I’m all for it. The more we can curb car usage the better.
Should Australian cities adopt car-free days? - ABC listen
Submitted 1 year ago by Zagorath@aussie.zone to australia@aussie.zone
Comments
DavidDoesLemmy@aussie.zone 1 year ago
fiat_lux@kbin.social 1 year ago
If you mean shutting down entire suburbs, definitely not in the foreseeable future. For the same reasons the ABC keeps breaking the law requiring them to provide transcripts and/or captions for media published online. They have forgotten, or worse, they are ignoring people with disabilities exist and should be part of the conversation.
I have zero objection to single streets being shut down to have community festivals/events, but in a world where many many people struggle with mobility, there needs to be some form of semi-direct access.
Or we at least need lots more public seating of differing types/heights, public toilets that aren't fucking rented port-a-loos, group tables that have space for wheelchairs, locking stations for mobility equipment that aren't just for pushbikes and that aren't placed haphazardly in the way of foot traffic on the skinny broken footpath, etc. You know, infrastructure and shit.
Also, be better, ABC. Cheap automated transcription tools exist, and it doesn't take many people to check for accuracy and add it to the media player and page. You're literally legally obligated to do this. There are even businesses you can hire to do that with turnarounds in under an hour. For fuck's sake, the royal commission report just came out about this sort of shit.
Zagorath@aussie.zone 1 year ago
From the programme, it sounds like they mean shutting down most of the CBD to non-essential travel on a regular periodic basis. Like once a week or once a month or something. So deliveries and such would probably still happen, and obviously so would emergency vehicles, but the average person wouldn’t be allowed to drive in.
in a world where many many people struggle with mobility, there needs to be some form of semi-direct access
The thing is, a car-dependent world makes this worse for people, not better. It makes it hard to get places if you can’t drive, whether that’s because of a disability, an inability to afford the high prices, or because you’ve been excluded from driving, or, as a close family friend is currently going through, simply because of age and the physical & mental effects of aging.
Aside from the periodic changes, one of the best things we could do would be to permanently turn our CBDs into pedestrianised zones. Places where drivers are entirely allowed to go if they want, but where they have to expect to be driving very slowly because pedestrians get complete right of way. Here in Brisbane we already have this in a few places, like along Albert St between Adelaide St and Burnett Ln. As well as Burnett Ln itself. Extending that to almost the entire CBD (minus one or two key roads used by public transport—such as Brisbane’s Adelaide St) would be a massive boon for safety and comfort, without impeding the ability for people who still choose to drive to be able to.
Also, be better, ABC
Strong agree. A text transcription would be great, and personally I’d love it if they allowed you to play back audio at 2x speed because their presenters all speak so slowly.
fiat_lux@kbin.social 1 year ago
The thing is, a car-dependent world makes this worse for people, not better.
As someone who also can't drive, I totally agree. But the only existing infrastructure I can use right now to get somewhat direct access to a location is a taxi. Even if I had a few thousand dollars to casually drop on a mobility scooter... stairs. Fucking stairs everywhere. And reception desks/bars made for 1.8m tall standing humans. And furniture packed so tight that you can't get past it, or just the casual rental bikes scattered in the middle of a footpath that has no curb cuts. Everywhere.
Shutting down the roads before providing viable substitutes and/or appropriate facilities is short-sighted and a terrible idea. And for me and many others, a terrifying prospect.
one of the best things we could do would be to permanently turn our CBDs into pedestrianised zones. Places where drivers are entirely allowed to go if they want, but where they have to expect to be driving very slowly because pedestrians get complete right of way.
We're getting more of these in Sydney CBD, and thankfully the council is getting more proactive in providing more public seating, but I can't go there much or for long enough to visit maybe 1 or 2 businesses. From an atmosphere / community standpoint, I really love them. From a medical standpoint, I associate them with a high likelihood of pain and injury, and so I avoid them. I can't even imagine how expensive it would be to try to get a taxi going through multiple streets encountering those few pedestrians who think "fuck your taxi fare, cars must obey me, you should be walking too, so i will block your path intentionally", even though I would much rather be walking like everyone else. I've already copped abuse getting out of a taxi that was dropping me off because it was 'illegally stopping'.
We need ways of allowing people to do much more than just stand and walk in a public space before many people can realistically use those public spaces. Increasing the amount of those before making them accessible will hurt a lot of people, I'm just one of them.
Once a week? Fuck no.
prime_factor@aussie.zone 1 year ago
In Japan is common for a main street in a shopping district to be closed for vehicular traffic on Weekends.
However it’s pretty much only the main street that gets closed.
Thisfox@sopuli.xyz 1 year ago
The idea was to shut down specific streets for single days, such as Kinn Street in Newtown. Which, during some shopping times, is basically an engines-running carpark anyhow, so sweeping the cars out would be a good thing. It is not to have a whole car-free suburb, just close a street to motor traffic on a particular day and so on.
Edgelord_Of_Tomorrow@lemmy.world 1 year ago
No, that just causes arbitrary problems for businesses and people who live and work in the city.
Congestion charges are the way to go. For better or worse we live in a capitalist society so if you want to change behaviour, there needs to be a cost for it.
abhibeckert@beehaw.org 1 year ago
Why do it on a street? I’d much rather do it on a footpath. Or a school sports oval. You know, the places we already have diverse markets, tasty food, live music, etc every weekend in Australian cities.
Wooki@lemmy.world 1 year ago
Hahahahahaha
Zagorath@aussie.zone 1 year ago
Love it when someone knows they can’t come up with a sensible rebuttal so just attacks the person instead. It really only serves to show how weak they are as a person.
batmangrundies@lemmy.world 1 year ago
Even funnier given that urban planners in charge of our cities have stated time and time again that the future of our cities is car-free.
The people whose job it is to plan our cities, are saying that we are transitioning to pedeatrian-friendly cities. This is a shift that occurred in education and best-practice some time ago. But age 60+ project managers are finally fucking retiring.
But you are apparently in an “echo chamber,” lol. Peak projection from Wooki.
Wooki@lemmy.world 1 year ago
Any rational individual can see article and post is so far from “sensible” it’s comical. I hope it’s comical because otherwise it’s dangerously delusional
unionagainstdhmo@aussie.zone 1 year ago
I think @Zagorath@aussie.zone said it best. This is a violation of Rule 2.
Wooki@lemmy.world 1 year ago
There is no discussion that can be had here, at all, anyone with any form of Critical thinking can see this is insanely dangerous as it is ridiculous .
Thanks for reinforcing my echo chamber point. Could never have been proven more.
Cypher@lemmy.world 1 year ago
Absolutely garbage idea that would have any government thrown out in the next election.
Australian cities do not have the infrastructure for this to work, and even if you started building it tomorrow we wouldn’t have infrastructure capable of handling it for over 20 years.
Oscar Coleman should be sacked for producing such utter rubbish.
ME5SENGER_24@lemm.ee 1 year ago
I like the idea of devoting huge portions of urban streets to outdoor markets on the weekends. I don’t live in Australia, but the sentiment is the same. I think metropolitan areas can take some of their most congested blocks and shut them down to vehicles for 2 days a week and open the street to push-cart vendors and pedestrians only.
TheHolm@aussie.zone 1 year ago
Government will never stop till it strip population from last pies of freedom people have. Freedom of movement seems to be on chopping block now.
Zagorath@aussie.zone 1 year ago
lol what?
Zagorath@aussie.zone 1 year ago
It’s safer, better for businesses, and great for people’s health. What’s not to love‽
LineNoise@kbin.social 1 year ago
Our cheapest housing is car dependent. These ideas sound nice but without enormous infrastructure investment, projects that will take a decade or more, the reality is that they disproportionately benefit wealthy areas that are well served by public transport to the detriment of poorer areas.
DogMuffins@discuss.tchncs.de 1 year ago
I can imagine that it would be incredibly disruptive for some businesses and some people - to a point where it could become an impediment to public support for more walkable cities.
Sadly, our cities are designed for cars. Simply not using a car doesn’t solve the problems for most people.