Just so it's clear that I'm a good little Minneapolitan... I've
cleared this message for local-specificity with our manager. By reading,
you are not breaking the rules. >
>
> Terrell Brown wrote:
>
> "The Avidor assessment that drivers are bad, unfortunately
> also applies to bus drivers, bicyclists and an occasional
pedestrian. We
> have bad operators of all forms of transportation. Daily on my
walk to
> work, I'll see transit busses run the red light at 12th and
Nicollet, often
> after having made a complete stop to drop off passengers. How
often do you
> see a bicycle stop at a stop sign? A pedestrian cross against a
light? The
> problem isn't that an occasional violation takes place."
>
> I don't think Mr. Avidor was saying drivers are bad. I'm
absolutely certain
> I wasn't. I also wasn't talking about drivers not following the
law. I was
> speaking to a more basic, fundamental flaw with the automobile
culture
> itself. The best driver on the road still contributes to negative
societal
> impacts. This does not make the driver him- or herself a bad
person. We
> are stuck in communities where jobs, homes and commercial centers
are remote
> from one another. We are tricked into believing that driving a
car is
> economically viable by numerous systems that hide the behavior's
true cost
> as well as an Enron holding-company.
>
> I do not share Mr. Brown's pessimism about the viability of
human-powered
> transit. I think there are neighborhoods which already provide
that
> option... I live in one. Seward is another. There are tools out
there. We
> could use zoning to create more diverse communities (in terms of
residential
> and commercial sites) rather than concentrating everything. We
could create
> more car-free streets such as Milwaukee Ave. Perhaps I'm overly
hopeful, I
> don't know. But it seems better to hope for too much and try than
give up
> on the idea of the walkable, bikeable neighborhood.
>
> What this discussion comes down to, for me, is the fact that the
culture of
> the automobile is simply not sustainable. There are already too
many people
> in the world for everyone to live like the average American
(another plug
> for Redefining Progress: they have a questionnaire which allows
you to
> calculate your ecological footprint, and the number of Earths it
would take
> for everyone now alive to live like you). I don't believe we have
the
> choice whether to continue to drive indefinitely or not. We can
decide when
> and how we will transition to a new system of transportation, and
how
> painful this transition will be. Minneapolis has the opportunity
to be
> ahead of the curve on this, maybe saving ourselves future
problems, and
> providing a model for other cities.
>
>
> Robin Garwood
Marcy Holmes
P.S. I agree with Walt to a certain extent that heated rhetoric is used too
often about environmental matters, and that carrots work better than sticks.
One important thing to note is that the design of our cities is a stick,
which forces us into a behavior that I expect few of us really like. And
the design of our cities can only be effected on the local level... the
first steps must be taken by our neighborhoods.
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