7 Cities That Are Starting To Go Car-Free

An article from Fast Company in 2015.

Urban planners are finally recognizing that streets should be designed for people, not careening hunks of deadly metal.

“After over a hundred years of living with cars, some cities are slowly starting to realize that the automobile doesn’t make a lot of sense in the urban context. It isn’t just the smog or the traffic deaths; in a city, cars aren’t even a convenient way to get around.”

https://www.fastcompany.com/3040634/7-cities-that-are-starting-to-go-car-free

History of the Bike Lane

It’s 50 years since the first bike lane in the US. Asbury Park has only 1 faded bike lane in the “door zone” on Grand Ave. We’re working on it–Some residents ride every day to work and daily transportation, others for recreation. Ride your bikes in AP and show city officials that bike riders are here to stay and deserve safe infrastructure.

http://www.peopleforbikes.org/blog/entry/infographic-history-of-the-bike-lane?utm_content=buffer99c7b&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=buffer

Design For All Users

Asbury Park is not different from Seattle and many cities in the US in fear that multi-modal streets will snarl traffic. In our car-centric culture we’ve become used to responding to more traffic volume with wider roads to carry more cars, which only creates more demand and on, and on. Check out the graphic demonstrating that a car-oriented, wider street does not allow more capacity.

“…it is impossible to remake city streets so they can carry more cars. Everything we do to meet demand creates even more demand.”

Someone tell the Seattle Times that bike lanes and bus lanes add capacity to city streets. Graphic: NACTO

Truck Crash on Freeway Paralyzes Traffic. Seattle Times: Ditch the Bike Lanes!

If You Build It Traffic Will Come- PARKING STUDY

We advocate building spaces for people rather than for cars. Building housing for people rather than building parking spaces.

“…it begged the question that, perhaps, it’s time to re-examine parking requirement for new residential construction – that maybe blanket requirements are not the best options.

“We are certainly not advocating getting rid of parking everywhere,” said Hart. “We’re just trying to explain to these communities that parking requirements in these communities maybe shouldn’t be locked in to every development.”

Added Lee, “Three parking spaces could be a three-bedroom unit and that means more units in total, which is what everyone is scrambling to build as the housing demand increases in our areas…These are things people want and they are limited by potentially outdated zoning requirements based on data that isn’t reflecting the current trends.”

MAPC:If You Build It, Traffic Will Come:Parking Study Reveals That About 25 Percent of Spaces Go Unused in Residential Apartment Buildings