Pedestrian-friendly places: poll
Apr 5th, 2003, 03:02 PM
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Pedestrian-friendly places: poll
Hello,
I'm writing a paper for my Urban Economics class about "How to make North-American cities more pedestrian-friendly".
Since most of you are experienced travelers and probably walk much more than the average person, I'd like to ask you the following questions:
1. Which cities did you find most accomodating for walking, biking and public transport? (Can be anywhere in the world)
2. What makes a city good for walking and other non-motorized travel?
3. What do you think should be done to make American and Canadian cities less car-oriented?
My paper is due this Tuesday (April 8th), so I can only compile the answers that arrive on or before Monday.
Your opinion is GREATLY appreciated!
Melinda
I'm writing a paper for my Urban Economics class about "How to make North-American cities more pedestrian-friendly".
Since most of you are experienced travelers and probably walk much more than the average person, I'd like to ask you the following questions:
1. Which cities did you find most accomodating for walking, biking and public transport? (Can be anywhere in the world)
2. What makes a city good for walking and other non-motorized travel?
3. What do you think should be done to make American and Canadian cities less car-oriented?
My paper is due this Tuesday (April 8th), so I can only compile the answers that arrive on or before Monday.
Your opinion is GREATLY appreciated!
Melinda
Apr 5th, 2003, 03:13 PM
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1. Paris & London (although Paris isn't quite as bike-oriented but people have said they were amazed at the areas they could bike once they were shown on a bike tour)
2. Pedestrianized places set aside like those in Paris where each of the street has barriers to prevent cars but not people, bikes or scooters from getting past. I think cobblestone streets and leafy trees make for lovely walking areas but cobblestones aren't necessarily good for biking.
3. More and better subway systems. I live in Cincy which is a hellhole of traffic. We have the tunnels already set up for a subway system here but we haven't put them to use - they are abandoned. Finding entrance to them is part of urban folklore around here much like people in Paris searching for entrance to the restricted areas of the catacombs. We even had a vote in November to see if we could open up the subway system but they'd rather spend money on new stadiums here in Cincinnati rather than making it easy for people to get to work. Oh well.
Melinda, good luck on your paper!
2. Pedestrianized places set aside like those in Paris where each of the street has barriers to prevent cars but not people, bikes or scooters from getting past. I think cobblestone streets and leafy trees make for lovely walking areas but cobblestones aren't necessarily good for biking.
3. More and better subway systems. I live in Cincy which is a hellhole of traffic. We have the tunnels already set up for a subway system here but we haven't put them to use - they are abandoned. Finding entrance to them is part of urban folklore around here much like people in Paris searching for entrance to the restricted areas of the catacombs. We even had a vote in November to see if we could open up the subway system but they'd rather spend money on new stadiums here in Cincinnati rather than making it easy for people to get to work. Oh well.
Melinda, good luck on your paper!
Apr 5th, 2003, 04:59 PM
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Copenhagen - for both bikes & walking. Check out the web sites on Copenhagen/tourism for more details. Even moms on bikes with baby in side car! Morning rush hour means bikes - 4 abreast & 20+ deep! long lovely walking street.
Paris & London too of course.
Paris & London too of course.
Apr 5th, 2003, 05:13 PM
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I like cities with wide sidewalks and traffic lights at crosswalks. I hate cobblestone streets - I trip over the uneven surface pretty frequently
I don't think anything can be done, really, to make Canada and the US less car-reliant; they are enormous countries and cars are really essential to get from one place to another. Anyone who has driven through the Western US knows this.
To improve public transportation, cities would have to keep it cheap, efficient and comfortable, but public transportation systems are typically run in the red and taxpayers get fed up funding something that continues to drain resources.
I don't think anything can be done, really, to make Canada and the US less car-reliant; they are enormous countries and cars are really essential to get from one place to another. Anyone who has driven through the Western US knows this.
To improve public transportation, cities would have to keep it cheap, efficient and comfortable, but public transportation systems are typically run in the red and taxpayers get fed up funding something that continues to drain resources.
Apr 5th, 2003, 05:22 PM
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I suppose its not a very useful answer, but the most pedestrian friendly city I've ever been in is Venice. And the vaporetto system is some of the most fun public transport ever. But I don't think anyone is going to endorse flooding the streets of Boston, so there would be no more cars?
Apr 5th, 2003, 05:38 PM
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Thank you for all the responses so far! Yeah, wouldn't it be great to go to work in a gondola china_cat? I'd love it.
An interesting tidbit from my paper:
"The annual cost of congestion (resulting from extra time and fuel consumption only) was about $35 billion in the fifty largest US cities in 1997." I suppose it's much more than that now too.
An interesting tidbit from my paper:
"The annual cost of congestion (resulting from extra time and fuel consumption only) was about $35 billion in the fifty largest US cities in 1997." I suppose it's much more than that now too.
Apr 5th, 2003, 06:58 PM
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1.Just about any big city in Europe is very pedestrian friendly. Amsterdam is good example of a pedestrian frendily smaller city. In the US - NYC is just as good as any european city. Chicago (where I live) can be very walkable, I walk to an EL station to get to work - but it lacks greatly in comparison to NYC.
1. Which cities did you find most accomodating for walking, biking and public transport? (Can be anywhere in the world)
2. Pedestrain squares or blocked off streets - in the U.S. they NEVER do this?? Higher density - so things are closer. Slower Traffic, makes walking safer. Get rid of strip malls - they encurage driving(and look like junk) - put parking lots behind shops so pedestians don't have to walk accross them and feel like a second class citizen for not bringing there car.
3. Add the things I said above. Engurage people to use transit - Offer tax credits. Raise Tax on gasonline and toll roads into city centers. Raise Parking taxes. Control zoning of Cities regionally - so every municinicpality doesn't just build whatever they want. (this is probably the biggest problem with urban palnning in america)
good luck
1. Which cities did you find most accomodating for walking, biking and public transport? (Can be anywhere in the world)
2. Pedestrain squares or blocked off streets - in the U.S. they NEVER do this?? Higher density - so things are closer. Slower Traffic, makes walking safer. Get rid of strip malls - they encurage driving(and look like junk) - put parking lots behind shops so pedestians don't have to walk accross them and feel like a second class citizen for not bringing there car.
3. Add the things I said above. Engurage people to use transit - Offer tax credits. Raise Tax on gasonline and toll roads into city centers. Raise Parking taxes. Control zoning of Cities regionally - so every municinicpality doesn't just build whatever they want. (this is probably the biggest problem with urban palnning in america)
good luck
Apr 5th, 2003, 07:33 PM
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I can't think any city in the USA that I have seen that is more biking, walking friendly than Newport Beach, California. Every morning there are walkers, bikers, runners everywhere. There are walking paths, biking paths, parks and the biggest path of all, the sand in front of the Pacific Ocean.
This has nothing to do with Europe, but you did ask about any city in the world.
And, unlike cities in Europe, cars do stop for pedestrians here....even when people are not in crosswalks.
This has nothing to do with Europe, but you did ask about any city in the world.
And, unlike cities in Europe, cars do stop for pedestrians here....even when people are not in crosswalks.
Apr 6th, 2003, 04:25 AM
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The worst places to drive are often the best places to walk, but I can't tell you if that's more a matter of cause or effect. Best public transportation goes to Paris, of the places I've visited. Amsterdam is very pedestrian friendly, as pointed out earlier. There are parts of that city where you simply can't take a car at all.
Here are a couple of websites that might relate to your research, if you haven't already run across them:
www.pps.org
This is the Project for Public Places and it will provide you with some good directions in which to take your research; sort of a clearinghouse of good ideas in the area of public transportation systems, urban parks, bike paths, etc.
An interesting case study can be explored at:
www.streetswithoutcars.com
This site concerns a documentary on the State Street pedestrian mall in Madison, Wisconsin (one of a few that actually seems to work in the U.S.).
As the previous poster notes, "pedestrian friendly" is about cultural as well as infrastructure issues. In much of the U.S., we are a car culture in facilities and in our attitudes; kind of a vicious circle.
Good luck!
Here are a couple of websites that might relate to your research, if you haven't already run across them:
www.pps.org
This is the Project for Public Places and it will provide you with some good directions in which to take your research; sort of a clearinghouse of good ideas in the area of public transportation systems, urban parks, bike paths, etc.
An interesting case study can be explored at:
www.streetswithoutcars.com
This site concerns a documentary on the State Street pedestrian mall in Madison, Wisconsin (one of a few that actually seems to work in the U.S.).
As the previous poster notes, "pedestrian friendly" is about cultural as well as infrastructure issues. In much of the U.S., we are a car culture in facilities and in our attitudes; kind of a vicious circle.
Good luck!
Apr 6th, 2003, 05:24 AM
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In some respects, this is the case of the chicken or the egg. The old European cities were built long before the car existed. While many American cities were built around the car.
There is much written on this topic. Do a search on New Urbanism, and in particular the architectural team of Duany and Plater-Zyberg.
There is much written on this topic. Do a search on New Urbanism, and in particular the architectural team of Duany and Plater-Zyberg.
Apr 6th, 2003, 06:33 AM
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Much of Chester is pedestrian friendly
Look at
http://www.chestercc.gov.uk/parking/pedestrianisation.html
http://www.chestercc.gov.uk/planning/countryside/greenways.html
This map shows pedestrianised areas
http://www.chestercc.gov.uk/tourism/map/chester-map16.html
Of course, the City Walls are by their nature pedestrian areas.
Look at
http://www.chestercc.gov.uk/parking/pedestrianisation.html
http://www.chestercc.gov.uk/planning/countryside/greenways.html
This map shows pedestrianised areas
http://www.chestercc.gov.uk/tourism/map/chester-map16.html
Of course, the City Walls are by their nature pedestrian areas.
Apr 6th, 2003, 07:13 AM
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Hi everybody,
Thanks again for all the responses! Ira: I got this assignment like two months ago and I already have around 2500 words written down. But it is the time of year when all the professors realize that there is only one week left and they are behind schedule. So we get swamped by assignments, quizzes tests, papers you name it! Tomorrow I have a 40-minute presentation in corporate finance that I only had 4 days to prepare for! Anyway now I'll go check out all the great websites yous suggested! And thank you for the good luck wishes
Melinda
Thanks again for all the responses! Ira: I got this assignment like two months ago and I already have around 2500 words written down. But it is the time of year when all the professors realize that there is only one week left and they are behind schedule. So we get swamped by assignments, quizzes tests, papers you name it! Tomorrow I have a 40-minute presentation in corporate finance that I only had 4 days to prepare for! Anyway now I'll go check out all the great websites yous suggested! And thank you for the good luck wishes
Melinda
Apr 6th, 2003, 07:26 AM
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Better control of real estate development. Suburban sprawl is the reason for America's dependence upon the car. Probably one of the most compact city centers I've been to is Prague. People who live there probably rely onthe metro to get around fast. However, as a visitor I didn't need to use the metro - Prague is very compact.
As for what makes a city good for walking? Mix use development - a mix if residential and business. That way people can walk to the grocery store - to the theater - meet their neighbors in passing. I would love to know who can drive 50 mph pass strip malls and read all those sign marques. I can stroll the streets of NYC and browse, walk into stores at my leisure - it's such a wonderful way to live instead of having to drive everywhere. I know everyone doesn't want to live in Manhattan(I'm even getting a bit tired of it) however Brooklyn is a wonderful midpoint between urban and suburban.
Metropolis magazine has had numerous artic les about urban planning and design.
What a lot of people don't realize is good design fosters better living.
As for what makes a city good for walking? Mix use development - a mix if residential and business. That way people can walk to the grocery store - to the theater - meet their neighbors in passing. I would love to know who can drive 50 mph pass strip malls and read all those sign marques. I can stroll the streets of NYC and browse, walk into stores at my leisure - it's such a wonderful way to live instead of having to drive everywhere. I know everyone doesn't want to live in Manhattan(I'm even getting a bit tired of it) however Brooklyn is a wonderful midpoint between urban and suburban.
Metropolis magazine has had numerous artic les about urban planning and design.
What a lot of people don't realize is good design fosters better living.
Apr 6th, 2003, 09:11 AM
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Hi Melinda,
One of the things that make many European cities more pedestrian-friendly is that the major office developments are outside the central core, eg, La Defense in Paris. That way people come into the city to live rather than to work.
One of the things that make many European cities more pedestrian-friendly is that the major office developments are outside the central core, eg, La Defense in Paris. That way people come into the city to live rather than to work.
