Originally Posted by Maelochs

Well ... it is what it is.

We have been a car-based society since before World War II. Cars were sold as transport and freedom and necessity, and for many people they became so, because after WWII our whole nation was laid out to suit the automobile.

Good? Bad? pointless debate. It is what it is.

The transition away from cars will take a while ... since every city and suburb has been designed around cars. And even so, personal transport is a really Good thing... though it needn't take the form of automobiles like we have today. After a couple decades car-free, I really value having a car---not just for the convenience of hauling big loads, but for the wide range of options it affords.

I like life better with a car, even it I might not use it for months at a time.


A while back my then-girlfriend and I did a multi-month tour of the continent doing adventure sports. No way i could have done it any other way. There is no mass transit to trailheads, kayak launchings, ancient Anasazi ruins ... a lot of places cannot be reached practicably by anything but a car, since the time it takes to ride a bike to those places is simply too great---and it would be tough to say, tow an big inflatable raft and a weeks' provisions and camping gear behind a couple bikes.

People who really want things to change, though, need to get into local government. Start with Zoning and Planning .... start pushing for mixed-use communities where stores and homes are close enough together that people can practicably walk or ride a bike to their jobs and the stores they need to visit. Start looking into reviving downtown areas, most of which have been killed by big box stores which are usually built away from residential centers.

Start by lobbying for more bike lanes, safe bike storage, showers at work maybe ... changes which would make it practical to not use a car.

And some people really need cars. A soccer mom who has to shuttle three kids form three different schools to three different sports activities and pick them all up after working part-time during the day, is not getting that done on a bicycle.

Philosophically we call all champion a more Walden-esque lifestyle, but if we refuse to work with the culture we actually live in, it will never change.

Having fewer roads is not an improvement. having more options is. having other than oversized internal-combustion-engine vehicles each carrying a single passenger and stalled in traffic half the time sucks, but until you can produce a viable and affordable alternative and path form here to there ....


Simply not having roads will only increase congestion, increase waste, increase pollution, increase accidents, and make those roads even less safe for cyclists.

The roads are not the issue. The current transportation options are the issue ... and just as I assume you are not eager to give up your personal transportation, including your car, no one else is either.

The answer is not to criticize the decisions which were made in the past. The answer is creating better choices for the future ... and fewer roads is simply not an improvement of any kind.