It’s notable that the article focuses heavily on the eco impact. However, that’s only half of the story. The other half is how enjoyable cities can be when public transport complements cars and bicycles. Being on the street becomes actually nice. Your kids can bike to school themselves and not die on the first intersection. That sort of stuff. It’s absolutely amazing to live in countries/cities that mastered this
Australia, why are you still obsessed with freeways – when they’re driving us away from net zero?
Submitted 3 weeks ago by Zagorath@aussie.zone to australia@aussie.zone
Comments
vas@lemmy.ml 3 weeks ago
thatKamGuy@sh.itjust.works 2 weeks ago
If it were possible to afford an apartment that could house a multi-generational family (2 kids, 2 parents, 2 grandparents) within Melbourne’s tram zone - we would get the fuck out of suburbia at the drop of a hat.
My wife and I absolutely despise our ~60 minute commutes each way, and we’d gladly trade our shitty little backyard for walking distance to one of the beautiful botanical gardens.
The problem still largely ties back to the Howard-era changes to capital gains and negative gearing causing a prolonged and painful housing bubble, further exacerbated by 30 years of record immigration.
Zagorath@aussie.zone 2 weeks ago
For real. We don’t build nearly enough higher-density housing in general, and that problem gets exacerbated exponentially if you want to live with a family larger than a childless couple, because we just don’t build much of that.
thatKamGuy@sh.itjust.works 2 weeks ago
Tell me about it; feels like any/all higher-density housing built since 2000 largely caps out at 2 bedrooms.
It only gets worse when you factor in we also heavily prefer a single story residence, eliminating >90% of what’s left as it heavily skews towards ‘luxury’ 2-4 storey townhouses over apartments.
No1@aussie.zone 2 weeks ago
Yeah! All the freeways should be privately owned toll roads with guaranteed income, and traffic funnels like in NSW!
/s
AllNewTypeFace@leminal.space 3 weeks ago
Because Australia wants to be America when it grows up.
Nath@aussie.zone 3 weeks ago
I don’t think anyone looks at the USA and wants any of that noise. Possibly maybe the image the USA thinks it is a little (like what is portrayed in Friends). But those guys are not driving on any freeways.
We certainly don’t want anything like their car culture.
Zagorath@aussie.zone 3 weeks ago
The unfortunate fact is that there are a shit tonne of Australians who absolutely do idolise that aspect of Americana. They probably don’t usually identify it with Americana though, and would go on about how they need a car because they drive out in the country or they need a wankpanzer because sometimes they carry a heavy load. There’s a big overlap with the kind of people who would identify themselves as “true Australians” (though the car problem is far more ubiquitous). It doesn’t change the fact that this whole thing, especially when applied within cities, is thanks to American imports from the '60s and later.
SaneMartigan@aussie.zone 2 weeks ago
Gina looks at America like that. She fucking loathes having to pay FIFO rates for workers.
null_dot@lemmy.dbzer0.com 3 weeks ago
This isn’t a planning problem it’s a people problem.
People want to wake up in a moderately priced home, get into their comfortable car, drive in it on a freeway for 20 minutes or so to get to their moderately well paid job.
Also, many Australian’s are openly hostile to anyone who does not behave in this way, particularly people who favor any other mode of transport like bikes or buses.
Zagorath@aussie.zone 3 weeks ago
It’s both. People will do whatever is most convenient. If our cities are built to be convenient for cars, people will use cars. And this has the effect of people seeing cars are more convenient than other options and being unable to imagine another way, so they are hostile towards ideas which would improve the city planning.
People in the Amsterdam or Tokyo are not more virtuous than Australians for choosing to ride or take public transport. They do it because their cities are just designed around these things being the easy option.
null_dot@lemmy.dbzer0.com 2 weeks ago
Are you really talking about cloistered small mindedness though ?
I’ve never visited Amsterdam or Tokyo but I can imagine, without any difficulty, that planning could make cities more navigable without cars.
biscuitswalrus@aussie.zone 3 weeks ago
People like to conflate two problems together.
Lots of Australia is small and far away from metropolis.
Lots of metropolis could happily exist with wonderful multi modal transport options like trains bus bike and walking.
Between the two, cars grant autonomy outside public planning for individuals to still be individuals to get between families and economy between remote to remote and metro to remote even when there’s no feasible public transport.
The devil in the detail is the problem at it always is anything when you look into it.
Yes there’s big opportunity to improve mass transit. Yes there’s a place for long range individual and small scale transit. Yes there’s a place for last mile delivery.
But the average Joe doesn’t really and shouldn’t really need to know, or care. Why does it take a nation, that is every individual, to understand and vote for what is nuanced and specific? Why can’t bold moves be made and results be explained?
Anyway that’s enough drunk reply
MisterFrog@aussie.zone 2 weeks ago
This is a planning failure. This middle used to be farmland not that long ago.
Cars really ought not be the primary mode of transport in built up areas. They ought to primarily be for moving house, emergency services, disabled people, and people in rural areas.
But so, so, so much of our cities are geared towards cars, and this is because suburbs were built further and further out, instead of densifying our neighbourhoods like we should have.
It’s also just generally a problem of capitalism, and privatisation. More modern high rises are far worse quality (in Victoria at least) than ones built before the 90s (for their time). Kennet really fucked us on that one by removing government surveyors (the conflict of interest with privately contracted surveyors is so obvious, and it’s lead to terrible quality)
The average Joe has been screwed into long commutes, in cars, because of bad planning.
Psiczar@aussie.zone 2 weeks ago
“Many Australians are openly hostile…”
Since when? Last time I checked nobody in the office abused someone for riding or catching public transport to work. Are people picketing train stations? Do they throw eggs at bike riders? Please share your sources for this bold statement.
Ilandar@lemmy.today 2 weeks ago
It is common knowledge that many Australian motorists are overtly and irrationally hostile towards cyclists. So much so, that there is a running satirical joke in dashcam communities where people jokingly blame cyclists for accidents that didn’t even involve one. Anyone who rides regularly, or knows people who ride regularly, is aware of this hostility.
null_dot@lemmy.dbzer0.com 2 weeks ago
Sorry chief, anyone who rides regularly experiences this hostility.