Slashdot Mirror

Word.

There's even Capital Bikeshare and, for the old school, Feet in case you don't like Metro.

It's city's fault for not designing streets for both residents and expected number of visitors

No, it's the visitor's fault for not taking public transit. San Francisco has some of the best public transit in the country. BART is ~$4 round trip, runs past 1 AM and parking at the stations is free on the weekend. And now the rent is higher than NYC, any spare space should be devoted to housing.

It's vastly more efficient use of space to park your car outside the city and make the city navigatable with transit (see Tokyo, Berlin, Prague, etc).

San Franscisco is the 2nd most walkable city in America (after NYC). Only idiots drive here.

You can't bicycle here (one of my favorite outdoor activities) because of the heat most of the year

People bike here year round, Facebook posts from other people doing just that are proof. You choose not to, that doesn't mean other people don't do it also. There are people enjoying the Phoenix Mountain Preserve, Dreamy Draw, and South Mountain year round.

Any city is going to have die hard cyclists that are willing to ride in anything. However, if you think that a place with inconsiderate drivers, scarce bicycle lanes, spottily maintained sidewalks and 100+ degree days is pedestrian friendly, you're delusional. Even Santa Clara is practically a paradise compared to Phoenix.

They used to have Mill Avenue in Tempe that was kinda fun to walk along, which used to have a bunch of quirky little independent shops, but the Tempe government drove all those out of business to make room for a bunch of mall stores and high-rises, which of course went south when the economy crashed, so most of the place is boarded up now.

Really? The main recreational area next to the largest university by enrollment in the country is boarded up now, huh? That's weird.

As an ASU student (spare your derision please) who practically lived on Mill Avenue for four years, I can't agree. Redevelopment has raised property values around Mill significantly, which has pushed out many of the older businesses most people would associate with `local color'. Taking their place are cookie cutter franchises (Mellow Mushroom, Urban Outfitters, Jimmy John's) that thrive on indiscriminate student spending. Things may still be better than the rest of the valley, but with neighbors that add whole new dimensions to the word "plastic" (Scottsdale, anyone?) that isn't saying much.

Sitting just hurts.

I'm young and in good health, so I haven't given much thought to the long term health implications of too much sitting. What I can anecdotally report is that the more time I spend in a chair, the worse I feel. The relationship is almost linear. Not coincidentally, the realization didn't dawn on me until after I graduated from college and began working full time. Before graduation, I spent a lot of time on my feet walking to and from class and to work, since I had the good fortune to have an internship within walking distance of my college campus. This was only eight months ago, but the change in my energy level is very discernible. I can only imagine how pronounced the effect would be when magnified over the course of many years.

But that's just the job. I imagine that for most of the Slashdot audience, sitting at work is often unavoidable, unless you can afford a nice walkstation setup. What about when you're not actually at your desk, though? Usually, you're still sitting, even if you're going somewhere.

The biggest sitting problem (for Americans, at least) outside of work is that our cities, our jobs, and even our recreation is not really intended for pedestrians. I love to walk, but many places and jobs are not pedestrian-friendly. I have so grown to loathe driving that my long term plans include moving to a city where it's easier to get places by walking or riding a bike, possibly for this reason alone. Currently I live in the Dallas/Fort Worth metroplex, which I feel is one of the least walkable areas on the planet (though there are notable neighborhoods that provide exceptions). The metropolitan area has suffered badly from the urban sprawl blight, so if you're lucky enough to live with your romantic partner, chances are, at least one of you is going to have to deal with a commute. The course of my day starts off with a thirty minute drive, followed by sitting on my tush for the subsequent eight hours. Then I drive another forty-five minutes home. Unless I then drive to the nearest gym, which, due to the sprawl here, is likely to be more than six miles away, I'm pretty much stuck indoors again. Side note: a 117 degree heat index does not a happy human make. I have seen Texans drive to their mail box.

The economic forces that drive sprawl really kill the cores of cities and make life miserable for commuters. My partner is burgeoning traffic engineer, and he's taught me some of the things that walkability projects can do to improve life for both residents and businesses in a city. Suburban Nation is an excellent read on the subject. You can also check out Walkscore to see how your neighborhood ranks. It's pretty neat stuff, and I wish more people would care about this issue.

Well, if you end up actually executing this plan (and I encourage it, I now live 4 blocks from work, and it's great!) then try this exercise sometime:

1) Carefully record all your costs for running your car for one month.
2) If you can, cancel your insurance for a month and park it. If you normally buy your insurance a year at a time, try this at the end of the term.
3) Try living without your car. It's only a month after all, if all else fails you can still go back. You'll probably learn a few things about how to use it less at the very least.

The mother of all innovation is necessity. You will find workarounds to your "need" for a car if only you try. Most Americans just look at the problem and get scared and never bother to try. For example, you'd be surprised at how many (especially urban) grocery stores will deliver, even or especially if you pick them up at the store and pay at the till. These days the service is generally for the elderly who can't manage it on their own, but usually delivery is free over a certain amount. Or you can take a cab.

It also helps a great deal if you shop around for a house (or townhouse, or whatever) specifically with this goal in mind. Proximity to stores, transit, school and work are central to this philosophy. In fact, someone built a web site to help you out.

I've personally lived almost all of my adult life without a car. Nearly none of my friends drive either. It's no longer because I can't afford a car - our gross household income is now over $75,000 - but in no small part because I don't consider it a necessity. My wife and I have engineered our lifestyle around not having a car, instead of the norm of doing it the other way around. Because of that, "giving up" a car isn't even a hardship for us.

More importantly, section 3 (b):

"...that Contractor is legally authorized to work in the United States."

Pity. I was disappointed in the inaccuracy of Google's listings for my city when I tried to compare the walkability of my house to my friends'.

I had considered submitting more accurate information to Google, but didn't want to spend the effort, because they're a for-profit company, so what's the benefit to me?

This could well have enticed me to provide thorough, accurate listings for stores in my downtown, but since I'm not eligible for the QPQ, I'll go back to my other priorities.

- RG>