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We don’t just need electric cars, we need fewer cars - Greenpeace International (www.greenpeace.org)
submitted 6 days ago* (last edited 6 days ago) by HaraldvonBlauzahn@feddit.org to c/europe@feddit.org
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Though progress is often slow, city planners and politicians are gradually waking up to the fact that when cities offer safe and affordable alternatives to cars, we start to travel differently.

More and more young people are choosing bicycles, buses and trains over owning a car out of the sheer cost. In Berlin, it’s public transport, not cars, which is the coolest way of getting around.

In Copenhagen, a city that has a long held reputation for being bike-friendly, a whopping 62% of people choose to cycle their commute.

In the French city of Lyon, the number of cars entering the city has fallen by 20% compared to just a decade ago. As the city’s network of bike hire stations continues to grow, town planners are hoping for a further 20% decline.

In London, where cycle super-highways are becoming popular, the share of journeys made by car has fallen by a quarter since 1990.

Car free days are rising in popularity in many of the world’s largest cities, giving people a taste of what it’s like to live with less noise, traffic and pollution. Bogota was one of the first cities to introduce a car free day, and it’s now become so popular that it’s been extended to a full week.

Bogotá's Ciclovía is fantastic! I was there in the mid-nineties and they closed a major artery, the Carretera Séptima, on Sundays. Here some pictures.

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[–] bitteroldcoot@piefed.social 3 points 5 days ago (1 children)

Just for the record, no I'm not trolling, I'm just angry. And I should probably just walk away, but what the fuck.

I run across arrogant self centered pricks like you all the time. The ones who say "Hey, my life is just fine. I'm doing great. And I'm just to much of a narcissist to imagine people who may be worse off than me"

You think that just because you are healthy and active at 59 you are going to stay that way? Well you're wrong. That's not how aging works.

Will the biking help, oh hell yes. I ride an ebike and it's great.

But that doesn't stop your body from breaking down it just delays the inevitable.

And as for public transportation, yes, it great, unless you broke a hip in a fall, or have to use it to get to your chemo appointment, or are immune compromised, or anemic or..... Do I really have to list all the medical conditions that make it inappropriate.

And no, taxi's and ambulances are not a substitute, or even available or affordable.

My friend was on chemo last year, ran to the grocery store late one night, didn't wear a mask. Was dead within two weeks, caught three different viruses at the same time. Covid, the flu and I can't remember the third one. It was fucking horrific.

And no, going into a nursing home or assisted living isn't a good option. Because every time some arrogant young asshole walks through the front door with the sniffles, everyone in there dies. During covid they just become charnel houses. My cousin is a mortician and we talked about it. The morticians couldn't keep up with all the bodies.

My dad was in one the last year of covid because of a stroke, he died of covid.

You all have decided how everyone else should face death, and that just makes you self centered pricks without an ounce of empathy.

You lack imagination and you just don't care about anyone but yourself.

And yes I do live in the USA. And yes our healthcare really sucks. And the nearest hospital is 20 miles away. And even if there was public transportation I wouldn't take it, because I am also immune compromised.

Will this and my other posts get downvoted into oblivion? Oh hell yes.

But the down arrow doesn't make you right. I just means you lack the experience and imagination to understand. You haven't had to face the tough choices of end of life issue. But you will. And at that point, some arrogant prick will tell you to just take the bus.

Your down votes don't make me wrong. They just make you clueless.

You can have your eco chamber back now.

[–] HaraldvonBlauzahn@feddit.org 2 points 5 days ago* (last edited 5 days ago) (1 children)

I am sorry for your losses.

And no, declaring car transport as the "normal" mode of transportation and the completely unsustainable "American Way of Life" is not going to compensate for the lack of a working and accessible health care system.

Last not least because lack of any physical exercise, which is often a consequence of car dependency, causes a lot of health problems on its own.

And, European societies have stronger sense of solidarity. We just do not consider it a right to have a car for everyone.

[–] bitteroldcoot@piefed.social 1 points 5 days ago* (last edited 5 days ago) (1 children)

You're underestimating the size of the USA. We are about twice the size of Europe and less than half the population density. Most rural populations, the ones growing the food, are geographically isolated.

The whole world is not the same as Europe. Your solutions are not everyone's. Would i like a betters solution than cars, sure. Walkable communities would be great. But you cant just snap your fingers and assume an entire society is just going to change because you hate cars.

You may hate cars and call us fat, but you are not looking at our reality. I'd say come visit and experience the vast distances, but now is not a good time, there is a crazy nazis in charge.

https://www.simplemaplab.com/size-comparisons/usa-vs-europe

[–] HaraldvonBlauzahn@feddit.org 0 points 5 days ago* (last edited 5 days ago) (1 children)

You’re underestimating the size of the USA. We are about twice the size of Europe and less than half the population density. Most rural populations, the ones growing the food, are geographically isolated.

This is similar for South America, Australia, or Asia: Most of the population is close to the coastal regions.

Yet these continents are not as dependent on cars.

The truth is, US Americans follow an unsustainable life style.

[–] bitteroldcoot@piefed.social 0 points 5 days ago* (last edited 5 days ago)

I don't think you did any research before saying those things.

https://www.pakwheels.com/blog/longest-traffic-jams-world-history/

South American cities have some massive traffic jams as does china. China's are so bad you can hire someone to take you home on a motorcycle and they leave someone in your car to finish the journey.

Meanwhile Australia is crazy for the ute. And has massive trucks called land trains than move huge amounts of their goods over unpaved roads in the outback