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Car ownership: does it improve lives or is it detrimental?

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the sniper

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As noted above, jaywalking is a criminal offence in many US jurisdictions.

Many things are illegal, here or there, but compliance with the law can be quite another thing. I think I literally witnessed more, more serious crimes over there being committed (1xTheft from a Motor Vehicle, 1x Criminal Damage, 3x acts of Public Indecency, 1x (almost certainly) Drug deal) than I did incidents of Jaywalking, and I spent a lot of time walking around urban areas!
 

45107

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I will admit that I havent read the whole thread so I may be repeating comments already made.

I learnt to drive and got my 1st car approx 30 years ago due to changing jobs and public transport was not suitable for the shifts I was going to be working.
Through a change in job, I moved back (work wise) to my home town and public transport/push bike was suitable.

I have changed jobs twice recently (my own choice) and as a result I now have to drive again to get to work. After 20 years without using a car, I found it a big benefit during lockdown, but now the situation has eased, I am using public transport where I can.

I survived for 20 years without a car (having the benefits of priv travel helps enormously). If I am honest, if I didn’t need the car to get to work, I would not own one.

(Looking through this, there are far too many ‘I‘s in my reply but this a personal opinion).

Does a car improve my life - through choice it does - it was my decision to change my lifestyle & get a job that required car use.
Is it detrimental - No - I only use when necessary (when alternatives are not available)
 

DynamicSpirit

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That is because the US has a different system of pedestrian crossings, i.e. "give way on turn", doesn't it? The UK technically requires this however it is not the cultural norm at all, so I'm not surprised you are getting abuse for walking out in front of people as it is simply not the done thing. It's just a different system.

Coming slightly late to this particular party ;) My (very limited) impression of the US is that drivers there tend to be much more concerned about obeying the motoring law than is the case in the UK. Perhaps that accounts for the more courteous attitude @jfollows mentions? But in terms of infrastructure, I would say the balance here in the UK is much better. The USA seems to heavily disfavour both cyclists and pedestrians to the extent of much wider roads, lack of segregated cycle lanes or priority for cyclists at junctions, lack of off-road dedicated walking/cycling routes, pedestrian crossings that barely stay on green for pedestrians long enough to comfortably get across the roads, and the absurd jaywalking laws. Overall I much prefer walking/cycling in the UK compared to the US.
 

WestCoast

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I enjoyed walking around New York and San Fran but most US cities seem downright unpleasant for pedestrians and cyclists. I visited our company office in LA two years ago which isn't far from LAX airport and I told a meeting room full of people that I was going to walk to the local grocery store to get some lunch which was at most a 25 minute walk away and if anyone wanted to come. The look of confusion and/or amazement on their faces that I was going to be on foot was hilarious and someone insisted on driving me there... o_O
 

Bletchleyite

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I enjoyed walking around New York and San Fran but most US cities seem downright unpleasant for pedestrians and cyclists. I visited our company office in LA two years ago which isn't far from LAX airport and I told a meeting room full of people that I was going to walk to the local grocery store to get some lunch which was at most a 25 minute walk away and if anyone wanted to come. The look of confusion and/or amazement on their faces that I was going to be on foot was hilarious and someone insisted on driving me there... o_O

I had that in Dallas myself too, and imagine what the hotel said when I said I was going to take the bus downtown after checking out, then the train to the airport. Certainly in Texas walking and using public transport are things you do when you don't have a car.
 

Jamesrob637

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I had that in Dallas myself too, and imagine what the hotel said when I said I was going to take the bus downtown after checking out, then the train to the airport. Certainly in Texas walking and using public transport are things you do when you don't have a car.

Watch "Simply Railway" on YouTube - Texans are (slowly) starting to change their attitude towards public transport.
 

najaB

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I visited our company office in LA two years ago which isn't far from LAX airport and I told a meeting room full of people that I was going to walk to the local grocery store to get some lunch which was at most a 25 minute walk away and if anyone wanted to come. The look of confusion and/or amazement on their faces that I was going to be on foot was hilarious and someone insisted on driving me there... o_O
I had exactly the same experience when I said I was going to walk to Walmart after work - and that wasn't even a 25 minute walk:
1595840798317.png

I was also offered a ride in to work from the hotel, rather than taking the arduous walk:
1595840851752.png

It may well have changed, but I once had the pleasure of trying to walk from the arrivals terminal at MIA to the Greyhound station - turns out that it's almost impossible.

Edit: There's still no walking route, but it looks like Metrorail now goes to the airport since last I was there (thinking about it, that was about 20 years ago!) As an aside, this quote from the Metrorail Wiki page says about all you need to know about historical attitudes towards public transport in the USA: The original Metrorail line was initially planned to be built to the airport, but due to political pressure and lobbying was instead directed to its current alignment around the airport and to Hialeah.
 
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al78

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The key point about people driving cars is not what it does or doesn't do to their mental (or physical) health; the fact is it's bad for the mental and physical heath of the rest of us.

In other words, externalised costs. That is why there is a tendency to encourage people to use public transport, walk and cycle. The irony is people don't like cycling on the roads, because of the vulnerability externalised by the motor vehicles, so they get in their car and contribute to it instead.
 

SouthEastBuses

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Watch "Simply Railway" on YouTube - Texans are (slowly) starting to change their attitude towards public transport.

Easy answer - thanks to TexRail. And to Texas Central Railway.

TexRail uses the American equivalent of the class 231 being built for Trasport for Wales - the amazing and attractive Stadler FLIRT3 DEMU. They are so successful that another line in the Dallas metro area, the DART Silver Line, will also be run with Stadler FLIRT3 DEMUs. The FLIRTs (including one that is hydrogen!) will also run in California. Precisely the Arrow commuter rail between San Bernardino and Redlands located in Southern California, not far from Los Angeles. Then there is the double decker version, the KISS, which will also be used in California, but this time in the Bay Area (Caltrain from San Francisco to San Jose) in Northern California. And the KISS will be EMUs too, because the Caltrain is being electrified!

North America (USA & Canada) needs more of these beautiful and more attractive Stadler trains. European trains are so much better than these ugly silver American trains widespread all across the United States and Canada.

No offence to any Americans out there, but I do believe public transport is the only way to solve all the traffic congestions across the USA or Canada. Widening motorway (or interstates as Americans call) is not going to work in my opinion because it can damage buildings that surround them. And more airport gates isn't either because more flights means a higher chance of global warming.

As for Texas Central Railway. A new high speed line about to be built which will connect Houston with Dallas in just 1 hour 30 minutes / 90 minutes. They line will resemble a Japanese Shinkansen high speed line, and will use Shinkansen N700 series.
 

JohnMcL7

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18 Apr 2018
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I enjoyed walking around New York and San Fran but most US cities seem downright unpleasant for pedestrians and cyclists. I visited our company office in LA two years ago which isn't far from LAX airport and I told a meeting room full of people that I was going to walk to the local grocery store to get some lunch which was at most a 25 minute walk away and if anyone wanted to come. The look of confusion and/or amazement on their faces that I was going to be on foot was hilarious and someone insisted on driving me there... o_O

Surprisingly I had a similar experience in Germany where I'd organised to hire a race car the next day and asked what public transport there was. I was told there was none and I would just need to take a taxi so I asked about walking and the guy laughed then realised I was serious and again reiterated I'd need a taxi. I had a look at the map and found it was around 3-4 miles to get back to my accommodation so just did that which didn't take long and was a very pretty walk as well. I ended up walking 13 miles both days I was in the area to explore it which also surprised the friends I was with but I'm just used to not using the car to get about.
 

43021HST

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Just wondering are there any NUMTOTers on here? aka New Urbanist memes for transit orientated teens. It started as a spicy meme group, but it's turned into a cogent movement in the States for campaigning for better urban planning, public transit etc, moving away from urban car orientated developments etc.
 
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