army of infrastructure professionals trained and ready to do this complicated stuff. The actually complicated part is getting the motor lobby to stfu long enough to let them do it.