joao_pimentel

Hi people

I'd like to stress one of my motivations to become car-free

My city, Lisbon, has became many years ago an open-air-auto-salon.
Look this video and you'll understand such consequences and my motivation to become car free and bicycle fan


And then obviously the environment, my own health, money, and freedom.
Yes, I feel myself depressed when I don't feel cool air on my face during the chilly mornings

rumrunn6

yeah, cars suck

Chuchi

I think it would be cool to live in a place where cars were not allowed inside the the town. Everyone would walk or ride bikes. Just back lanes for trucks to deliver things and emergency vehicles.

Roody

I agree. But I would want to have public transit. Also, some kind of door-to-door vehicle service should be available for people who are medically unable to ride a bike or walk to the bus stop.

Ekdog

Lisbon has great public transit! I love their trams, lifts, funiculars and ferries and subway.

Up until recently the city has been a bit bicyle-unfriendly in some parts, but I hear they're working on that. I'll be checking this out in May when I attend the XI Iberian Cycling Congress, "A bicicleta y a cidade". Can't wait!

Ekdog

+1. I couldn't agree more. Cars were the bane of our existence in the 20th century and they haven't stopped wreaking havoc in the 21st:

The impact of the automobile and the auto-centered transport system on the American environment has been enormous. From the manufacturing process to the junkyard, cars—and all motorized vehicles for that matter—consume resources; pollute the air, land, and water; and transform space. The building of automobiles requires gathering vast quantities of metal, glass, plastics, rubber, and other materials, and then assembling thousands of vehicles through human and machine labor. The production process itself consumes enormous amounts of energy, and the factory output produces its own array of pollutants. Once on the road, automobiles are the prime consumers of oil and gas, stimulating increased drilling, transporting, and refining of petroleum products to meet the rising demand. Since the internal combustion engine continues to dominate automobile propulsion, cars dispense vast amounts of pollution in the form of air emissions, noise, used oil, and disposable parts. Derelict or scrapped vehicles pile up once automobiles end their productive lives. Beyond its role as polluter and artifact, the automobile has transformed the city and the countryside as much as or more than any technology designed by humans.

https://www.autolife.umd.umich.edu/En...E_Overview.htm

Chuchi

Good point, yes it should.

GodsBassist

That poor beautiful cobblestone!

I lived on Terceira for 2 years. I remember the tiny cars and narrow cobblestone streets… definitely not made with cars in mind! Thanks for the video!

Ekdog

Lucky you! Air Force?

GodsBassist

Yes, but at the time I was a dependent lol. =)

Edit: At the time, I drove a Chrysler Volare!

joao_pimentel

The question is that in towns built 10 centuries ago this phenomenon is even more tragic, mainly if cars are allowed to circulate within the centre perimeter.

In cities such as what I've mentioned, (free) space is really a crucial aspect.

If you multiply twelve square meters, which is the surface for a typical car parking space, by the number of cars that enter in the city daily, you get around 20% of the city surface... incredible... and this putting cars side by side, front by rear, with no accesses

Artkansas 

Here you go. Mackinac Island.



Right in Roody's home state.

wipekitty

I almost got hit by a car once on Mackinac Island.

Despite being essentially car-free, there are still plenty of vehicles used by maintenance workers and other island staff! It's still a pretty neat place, though.

Chuchi

That looks like a really cool place.

joao_pimentel

In the Netherlands they use a huge variety of transport modes, even for those who can't ride bikes or walk. But of course we will always need ambulances, police vehicles, firemen trucks, etc.

joao_pimentel

Here you can see all the pictures I've taken in The Hague for different types of people
https://picasaweb.google.com/112543917989082159838/BicyclesInTheHague#slideshow/5902137277652508706

Roody

It is a beautiful location, and one of the few truly carfree places in the world. I was lucky to spend a lot of time tere when I was a kid. One uncle drove a dray (horse drawn cargo wagon) and also wintered some of the horses on his farm north of St. Ignace. Another uncle had a wealthy best friend who owned one of the Victorian mansions on the bluff. It sure was an exciting place for a kid, and adults have a lot of fun there also.

Roody

I believe they've gotten rid of those vehicles now. Most were owned by a quasi-religious organization that was more or less voted off the island. I believe snowmobiles (called sleds in northern Michigan) are still allowed, but I'm not sure. It's difficult for tourists to visit the island in winter, but a couple hundred people live there year round. I have a co-worker who grew up on the island. She had to board on the mainland for high school. I suppose that nowadays some of the kids are home schooled.

Ekdog

Nice! Who's the lovely lady on the blue bicycle in some of the photographs at the end?

joao_pimentel

thta's my wife

Ekdog