Europe Stifles Drivers in Favor of Mass Transit and Walking

[marmar]

from the NY Times:



Across Europe, Irking Drivers Is Urban Policy

By ELISABETH ROSENTHAL
Published: June 26, 2011


ZURICH — While American cities are synchronizing green lights to improve traffic flow and offering apps to help drivers find parking, many European cities are doing the opposite: creating environments openly hostile to cars. The methods vary, but the mission is clear — to make car use expensive and just plain miserable enough to tilt drivers toward more environmentally friendly modes of transportation.

Cities including Vienna to Munich and Copenhagen have closed vast swaths of streets to car traffic. Barcelona and Paris have had car lanes eroded by popular bike-sharing programs. Drivers in London and Stockholm pay hefty congestion charges just for entering the heart of the city. And over the past two years, dozens of German cities have joined a national network of “environmental zones” where only cars with low carbon dioxide emissions may enter.

Likeminded cities welcome new shopping malls and apartment buildings but severely restrict the allowable number of parking spaces. On-street parking is vanishing. In recent years, even former car capitals like Munich have evolved into “walkers’ paradises,” said Lee Schipper, a senior research engineer at Stanford University who specializes in sustainable transportation.

“In the United States, there has been much more of a tendency to adapt cities to accommodate driving,” said Peder Jensen, head of the Energy and Transport Group at the European Environment Agency. “Here there has been more movement to make cities more livable for people, to get cities relatively free of cars.” ...........(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/27/science/earth/27traffic.html?_r=1&src=ISMR_HP_LO_MST_FB

[liberal N proud]

1. They build the mass transit systems for the people to use

Even in the rural areas, most are not from a train.

We are prisoners of the big oil companies who have their hands in our pockets to line the pockets of Congress.

[Warren Stupidity]

2. We are USA! USA! We are EXCEPTIONAL STUPID!

[provis99]

3. and Europeans aren't as sickeningly obese as we are.

I suspect that walking and bicycling have something to do with it.

[devilgrrl]

4. Everytime I bring up better public transportation, bike lanes, walking - everyone scoffs at it!

Fat asses!!!!!

[Shagbark Hickory]

5. Lots of parking at walmart.

:silly: