Comments on: America’s Car Culture: Almost Out of Gas http://actlocallysf.org/blog/topic/2007/03/14/americas-car-culture-almost-out-of-gas/ Join the Debate! Read and comment on articles posted on actlocallysf.org. Fri, 16 May 2008 18:57:02 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=wordpress-mu-1.0 by: Jessica Kronish Roydhouse http://actlocallysf.org/blog/topic/2007/03/14/americas-car-culture-almost-out-of-gas/#comment-432 Sat, 07 Apr 2007 04:41:20 +0000 http://actlocallysf.org/blog/topic/2007/03/14/americas-car-culture-almost-out-of-gas/#comment-432 YES finally people are talking about reducing our dependence on cars. I think we should make many streets car-free and charge higher premiums for parking. We could also offer positive incentives for taking public transport or using a bicycle. These could be financed by the higher parking premiums or other "pollution" charges on cars.<ul><li><label>Overall Rating</label>: 6</li> </ul> YES finally people are talking about reducing our dependence on cars. I think we should make many streets car-free and charge higher premiums for parking. We could also offer positive incentives for taking public transport or using a bicycle. These could be financed by the higher parking premiums or other “pollution” charges on cars.
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]]> by: adrian cotter http://actlocallysf.org/blog/topic/2007/03/14/americas-car-culture-almost-out-of-gas/#comment-234 Wed, 28 Mar 2007 07:34:36 +0000 http://actlocallysf.org/blog/topic/2007/03/14/americas-car-culture-almost-out-of-gas/#comment-234 Bill, First, bicycle owners do pay their fair share. They own homes, and many own cars (and pay associated fees), and they all pay taxes as much as any one else does. I'm not sure how you figure we don't pay our fair share. You are vastly overstating the number of bike riders who are not paying their fair share. Besides which a 2 ton car does a lot more damage to the street than a 80lb bike. So you might say, someone who bicycles a lot probably pays MORE than their fair share. Many streets have been improved because BICYCLISTs complain about them. Secondly, saying public transportation is bad is hardly a solution. That can be fixed. Thirdly, no one is saying we should get rid of all cars. Clearly people are going to have a need for a personal motorized transportation devices.<ul><li><label>Overall Rating</label>: 7</li> </ul> Bill,

First, bicycle owners do pay their fair share. They own homes, and many own cars (and pay associated fees), and they all pay taxes as much as any one else does. I’m not sure how you figure we don’t pay our fair share.

You are vastly overstating the number of bike riders who are not paying their fair share. Besides which a 2 ton car does a lot more damage to the street than a 80lb bike. So you might say, someone who bicycles a lot probably pays MORE than their fair share.

Many streets have been improved because BICYCLISTs complain about them.

Secondly, saying public transportation is bad is hardly a solution. That can be fixed.

Thirdly, no one is saying we should get rid of all cars. Clearly people are going to have a need for a personal motorized transportation devices.

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]]> by: Bill Reque http://actlocallysf.org/blog/topic/2007/03/14/americas-car-culture-almost-out-of-gas/#comment-230 Tue, 27 Mar 2007 18:25:44 +0000 http://actlocallysf.org/blog/topic/2007/03/14/americas-car-culture-almost-out-of-gas/#comment-230 My partner and I could not live here without a car. Public transportation is so bad and crowded that we 80 year-olds couldn't possibly shop or go anywhere without driving. Another thing: if bicycle owners paid their fair share of the cost of the streets, as do the car drivers, the city might be able to repair the sad state of the infrastructure in SF.<ul><li><label>Overall Rating</label>: 1</li> </ul> My partner and I could not live here without a car.
Public transportation is so bad and crowded that we 80 year-olds couldn’t possibly shop or go anywhere without driving.
Another thing: if bicycle owners paid their fair share of the cost of the streets, as do the car drivers, the city might be able to repair the sad state of the infrastructure in SF.
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]]> by: patrickberkeley http://actlocallysf.org/blog/topic/2007/03/14/americas-car-culture-almost-out-of-gas/#comment-188 Thu, 22 Mar 2007 02:05:19 +0000 http://actlocallysf.org/blog/topic/2007/03/14/americas-car-culture-almost-out-of-gas/#comment-188 I second Nathan Frankel's comment.<ul><li><label>Overall Rating</label>: 10</li> </ul> I second Nathan Frankel’s comment.
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]]> by: Nathan Frankel http://actlocallysf.org/blog/topic/2007/03/14/americas-car-culture-almost-out-of-gas/#comment-126 Tue, 20 Mar 2007 21:06:10 +0000 http://actlocallysf.org/blog/topic/2007/03/14/americas-car-culture-almost-out-of-gas/#comment-126 Let's close Market Street to car traffic (public transportation, pedestrians, and bikes only). Let's also make downtown a toll zone, like London.<ul><li><label>Overall Rating</label>: 1</li> </ul> Let’s close Market Street to car traffic (public transportation, pedestrians, and bikes only).

Let’s also make downtown a toll zone, like London.

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]]> by: anna http://actlocallysf.org/blog/topic/2007/03/14/americas-car-culture-almost-out-of-gas/#comment-64 Sat, 17 Mar 2007 00:21:02 +0000 http://actlocallysf.org/blog/topic/2007/03/14/americas-car-culture-almost-out-of-gas/#comment-64 From Another Perspective Blog: ...America is the only country in the world where a family with a moderate income is forced to budget for not only a house but a car as well. The situation is so extreme that it has been proven that one of the surest ways out of poverty for a family is to own a decent vehicle. That one needs a car to get from your home to anywhere else is an accepted fact of life by most people living outside of large cities, and by many people within them. A fact that few Americans realize, however, is how much money we spend on transportation. For a person driving fifteen miles each day to work, a reasonable car would cost them somewhere in the neighborhood of $5000 dollars a year. (The calculation is: a decent used car costs around $10,000 dollars, and assume the family keeps that car for five years, the car itself costs $2000 a year. Add gas, insurance and maintenance to easily reach $5000). But, the average family needs more than one car. So, an American family with two cars which are used daily can easily rack up $10,000 a year on transportation alone. (This is actually on the low end of the scale, assuming the family buys used cars, does not routinely have to pay for parking, and commutes a moderate distance. With a longer commute, or daily parking fees included, a two-car family could easily break $15,00 or even $20,000 a year… almost the national median income). Take away that need for a car and that family has $10,000 a year or more to spend on other needs, such as, perhaps, choosing to buy a house or condo in the city rather than move to the suburbs. This trade-off is the norm in many countries and could easily be here too with the proper investment in clean, reliable public transportation. The more people who use public transportation, the more economical it becomes, allowing a more heavily used system to be cheaper, nicer and more extensive. In addition to the benefits of making a more equitable society and decreasing global warming, a transit oriented city forces people to walk more (a definite plus in a society facing an obesity epidemic) and fosters a feeling of community as actual neighborhoods of people who know each other emerge rather than little islands of people who never have any reason to interact with their neighbors. A transit-oriented culture is also far friendlier to those who cannot drive – young teenagers, the elderly and the disabled. A friend of mine has epilepsy and was until very recently, unable to get a drivers license due to her condition. Because of this, she spent nearly a year out of work because it was virtually impossible for her, someone who had graduated cum laude from the University of California, to get a job that did not involve driving...<ul><li><label>Overall Rating</label>: 8</li> </ul> From Another Perspective Blog:

…America is the only country in the world where a family with a moderate income is forced to budget for not only a house but a car as well. The situation is so extreme that it has been proven that one of the surest ways out of poverty for a family is to own a decent vehicle. That one needs a car to get from your home to anywhere else is an accepted fact of life by most people living outside of large cities, and by many people within them. A fact that few Americans realize, however, is how much money we spend on transportation. For a person driving fifteen miles each day to work, a reasonable car would cost them somewhere in the neighborhood of $5000 dollars a year. (The calculation is: a decent used car costs around $10,000 dollars, and assume the family keeps that car for five years, the car itself costs $2000 a year. Add gas, insurance and maintenance to easily reach $5000). But, the average family needs more than one car. So, an American family with two cars which are used daily can easily rack up $10,000 a year on transportation alone. (This is actually on the low end of the scale, assuming the family buys used cars, does not routinely have to pay for parking, and commutes a moderate distance. With a longer commute, or daily parking fees included, a two-car family could easily break $15,00 or even $20,000 a year… almost the national median income). Take away that need for a car and that family has $10,000 a year or more to spend on other needs, such as, perhaps, choosing to buy a house or condo in the city rather than move to the suburbs. This trade-off is the norm in many countries and could easily be here too with the proper investment in clean, reliable public transportation. The more people who use public transportation, the more economical it becomes, allowing a more heavily used system to be cheaper, nicer and more extensive.
In addition to the benefits of making a more equitable society and decreasing global warming, a transit oriented city forces people to walk more (a definite plus in a society facing an obesity epidemic) and fosters a feeling of community as actual neighborhoods of people who know each other emerge rather than little islands of people who never have any reason to interact with their neighbors. A transit-oriented culture is also far friendlier to those who cannot drive – young teenagers, the elderly and the disabled. A friend of mine has epilepsy and was until very recently, unable to get a drivers license due to her condition. Because of this, she spent nearly a year out of work because it was virtually impossible for her, someone who had graduated cum laude from the University of California, to get a job that did not involve driving…

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