Comment 38873

By mikeonthemountain (registered) | Posted March 19, 2010 at 12:59:43

Well false dichotomies are abundant ... if you drive it's easy to be fearful that adding a bike lane will cause gridlock which is nonsense; if you don't drive it's easy to be fearful that 'better cars' can only mean adding more lanes which is also nonsense.

'Better cars' can include, off the top of my head:

  1. Consolidate some surface parking into multilevel or underground garages and develop some nice stuff on the currently ghetto looking surface lots. (You know, actually caring about what your city looks like.)

  2. Cleaner engines and infrastructure. I find myself gagging (literally) on car/diesel exhaust while walking (not just while cycling). A quick google will yield the numerous already established statistics on respiratory ailments and deaths caused by our smoggy oily civilization.

  3. More efficient use of existing space : some concepts include smart-card car rentals which are stacked like this awesome idea from MIT : http://www.markpascua.com/2008/03/11/cit...

  4. Self healing concrete in high traffic areas where density can support the extra cost, which decreased maintenance would probably pay for anyway : http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/200...

Good ideas are everywhere, we just have unmitigated selfishness and stupidity, foremost in leadership. We should be trying to improve everything - walkability, transit, driving, cycling, ecomony/productivity, it's all so possible just largely suffocated in this current culture of being stuck in our ways, plus enslaved by corruption.

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