Bicycle Austin forum

MichaelBluejay

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From: Austin, TX

Registered: 2008-05-26

Posts: 1,466

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"Cars are problematic" idea is now mainstream

Back in the 1980s, as a vegan I was an outlier.  Restaurants didn't care if they lost my business, and both the medical community and society viewed veg*nism as crazy.  Fast forward to today, and it's hard to believe how much acceptance there is for the facts that meat-free diets are generally healthier and definitely way more eco-friendly.

Same deal for transportation planning.  I can't imagine in the late 80s or early 90s getting local government to agree that cars are problematic and we should be encouraging other forms of transportation, and trying to mitigate the damage done by planning only for autos.  A turning point was when Chris Riley joined the City Council, but even with his departure, Mayor Pro Tem Natasha Harper-Madison said in a recent Chronicle editorial, "When you make walking, biking, and public transit an afterthought for nearly a century, it shouldn't be a surprise when walking, biking, and public transit are second-class modes of transportation. It also shouldn't be a surprise that, in a city where driving is the most attractive option for the vast majority of trips, driving is a pretty unattractive option."

Also, the New York Times has a new article about how damaging highways have been for cities, and some cities' efforts to remove them.

Things have changed dramatically, and relatively quickly.  Didn't think I'd live to see it.

Jack

Member

Registered: 2013-03-27

Posts: 344

Re: "Cars are problematic" idea is now mainstream

we all try to do our bit on that end.