This is why cars are bad
 

http://i120.photobucket.com/albums/o...s_vs_bikes.png

I know most people will find objections with that pictures, and that's why the world is going to shit.

You can find the picture in the Global Environment Outlook GEO 4 .pdf file.

great post, wrong subforum.

My friend who is an urban planning major told me about that picture when one of his proffessors showed it to him or something. I think that's where I remeber hearing about that, it's pretty interesting.

Call me crazy but its not the cars, its the mindset of the people.

I'd say it would be really difficult to argue with that without making yourself look a right pratt.

While I agree with the whole anti-car thing, the space issue just isn't really a very convincing anti-car rant outside major cities. Hell, in most places there's room for a whole lot more cars.

I think cars are bad due to the fact that becuase of them My beautiful old Coppi rebuild was destroyed, I'm missing 3 teeth, my right shoulder was destroyed, and my jaw had to be rebuilt using titanium and screws resulting in it being wired shut for 2 months and me being unable to eat anything that hasn't been through a blender for the last month. but that's just my personal reasons.

^^^The car operated itself and took you out?

When I saw that, the space issue didn't even occur to me. What I thought about was the amount of pollution each of those cars is putting out.

We used to live in a world where you could play in the streets. These days, just trying to cross the street can be terrifying. Taking my 4 year old son on a bike ride in the neighborhood is a life-threatening activity that usually results in him crying as I yell at him to stay on the far right as motorized steel boxes zip by. Yes, cars have had a detrimental and truly sad effect on our collective lives.

^^^

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi...stine-1992.jpg

It's always about you, isn't it Jack..?

Seriously, sorry about the bike and hope you're feeling a bit better.

(At least you went with the titanium upgrades! ;))

Good point, but I don't think that was the intention. In fact, the photo with the bikers looks a little "smogier" to me. Its just an artifact of the photo I know, but the photos don't effectively demonstrate car pollution.

I don't agree with you, but then I live in a small quiet country town that's just been invaded by holiday traffic. :(

In the town where I was born, cars have invaded all the walkways. There MANY are streets where it's dangerous for pedestrians to walk along, because most of the time they are forced to walk on the road, hoping that cars will avoid hitting them. MOST of the streets in that city are impossible to use for

mothers with baby carriages
people on wheelchairs
blind people

This makes me very, very sad and mad. I hate that city because of this. Especially because I do voluntary work with blind people, so I am particularly sensitive to their needs.

my friend told me that in his urban studies class, the proff said something like 17 parking lots per every car in the united states. Imagine that.....

Good stuff. I think one of the many problems with car-centric societies is the belief that the space a car takes up is the owner/user's space. In reality if that car is out on the road or parked on the street it's taking up public space, and a lot of it as the photos demonstrate.

It's not cars, it's urban planning. Things will not change unless city planners exclude vehicle access. Centralize parking structures, make access convienent for pedestrians and cyclists and encourage alternatives through the design of the city.

People take the path of least resistance. It's too easy to drive everywhere, it is really difficult to cycle or walk as part of your daily routine.
It only works in cities like SF or NYC to a certain extent.

Cars are not the problem. If everyone lived in a city where it was more convienent to walk or bike, they would do it. If they do not need a car, they will not buy one.

However, the USA is a car culture. That is the history of this country. It is the freedom to drive across the land, see the amazing country, etc. That is the culture.

Things can and will change. It has to be realistic and positive. It will not work if people are to feel punished by doing it. It's hard to stop a momentum ball the size of this, but it's slowing and eventually will turn around. :)

The big peeve is the poor urban development and developers that encourage sprawl and give the people no choice but to drive. cars and urban development are a vicious circle, i know. but i see developers and the lack of goverment mandates as the problem.

I just drove through the entire state of ohio, including toledo and cleveland. there is nothing amazing about it, that state should be nuked, its depressing as hell.

There's not much difference between Ohio and Illinois, other than that one state has Chicago and one doesn't. Actually, there's a lot of difference. The cost of living is considerably lower in Ohio; one can afford to purchase a house with a yard in any of the major Ohio urban areas on the same amount of money that would garner a 1,000 sq.ft. ****ter apartment in Chicago.

Additionally, and this is what matters most, the riding's better in Ohio.

Not to hijack, but I did a bunch of plugging on salary.com or some site that compares wages and the cost of living between cities. If I moved to columbus, I would effectively get a 15%+ raise.

edit: back on topic, is that one person per car, but a bunch of people on the bus?

funny, that picture is from a town near me in germany, ive actually ridden my bike there before (its about 70km) and that place is bike crazy. they have rings around the city that have been made bike only and stuff, bikes locked up EVERYWHERE its really packed full of bikes.... something like 2 bikes per person in the city or something...

I know they are 'green' but I hate buses. Trying to deal with these giant beasts while on a bike in an urban environment is a daily flirtation with death. Hate 'em.

nice post.
the info in the photo is a little skewed - its assuming one car= one person. (In the US this is just about true since just about nobody carpools)... still - if they redid the graphic with, say 2-4 people per car, it would still be notable.
Somebody should redo this here in the US for 2008.

It looks to me to be the case. Which is what I see on the streets anyway: strictly one person per car. If I have the time and wait it out, after about 200-300 cars I see more than just one person in a car. That very rarely happens.