*Optional* pavements?

Post #412,465 by pwhysall 8/5/16 12:54:49 AM 8/5/16 12:54:49 AM Reply	Optional pavements? Wow. That's pretty whacked. What's the rationale behind that?
Post #412,466 by drook 8/5/16 7:16:07 AM 8/5/16 7:16:07 AM Reply	Nobody walks anyway -- Drew
Post #412,476 by Andrew Grygus 8/5/16 11:56:15 AM 8/5/16 11:56:15 AM Reply	Well, I know one place nobody walks. I took a course in a medical software package on Long Island. The people there were all overweight. The food there was unbelievably terrible, but very high in calories. I walked half way across the island and back. The sidewalks were discontinuous, but where they ended there was only weeds - no track worn through the weeds at all. Seeing me walking, cars actually stopped to look at me.
Post #412,468 by Another Scott 8/5/16 8:20:48 AM 8/5/16 8:20:48 AM Reply	It's an extra cost. In older 50+ year old subdivisions, it's quite common for there to be no sidewalks as they weren't required. The rationale seemed to be that they were so far out that people would have to drive anyway. In newer, or gentrified subdivisions, in the '60s there seemed to be a requirement for sidewalks. Developers of newer subdivisions seem to hate them because they're an extra expense, they make the postage-stamp size lots seem smaller, they enable people to walk by your place when you want it to be your fortress, etc. Atrios often rants about things like this (he lives in Philly). He talks about people demanding free reserved on-street parking via cutouts (which makes congestion worse, makes it less walkable, there can never be enough parking of that sort, especially if one wants rapid transit, etc.) We seem to be in a transition in figuring out how urban and semi-urban areas work in the US. It's going to be a messy transition. I assume that eventually cars are going to be heavily taxed or banned in urban areas - there's no way to make things like efficient transit work the way things are now (too much congestion for buses and trolleys, not enough cheap land for gigantic parking lots, etc.). Cheers, Scott.
Post #412,471 by a6l6e6x 8/5/16 10:14:39 AM 8/5/16 10:14:39 AM Reply	My parents never owned or drove a car. For the 50+ years (for my Mom) they lived in NYC (Lower East Side of Manhattan) till they died, it did not make sense to them. The costs, and not only in money, would have exceeded the benefits. All the essentials needs were satisfied by a short walk. Although you had to walk outside, some things could be had in the same building! Now vising them by car was always a hassle for me. Parking was always a problem. Odd/even side of the street, time of day restrictions, feeding quarters into parking meters, vandalism, etc., was always an issue. Parking garages were not cheap, but eventually became the preferred solution or me. Alex "There is a cult of ignorance in the United States, and there has always been. The strain of anti-intellectualism has been a constant thread winding its way through our political and cultural life, nurtured by the false notion that democracy means that "my ignorance is just as good as your knowledge." -- Isaac Asimov
Post #412,474 by malraux 8/5/16 11:18:39 AM 8/5/16 11:18:39 AM Reply	Our sub was built in 1967 No sidewalks. We see more people out walking in our sub than in the newer subs with the sidewalks. Regards, -scott Welcome to Rivendell, Mr. Anderson.
Post #412,475 by Another Scott 8/5/16 11:45:25 AM 8/5/16 11:45:25 AM Reply	Ours was ~ 1963. We have sidewalks on our street and on streets built-out after us. The street just south of us (in the same subdivision) is just a few years older and they don't have sidewalks. It doesn't get as much foot traffic, though Sophie and I do walk it occasionally (out in the street). Foot traffic around us seems to be a very strong function of homeowners with dogs - much stronger than the number of homes with kids. Dog ownership has been on a steady rise in our neighborhood over the last decade or so. Maybe that's the secret! Cheers, Scott.
Post #412,477 by boxley 8/5/16 12:52:09 PM 8/5/16 12:52:09 PM Reply	the subdiv where I rent in mississippi was built in 1927 lots of walking paths but no sidewalks. always look out for number one and don't step in number two
Post #412,487 by Ashton 8/5/16 7:50:51 PM 8/5/16 7:50:51 PM Reply	Believe this-all belongs in a topic explored on NPR (yesterday!) Called The Ride, it conflates the entire bodies-transported gigundo-Matter, attempting to catalyze an actual debate re "car ownership at all??" ... along with probably many habits as created the Sidewalk topic. KPCCs The Ride Summer Road Trip -- The Ride is all about modern mobility. This one-hour special explores radical ideas, such as designing cities for people rather than cars, how our identities got so entwined with our mode of transportation, and the pure joy of going fast. Come along for a ride on a custom motorbike with actor Keanu Reeves, learn about the cutting edge of car-to-car communication, plus much more.Hosted by motor journalist Susan Carpenter (LA Times, OC Register) and former aerospace worker and current comic Alonzo Bodden, KPCC's The Ride is sure to make summer road trips more entertaining ..And for consistency in the current utter, Manic _{Lowering of Consciousness..} Just now, the audio isn't yet There. Duh/KQED. Hey, it's not just the fate of the Planet in the face of Universal $$$-for-STUFF ennui drowning out Nest-survival.. OmiCthulhu: now it's about STEALING our RIDES :-0
Post #412,488 by Another Scott 8/5/16 11:34:00 PM 8/5/16 11:34:00 PM Reply	Neat. Thanks for the pointer. It looks like it's a podcast, and archived episodes are available. Elon Musk's Master Plan, Is urban biking killing your lungs? July 21st, 2016, 4:08pm Sue breaks down Tesla founder Elon Musk's just announced plan for the future, and we look into the health risks of riding bikes in polluted air. It sounds like a good program that should get more ~~visibility~~ audibility. Thanks. Cheers, Scott.
Post #412,500 by Ashton 8/6/16 9:55:05 PM 8/6/16 9:55:05 PM Reply	..and thanks for Yours I frequently lose patience with the obvious 'omissions' (in this case "audio not available==A LIE, duh") which complexify rilly simple matters as could be made.. Intuitively Obvious (™-The Institute collection of pre-'geek' nomenclatura.) We'unses in these parts Know you CAN make such wishes (tell people about something worth a view or re-view, say) EEZY PEEZY, whereas: the Biz majors/even at PBS/NPR! seem drawn from the Windows 3.1 Era. I think it's pur-sang sloth, a mind-state I also observe to be COMING-in strong, here in the dis-US.

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