Comment 77127

By ViennaCafe (registered) | Posted May 19, 2012 at 17:07:56 in reply to Comment 77120

Usually when someone implies others are blinded by ideology they are grinding an ideological axe of their own. Perhaps people just want liveable cities.

Your reply also implies a premise: that the role of roads is to move cars from point A to point B as efficiently as possible, period.

But in fact, if we look at roads as not only transportation corridors but also places of commerce and social interaction, where people meet, where business takes place, then suddenly the purpose of roads within cities can be very different.

If we look at downtowns as obstacles standing between the suburbs, then yes, moving vehicles efficiently through the downtown should be the primary objective of roads. But if we view the downtown as an engine of creativity, economic activity, and a place where people live, then roads, again, can and ought to have a different purpose.

A biologist once said that efficiency is the enemy of nature. It may also be true that transportation efficiency is the enemy of successful city cores.

Comment edited by ViennaCafe on 2012-05-19 17:08:35

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