Lessons from 100 years of urban experience with the automobile.

The 20th century was the century of the automobile.

Our country, our city, and our streets have been transformed by the automobile Our country, our city, and our streets have been transformed by the automobile. Streets have shifted from being oriented towards people, to being oriented towards cars. Images: Park Avenue 1922 (left), Park Avenue 1996 (right) Credit: Transportation Alternatives Photo Archive

Our transportation policies have been designed to move as many cars as possible.   Queens Boulevard; 1973 Our transportation policies have been designed to move as many cars as possible. The same design principles that were applied to Queens Boulevard have been applied to every street in New York City.   Standard NYC street design is very hostile to people. Image: Queens Boulevard, 1973 Credit: Unknown

Sidewalks have been narrowed all across the city. Image: Lexington Ave, 1913 and 2005 Credit: Aaron Donovan

We have turned our streets into roads.

The Fundamental Incompatibility of People and Cars

The Fundamental Incompatibility of People and Cars

During the 20th Century, the impact of traffic on the human environment was an afterthought. 

the human living environment. Traffic damages the human living environment. 

"You can have a city that is friendly to cars or friendly to people, you cannot have both." - Enrique Penalosa

Traffic has undermined street life.

We have made our world a nasty mechanized place.

Our society has mistakenly chosen traffic over life.

Traffic cripples the living environment for our children.

The automobile has made life more difficult for parents.

Many senior citizens have difficulty navigating their own world.

Traffic harms human relationships.

Traffic shrinks our home territory.

that has been misapplied to cities. The automobile is a rural technology that has been misapplied to cities.

Automobiles are a spatially inappropriate technology for a dense city.

The shift to the automobile has destroyed transportation capacity.

Today, 370,000 fewer people enter the CBD each weekday than in 1948.     But 450,000 more cars enter the CBD each weekday than in 1948.

The automobile as a transportation technology in NYC is a mistake for two classes of reasons:

1) Traffic undermines the livability of the city. 2) The automobile does a poor job moving people in a dense urban environment.

Therefore:

The streets of NYC require a total transformation.

The recent changes are just the tip of the iceberg.

But people are afraid of change.

Myth 1: Traffic is Inevitable 110,000 before 50,000 after 45,000 of the 60,000 trips just disappears In a study of over 100 cases of road capacity reduction, on average for every 1000 cars of lost capacity, 610 cars just disappear from the system.

Myth 2: Driving is Necessary to Support the Economy Zurich

Myth 3: Pedestrianization is bad for business Times Square Kalverstraat Hass-Klau study 75% improvement in retail business vs. control group

Myth 4: Bicycling is a fringe activity.

Myth 4: Bicycling is a fringe activity.

So what do we do?

Compress traffic by space and by time. We want to maximize the break we get for ourselves from the hostile traffic.

Protect neighborhoods from traffic.

Concentrate traffic onto main streets to get huge livability gains with only a small loss of road capacity. City of Berkeley Traffic Engineering Average Daily Traffic Volume

Traffic Cells Groningen, The Netherlands Traffic Cell Urban Design

Timed street closings: block parties, summer streets, play streets timed street closures, provide an excellent opportunity to experiment with the significant traffic changes we are proposing. The phase shift.  

Smart Transportation Policies

Parking Reform Our current parking policies try to do the physically impossible and as a result they produce great disfunction.

Congestion Pricing

Improved Transit

Car Sharing / Ride Sharing

Comprehensive Bicycle Network

And many more... How to be a transportation policy expert in 12 seconds.

huge livability benefits and a better transportation system. We can have  huge livability benefits  and a better transportation system. 

Great Plazas  

Great public spaces everywhere (big and small)

Stickball commonplace - kids can play in the street

Comprehensive pedestrian network

Great Boulevards

Faster Commutes

Very good vehicle access to all streets

Vibrant neighborhoods

The choice is ours.

www.rethinktheauto.org