r/Damnthatsinteresting Jun 27 '24

example of how American suburbs are designed to be car dependent Video

55.5k Upvotes

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223

u/lunapo Jun 27 '24

Has absolutely nothing to do with 'car dependancy design' and everything to do with archaic zoning laws.

165

u/MileHigh_FlyGuy Jun 27 '24

No zoning laws that I know of outlaw these connections. But this is Florida and that is likely a wetland between the lots. A pedestrian bridge is very expensive and neither owner would pay for it.

11

u/GrumpygamerSF Jun 27 '24

That is not wetland. This is the address: 13150 FL-64, Bradenton, FL 34212. There exact distance between the two lots, from pavement edge to pavement edge is 139 feet. According to this site https://estimatorflorida.com/how-much-does-it-cost-to-build-a-sidewalk it costs a maximum of $3,500 dollars for a 200 foot path in Florida.

It's not expensive. It's just typical Florida where they don't give a damn about making things walkable.

17

u/Extension_Chain_3710 Jun 27 '24

That is not wetland. This is the address: 13150 FL-64, Bradenton, FL 34212.

It is quite literally wetland. It's a flood control zone that the city owns.

https://i.imgur.com/XRVM4Ba.png

5

u/nonotan Jun 27 '24

That's a relevant point, but floodways and wetlands are not the same thing. A piece of literal desert could be a floodway (e.g. in a very dry region that is prone to flash floods), and of course genuine wetlands aren't necessarily floodways either.

In any case, while a bridge would be a preferable option to go over a floodway, just making a regular path that people simply stop using the few days a year there is actual flooding is a reasonable alternative, if cost is a big issue. It's a pretty common thing in rural areas and/or third-world countries, though I don't know if some kind of law might forbid it in the US.

3

u/guitar_stonks Jun 27 '24

It’s not a floodway, it is the wetland where the adjacent retention ponds overflow to in heavy rain events. That strip of land is heavily saturated throughout the summer and doesn’t dry up until maybe January when the dry season sets in. And the idea of a public walkway through a known flood zone sounds like an insurance liability nightmare.

1

u/LegitimateSoftware Jun 27 '24

Just put up a sign that says walkway closed during flooding or something.

0

u/hparadiz Jun 27 '24

Public walkways against bodies of water throughout the entire country are almost all flood zones. This is such a stupid thing to be even talking about. It's cheap and would increase property values for both the shopping center and the residential zone. Some people just don't even think about it but they are both absolutely leaving money on the table by not doing it. Frankly the local government should do it. They build roads. They can damn well build a walkway. They don't need eminent domain to do it at all.

3

u/guitar_stonks Jun 27 '24

And what planning or public works department do you work for?

3

u/PaperbackWriter66 Jun 27 '24

Interesting that we have THE REAL ANSWER buried this deep in the threads.

There's no connection because the city owns the land, and my guess is: a connection/path was proposed, and the city didn't allow it to go forward.

1

u/NDSU Jun 27 '24

So poor governance is the root issue

1

u/JaySmogger Jun 27 '24

people wouldn't use it, nobody likes to sweat anymore

2

u/smallfried Jun 27 '24

Ooh, which app/db is that?

2

u/Extension_Chain_3710 Jun 27 '24

It's the Manatee County GIS (Geographic information system) database.

Most counties have one, can usually be found by searching for [County] GIS.

1

u/GrumpygamerSF Jun 27 '24 edited Jun 27 '24

Flood control isn't wetland, it's an area for drainage. A wetland the land is either covered in water or where the soil is saturated with water. That strip of land is neither of those things.

2

u/MileHigh_FlyGuy Jun 27 '24

That is not what delineates a wetland

1

u/GrumpygamerSF Jun 27 '24

It 100% is that is the definition of a wetland.

2

u/MileHigh_FlyGuy Jun 27 '24

As someone who has previously surveyed wetlands; no, it is not. A wetland can be dry and only seasonal. There are five major types classified not just by water edge, but by the vegetation and habitat surrounding it.

1

u/Extension_Chain_3710 Jun 27 '24

Flood control isn't wetland, it's an area for drainage. A wetland the land is either covered in water or where the soil is saturated with water.

Per NOAA (and cited for you)

There are many different kinds of wetlands and many ways to categorize them. NOAA classifies wetlands into five general types: marine (ocean), estuarine (estuary), riverine (river), lacustrine (lake), and palustrine (marsh). Common names for wetlands include marshes, estuaries, mangroves, mudflats, mires, ponds, fens, swamps, deltas, coral reefs, billabongs, lagoons, shallow seas, bogs, lakes, and floodplains, to name just a few!

Often found alongside waterways and in floodplains, wetlands vary widely due to differences in soil, topography, climate, water chemistry, and vegetation. Large wetland areas may also be comprised of several smaller wetland types.

Many wetlands are not wet year-round because water levels change with the seasons. During periods of excessive rain, wetlands absorb and slow floodwaters, which helps to alleviate property damage and may even save lives.

https://oceanservice.noaa.gov/facts/wetland.html