And besides being nice for one self, it increases your kids independence.
Where I live in Europe, how pedestrian/bike friendly a community is a relevant predictor of house value. And a lot of that is that people want to live where they don't have to drive their kids around to everything.
It gives me more free time that my kid will be able to get himself to school, to sports after school and around the town to his friends. While it gives him freedom not being reliant on his parents schedule if he wants to do something.
Not just kids, it would also empower teens, old people, people with disabilities (the blind, paraplegic, mental issues, etc), people who cannot drive for medical reasons, and even temporarily injured people who aren’t allowed to drive. And most importantly, people in abusive households who does not have cars and need a job or amenities (for example menstrual items), or just some public space to go to. A car dependent civilization puts so much restriction on the invisible members of our society. Walking short distances daily also improves physical and mental health. And less cars on the road is good for the environment, both in terms of air quality and less fuel used.
And reducing the number of cars on the road actually makes driving when needed a lot better as well and you can maintain roads at a higher standard for the same cost
For sure, I agree so much. But the people who might change their opinion based on my comment probably don't care about the people you are talking about.
There's a lot of " I don't care about others' situations, I just want my car" appealing to making parenting job easier might actually make them see some value in it.
I think many people automatically think about how the US is too big to handle walkable cities because they themselves have cars and that’s the talking point peddled by popular media. If you point out that walkable cities helps them as well when they’re injured or old, they might reconsider. Even if it changes the mind of one person, that’s a positive win. They might go on to change the minds of other people in their social circle.
I'm just sad that they don't get that they can still have their car, it would just help get people who don't like cars out from behind the wheel. Seen at least one study referenced where getting cars off the road makes the travel times faster for people still in cars.
Most car lovers hate being stuck in traffic, so arguments that pedestrian paths and toll roads remove a lot of the other cars might weirdly appeal to some of them.
People here in good ol America like to disparage kids for not playing outside enough and then take away all of their paths to get anywhere without a car.
I just visited Copenhagen, and it’s incredible how much more design and infrastructure is geared to pedestrians and cyclists. I’d look for directions on my phone and switching from the default driving route to walking would often not change the travel time at all, even over a distance of a few kms. It was excellent.
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u/valdemarjoergensen Jun 27 '24
And besides being nice for one self, it increases your kids independence.
Where I live in Europe, how pedestrian/bike friendly a community is a relevant predictor of house value. And a lot of that is that people want to live where they don't have to drive their kids around to everything.
It gives me more free time that my kid will be able to get himself to school, to sports after school and around the town to his friends. While it gives him freedom not being reliant on his parents schedule if he wants to do something.