06-12-2022, 01:16 PM
(This post was last modified: 06-12-2022, 01:22 PM by Eric the Green.)
It is an important concern. Well worth discussion and consideration.
20th century cities were built around the automobile. Los Angeles and San Jose CA are examples. It has been hard to establish a workable, useable transit system in San Jose and Los Angeles in the midst of urban sprawl. Some progress has happened since 1976, when this city expanded its ancient bus system which had been deliberately reduced and its trolleys replaced in order to boost car, tire and gas businesses some decades earlier. So, we put in a light rail system, but it has its limits too. And we have park and ride lots and more bike lanes. Our downtown was made more safe for pedestrians, and more-dense housing has been added near transit routes, although housing costs near jobs have become outrageous. I don't know how much of this kind of slow progress has happened in red-state Texas, also the location of many sprawling, expanded 20th century cities, or Phoeniz AZ or Atlanta GA etc..
The car won't go away though, so at some point, if we choose to respond to our conditions in our industrialized civilization, we will need electric and fuel cell cars and other alternatives to gas-driven autos. It will take some subsidies, I think, to people that can't afford new electric cars. Tech for charging will need to include on-the-street methods like those being installed in advanced countries in Europe.
20th century cities were built around the automobile. Los Angeles and San Jose CA are examples. It has been hard to establish a workable, useable transit system in San Jose and Los Angeles in the midst of urban sprawl. Some progress has happened since 1976, when this city expanded its ancient bus system which had been deliberately reduced and its trolleys replaced in order to boost car, tire and gas businesses some decades earlier. So, we put in a light rail system, but it has its limits too. And we have park and ride lots and more bike lanes. Our downtown was made more safe for pedestrians, and more-dense housing has been added near transit routes, although housing costs near jobs have become outrageous. I don't know how much of this kind of slow progress has happened in red-state Texas, also the location of many sprawling, expanded 20th century cities, or Phoeniz AZ or Atlanta GA etc..
The car won't go away though, so at some point, if we choose to respond to our conditions in our industrialized civilization, we will need electric and fuel cell cars and other alternatives to gas-driven autos. It will take some subsidies, I think, to people that can't afford new electric cars. Tech for charging will need to include on-the-street methods like those being installed in advanced countries in Europe.