The future is dense, walkable cities.

[Chernosoth]

I see many people now riding ebikes. I know a guy who commutes by ebike. I might eventually buy an ebike or motorscooter, but they all seem overpriced for limited use in Michigan weather. I bike in all weather, but crashing a bicycle is usually no big deal. I pick it up and continue riding, with maybe a bruised knee. Ebikes are heavier with very expensive parts that could be damaged, and they have EV range limits. A motorscooter with a 4 stroke engine could be refueled anywhere, but I still wouldn't ride one long distance, like across rural spaces to other cities. For a long distance ride, I would need a full size motorcycle and a motorcycle license, and then I might as well get a car. Which of those become enduring solutions for dense walkable city commuting remains to be seen.

 

[Chernosoth]

Without cars, many people, mostly men, still have a need for speed. Some ideas were tested here:

 

[MajorRewrite]

The impact of traffic crashes doesn’t get enough attention.

42,789 deaths in one year
4.9 million medically-consulted injuries in one year
$559 billion cost of crash damage in one year

Having safer options for getting around is a good thing.

 

[Chernosoth]

The impact of traffic crashes doesn’t get enough attention.

42,789 deaths in one year
4.9 million medically-consulted injuries in one year
$559 billion cost of crash damage in one year

Having safer options for getting around is a good thing.

Mostly at intersections. Traffic engineers currently like roundabouts, partly because they don't need electric traffic lights. But roundabouts can be more dangerous, especially when drivers try to change lanes, and they're much worse for pedestrians. Sometimes a distracted driver drives crashes on the center instead of driving around. And they take more space. At crowded city intersections, the turning radius of a horse drawn wagon could determine the type of intersection.

 

[MajorRewrite]

Kansas City built a new streetcar line, paid for by tax revenue from development along the line. The fare to ride: free.

 

[Chernosoth]

Kansas City built a new streetcar line, paid for by tax revenue from development along the line. The fare to ride: free.

Homeless will ride all day to sleep there.

 

[Sign54]

“The survey shows 45% of people are choosing not to ride BART because they don't think it is safe. While 17% describe BART as safe.”

a lot of it is racial resentment

 

[briancamdudetenger2018]

well there are many dark sides to driving

 

[Olderwiserstillhorny]

Homeless will ride all day to sleep there.

They pay to sleep on the light rail in Minneapolis

 

[Olderwiserstillhorny]

well there are many dark sides to driving

Turn on yer headlights

 

[BrightShinyGirl]

A modest proposal: Eliminate all on-street parking.

Public roads should be for driving, not storing private cars.

Let people pay the market rate to park in private lots.

 

[TastySuckToy]

A modest proposal: Eliminate all on-street parking.

Society has already voted on that issue.

 

[Baztrachian]

The future is dense, walkable cities.​

The present is dense, ignorant people.

 

[Baztrachian]

Social issues like poverty, trauma and mental health aren't directly correlated with public transit.

Uh, yes they are.

Homelessness on BART trains has increased significantly, with agency data showing 160 homeless individuals per 100 train cars on weekends and 64 per 100 cars on weekdays during recent surveys, a sharp rise from previous years. This surge is attributed to the Bay Area housing crisis, limited shelter capacity, and BART’s 24/7 operation compared to other transit systems.

In response, BART has shifted from purely enforcement-based approaches to a social service model, deploying 20 Crisis Intervention Specialists and 10 Transit Ambassadors to de-escalate situations and connect riders to resources. The agency adopted a Homeless Action Plan in January 2023 and spends approximately $11 million annually on these programs, though critics note that outreach efforts have had limited success, such as a recent partnership that resulted in only one person obtaining shelter.

Way back in the day before I left California I loved to ride BART! It was fun! I'd get on at Concord and in a short while I'd be in San Francisco and I'd walk down Market Street for dinner or to attend the Commonwealth Club. The trains were clean, pretty safe, and nary a bum or hobo to be seen.

Then followed years of increasing crime and increasing numbers of bums sleeping on the trains.

Too late, but BART recently installed new fare gates to stop fare evaders (like the homeless) and crime has dropped almost by half.

But now businesses are fleeing San Francisco and California and the people who used to use BART to get to their jobs around the Bay Area are now going to those same jobs in Texas, Florida, and Tennessee. BART isn't going to get these people back.

 

[briancamdudetenger2018]

whats next

traveling by wagons buggys and animals becomes legal on all the streets and roads again like it was before the automobiles were invented

 

[Chernosoth]

A modest proposal: Eliminate all on-street parking.

Public roads should be for driving, not storing private cars.

Let people pay the market rate to park in private lots.

Parallel parking requires skill that many drivers will never have. Parking attempts can block traffic for a while. Bumping a car can wreck two cars, since modern cars are fragile and easily totaled. But it has an advantage of reducing pavement per parking space. Parking lots require extra lanes to reach the spaces. Parking meters on streetside spaces can be priced at market rates.

 

[BabyBoomer50s]

Uh, yes they are.



Way back in the day before I left California I loved to ride BART! It was fun! I'd get on at Concord and in a short while I'd be in San Francisco and I'd walk down Market Street for dinner or to attend the Commonwealth Club. The trains were clean, pretty safe, and nary a bum or hobo to be seen.

Then followed years of increasing crime and increasing numbers of bums sleeping on the trains.

Too late, but BART recently installed new fare gates to stop fare evaders (like the homeless) and crime has dropped almost by half.

But now businesses are fleeing San Francisco and California and the people who used to use BART to get to their jobs around the Bay Area are now going to those same jobs in Texas, Florida, and Tennessee. BART isn't going to get these people back.

BART is in deep financial shit due to poor management and low ridership. There’s a regional measure on the November ballot to raise the sales tax.

 

[Sign54]

What is your opinion of Houston's rail system?

 

[Baztrachian]

BART is in deep financial shit due to poor management and low ridership. There’s a regional measure on the November ballot to raise the sales tax.

Raising taxes in California is going to end up reducing revenues when more people and more businesses choose to find less expensive places to exist.

California has crossed the line of the Laffer Curve and they're at that place where all further tax increases will inevitably cause revenues to decline.

 

[Baztrachian]

What is your opinion of Houston's rail system?

It's the second most used public rail transit system in the USA so obviously they put their meager 22 miles of track right where they served the most people.

Typically public rail systems are located per political priorities and not actual ridership needs. California High Speed Fail being a perfect example of this paradigm.

 

[BrightShinyGirl]

It's the second most used public rail transit system in the USA so obviously they put their meager 22 miles of track right where they served the most people.

Typically public rail systems are located per political priorities and not actual ridership needs. California High Speed Fail being a perfect example of this paradigm.

The second most used public rail system in the US is the DC Metro. Even the LA Metro serves 7x the number of daily riders of the the Houston Metro.

 

[RightField]

I see many people now riding ebikes. I know a guy who commutes by ebike. I might eventually buy an ebike or motorscooter, but they all seem overpriced for limited use in Michigan weather. I bike in all weather, but crashing a bicycle is usually no big deal. I pick it up and continue riding, with maybe a bruised knee. Ebikes are heavier with very expensive parts that could be damaged, and they have EV range limits. A motorscooter with a 4 stroke engine could be refueled anywhere, but I still wouldn't ride one long distance, like across rural spaces to other cities. For a long distance ride, I would need a full size motorcycle and a motorcycle license, and then I might as well get a car. Which of those become enduring solutions for dense walkable city commuting remains to be seen.

I got a more lightweight version that's more like a mountain bike, but the battery is heavy. I can understand hesitancy in Michigan. Can't imagine riding in cold temps. I live in a warmer climate and ride almost every day and have put on 900 miles since the end of June. I enjoy exploring (new location). There are several nice little towns around with distinctive characteristics, a couple malls and the city isn't too far away either. Exercise is the main goal and so only use the power assist button when going up hills (all over the place) or facing very stiff winds (which are common in the late afternoons). There's a basket on the back and I sometimes use the bike to go shopping too. There are a several grocery stores and farmer's markets less than a mile away, so daily shopping for fresh food before dinner is easy. The furthest I've ridden is a 30-mile round trip with a long stop for lunch (for good food and a rest), some walking and shopping. The car I use most has a V8 and uses premium gas but use the bikes when I can for the exercise.

 

[RightField]

All I want is more bike lanes and train lines. I don’t care if people in the sticks drive around in monster trucks on dirt roads.

Two places I lived/worked that made trains/subways practical were NYC and Paris. NYC was a long trip from the beautiful seaside suburbs so it is impractical to drive. I'd drive in NYC on weekends, but weekdays with all the traffic and truck deliveries was a nightmare so riding the train was easier. Paris is pretty easy. You could get almost anywhere and the weather was such that walking from the station to wherever you had to go wasn't bad. The metro is slow, but so is surface traffic. Even the rain seemed gentle. It didn't fly sideways at 50MPH like in NYC. While the weather was generally fair, lots of thieves stalked people on the metro, particularly pickpockets. Back before phones had cameras, I'd use a camera to capture whiteboard designs and I had one of the cameras lifted. Frustrating. A guy bumped me while getting off the metro car. As the doors shut, I thought "pickpocket" and reached for carrying case, saw the zipper open and knew then that the camera was gone. I always kept my hand on my wallet in my front pocket but couldn't keep my other hand on the carrying case.

I lived in the suburbs of DC too. The metro is clean and much quicker than Paris, but more limited and the weather is such that walking from the station to wherever you had to go was often difficult (suits don't fare well in high humidity, snow or rain). Riding the trains in DC and NYC in the summer is like being a minnow in hot water with a whale chasing you. When you finish, you're either soaking wet or covered in dirty slobber. In winter, being in tight quarters with sneezing people and outdoors for extended periods walking to a destination is an invitation for flu and worse. In DC, I rarely had a single place to go and often had reserved parking spots available so I drove more than rode the train.