Post AKdnlZKBWAArnqPYWW by tallship@venera.social
 (DIR) More posts by tallship@venera.social
 (DIR) Post #AKaOQp5iccZ4IDmAka by atomicpoet@mastodon.social
       2022-06-17T16:43:14Z
       
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       Noticing quite a few libertarians joke about better car control laws. Thing is, they're not wrong. There really should be better car control laws. While we're at it, maybe we ought to push more people to use public transit, bikes, and ride sharing. And maybe more cities should build walkable neighbourhoods. In short, yes, fewer people should be allowed to own cars.
       
 (DIR) Post #AKbbJDTnYWBeB4hapE by anji@mastodon.social
       2022-06-17T18:20:31Z
       
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       @atomicpoet There shouldn't be a need for car control laws, really. I know that's not the point you're making, but traffic here is so bad I would LOVE to commute by bike or use public transportation. But it simply isn't an option due to stupid city planning.20 minutes to work by car.50 minutes to work by bike (and I would be dead)90 minutes to work by bus 🤦‍♂️
       
 (DIR) Post #AKbbJDsG5ZkjOw97x2 by koherecoWatchdog@freeradical.zone
       2022-06-18T05:47:28Z
       
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       @anji @atomicpoet “Bad traffic” is a sensible form of car control. If you keep adding lanes and car parking, people just fill that space up & demand more. Cars are chosen for convenience. *Reducing* public parking & letting cars get bottlenecked in traffic is a good control for the excessive car problem. If by “stupid city planning” you mean residential-commercial zoning then you are right.
       
 (DIR) Post #AKbbJEMkGE8gvUPTTE by anji@mastodon.social
       2022-06-18T06:01:04Z
       
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       @koherecoWatchdog @atomicpoet Agreed with zoning, of course. But I feel like it goes beyond zoning. At least here in the Bay Area.I often see ample space next to the wide roads here for NL-style protected cycle paths. But now you have to ride on roads or sidewalks to get anywhere. Which is dangerous.Some of these roads even have carpool lanes. Perfect to put in bus stops every mile or so, right? With interchanges where major roads cross? Nope! Can't use these roads from A->B like cars would.
       
 (DIR) Post #AKbbJEwu5n3wjdKLpY by koherecoWatchdog@freeradical.zone
       2022-06-18T06:10:37Z
       
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       @anji @atomicpoet SF indeed does not respect cyclists considering as well they force cyclists to register their bikes & get tags. But it sounds like a good place to have monthly #criticalMass events, where a large number cyclists converge the last Friday of every month and dominate the street.
       
 (DIR) Post #AKbbJFJEkkvXqtmBdo by anji@mastodon.social
       2022-06-18T06:27:51Z
       
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       @koherecoWatchdog @atomicpoet Eh. Life is stressful enough without a bunch of idealists inconveniencing the other regular joes during their monthly self-importance event. It's been going on in SF for 30 years, and has it helped at all? I don't see it.Perhaps I'm too harsh on them. But I've always thought San Jose Bike Party is a much better event. It spreads awareness, and at least those riders don't make parents late to pick up their kids from daycare while being so smug about it...
       
 (DIR) Post #AKbbJFe9UzeotlYtF2 by koherecoWatchdog@freeradical.zone
       2022-06-18T06:33:15Z
       
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       @anji @atomicpoet I’ve not heard of the SJBP (I don’t live there). But I would expect it to be more effective because it sounds quite localized & can tailor activism for the local situation. Critical mass is a global event. It’s always the same action in general: dominate the street on the last friday.
       
 (DIR) Post #AKbbJGAlXjkGWuow4m by koherecoWatchdog@freeradical.zone
       2022-06-18T06:36:10Z
       
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       @atomicpoet @anji For variation critical mass do things like go to a spot where a cyclist was hit by a car & lie down on the street for some time, force cars to wait. Or sometimes the crowd will go to the home of a political target who took an anti-cyclist action and stuff up their street, get out a megaphone and embarrass them in front of their neighbors. There’s often something fun & different.
       
 (DIR) Post #AKbbJGFNGbQolCycG8 by koherecoWatchdog@freeradical.zone
       2022-06-18T06:26:59Z
       
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       @atomicpoet @anji Critical mass events could choose routes that don’t have cycle paths to stuff up the cars until the city acknowledges they need to replace parking lanes with cycling lanes.
       
 (DIR) Post #AKbbJGYW7QkBiZvu64 by anji@mastodon.social
       2022-06-18T06:42:24Z
       
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       @koherecoWatchdog @atomicpoet Yeah, I know what it is and what they do.It makes them feel like they're doing something meaningful. But they're not. It's just a rage outlet. It's a party just for them, it is not for the guy who has a surgery scheduled and has to wait for the smug shouty people to get a move on.If it actually did something, perhaps I'd cheer them on! But it has to be the least effective type of protest in history. 30 years on SF is still a total nightmare for bikes.
       
 (DIR) Post #AKbbJGzSVGIL48XQ5g by koherecoWatchdog@freeradical.zone
       2022-06-18T06:43:46Z
       
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       @anji @atomicpoet Car drivers get pissed off when their movement is slowed down for critical mass -- and that’s a good thing. It’s convenience that brought them to using a car, they’ve reached a point where they think they are entitled to that convenience, so it’s convenience that must end.  #fuckCars
       
 (DIR) Post #AKbbJHQ2uPYuOayeX2 by anji@mastodon.social
       2022-06-18T06:48:02Z
       
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       @koherecoWatchdog @atomicpoet Yeah, I agree. But the only way to fix this is to make public transportation awesome. And eventually fixing zoning. If people can use mass transit because it's good, they will.Inconveniencing a bunch of random drivers doesn't do shit. That's what I take issue with.
       
 (DIR) Post #AKbbJHbOEEdUxmHiDI by koherecoWatchdog@freeradical.zone
       2022-06-18T06:47:40Z
       
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       @atomicpoet @anji Critical mass does not block emergency vehicles or pub. transport vehicles. So medical emergencies are not hindered. Public transport is also bad for environment but the city has no tolerance for public transport being impeded unless it’s the transport drivers themselves striking. In any case, the avg Joe is exactly who the protest reaches, who is forced to stop & think about this
       
 (DIR) Post #AKbbJHut3kERwFPHbU by koherecoWatchdog@freeradical.zone
       2022-06-18T06:48:47Z
       
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       @anji @atomicpoet How can you possibly think that convenience is not why people drive cars?
       
 (DIR) Post #AKbbJIGVlLWt1JWYJE by anji@mastodon.social
       2022-06-18T06:50:49Z
       
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       @koherecoWatchdog @atomicpoet I'm not disagreeing with you on that. I lived in NL for most of my life. Public transportation there is simply better than cars. That's why people use it.But the solution to "This awful bus route takes 2 hours" is not "Let's make the car commute take 2 hours as well" unless you're one of those nihilists from the Big Lebowski :P
       
 (DIR) Post #AKbbJIis3uDMRGnCVs by koherecoWatchdog@freeradical.zone
       2022-06-18T06:54:44Z
       
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       @anji @atomicpoet Public transport helps the /pull/ factor. But you also need a /push/ factors: traffic jams, minimal/unavailable parking, high costs. Car drivers are too hard-headed for just one approach to work, esp. US car drivers. You have to hit them from every angle.
       
 (DIR) Post #AKbbJJJNs9QCGVsMQS by anji@mastodon.social
       2022-06-18T06:56:52Z
       
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       @koherecoWatchdog @atomicpoet I think *points broadly at the rest of the world* that this push factor is not nearly as significant as the pull factor. And you cannot get people to stop driving until you have alternatives...
       
 (DIR) Post #AKbbJJfMYR0DMg9ugS by koherecoWatchdog@freeradical.zone
       2022-06-18T07:04:20Z
       
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       @anji @atomicpoet Cycling is both better for the environment & it’s easier to sell than public transport. Car → public transport: clear lifestyle downgrade. Car → bicycle: has health & cost benefits, is usually faster door to door than public transport. Has privacy perks (outside of SF) due to not needing registration and having license plate readers track you or public transport surveillance.
       
 (DIR) Post #AKbbJJmS84fpifTZjc by anji@mastodon.social
       2022-06-18T06:54:56Z
       
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       @koherecoWatchdog @atomicpoet It is strangely difficult for Americans to understand this btw. I spent my years here trying to convince people.All you have to do to make people use mass transit is to make it good.The Netherlands has awesome road infrastructure. But who wants to deal with traffic, parking, stress. A nice train comes by every 15 minutes and takes me straight to downtown... Yeah I'll take that.
       
 (DIR) Post #AKbbJKEoQdMJ8ckDwG by koherecoWatchdog@freeradical.zone
       2022-06-18T06:56:43Z
       
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       @atomicpoet @anji The only issue w/critical mass is that there are not enough of them. They should be stuffing up cars more. And networking. Critical mass is not technically a protest. Cyclists are playing music, meeting people, and usually there’s a social event at the end of it. It brings cyclists into a fun community & atmosphere while at the same time making cars inconvenient.
       
 (DIR) Post #AKdnlZKBWAArnqPYWW by tallship@venera.social
       2022-06-18T13:42:42Z
       
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       I don't subscribe to the less people allowed to own cars, and ride shares might really be a great way to go when several van pool to a central complex or business park, but they've never really enjoyed a relevant level of adoption, although they are efficient.On the other hand, * #public transit - especially metro rail systems in larger regions* #bikes (I concur with @koherecoWatchdog easier to sell than public transportation* #walkable neighborhoods - that sounds nice anywhere, but... especially anywhere By some measure, and compared to biking, one might suggest that you can reduce the #tracking just as much on #public transportation if paying cash at kiosks, but there's a lot of cameras on #buses and trains anyway, not to mention the terminals. This also increases the relevance of keeping  a #faraday bag handy to hammer a wooden stake into the heart of the tracking vampire ;)  In a world where it's more common that people work remotely from home, those walkable neighborhoods begins to sound really good, with #bakeries and #sushi bars and #corner grocers and parks... they sound pretty fine.People may also find that walking three blocks each morning to a community coworking space so they can sit and work in a professional environment with a kitchen and even daycare nearby, a few doors down the walkway. ⛵.
       
 (DIR) Post #AKdnlZyb5uV5pBJpVw by koherecoWatchdog@freeradical.zone
       2022-06-18T19:25:36Z
       
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       @tallship @atomicpoet Indeed large scale car prohibition would impossible at least in the states. It would be a borderline treated like an act of war.Exceptionally, I see only 2 varieties of car prohibition gaining public support:1. The 85+ people who can barely see or hear & have slow reaction times. The state should be canceling their licenses not leaving it to whichever daring family member would confiscate the license.2. DUI drivers
       
 (DIR) Post #AKdnlaZSspzVfWZGym by koherecoWatchdog@freeradical.zone
       2022-06-18T19:35:15Z
       
       1 likes, 1 repeats
       
       @tallship @atomicpoet A *lot* can be done to get cars off the street w/out blunt bans:- EU nations should stop allowing car costs as a tax deduction- EU nations should increase the cost of residential parking from €30/year to €3000/yr. (It’s an abuse of the public space to sell it so cheaply)- EU/US should reduce public parking & in fact convert parking lanes into cycling lanes.- Reduce affordability, increase the tax on gas & reg. costs; tax them off the road.
       
 (DIR) Post #AKdnlbPZl5fuH8wtCi by koherecoWatchdog@freeradical.zone
       2022-06-18T19:43:45Z
       
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       @tallship @atomicpoet To drive the /pull/ factor:- build more cycling lanes not just next to cars but pathways through wooded/nature areas that are pleasant & entirely car-free.- pedestrianize more roads (i.e. ban cars from ~5-10% of the existing roads and make them exclusively for cyclists, skaters, pedestrians)- some EU employers offer a clocked-in shower to cyclists. The gov could incentivize that.- some EU nations allow cycling costs to be deducted 120%
       
 (DIR) Post #AKdnlcGOahvSuxf4XA by koherecoWatchdog@freeradical.zone
       2022-06-18T19:55:57Z
       
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       @tallship @atomicpoet- some EU regions have gov-subsidized non-profit cycling shops who then set up tool racks where cyclists can service their bikes anytime at no cost.- ban cities from requiring cyclists to register their bikes (e.g. San Francisco)All the cycling infrastructure & benefits could probably be paid entirely from car tax/levies. US car drivers are willing to pay heavily to drive a car. That needs to be exploited.
       
 (DIR) Post #AKdnldy2FwQaCb5RC4 by koherecoWatchdog@freeradical.zone
       2022-06-18T20:04:25Z
       
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       @tallship @atomicpoet I vaguely recall a study that looked at driving volume as fuel prices jumped around. It turns out that when the cost of oil jumps all over the place Americans still continue to drive just as much. Even though Californians will vote out any democrat who raises the fuel tax they don’t reduce their driving when fuel naturally doubles. Of course no politician wants to be voted out of office so increasing car costs through political action is tricky