Here's what I saw in the car-free village of Bettermalp, #switzerland
A free, self-service funicular for those with tired legs, or who just want to save a bit of time on their "commute."
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Here's what I saw in the car-free village of Bettermalp, #switzerland
A free, self-service funicular for those with tired legs, or who just want to save a bit of time on their "commute."
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Local people use the gondolas, which have local and express service, as a form of transit.
It's not like touristy #Zermatt. Homes outnumber hotels; there's a supermarket, post office, etc.
Most of the "traffic" in Bettmeralp consists of electric shuttles, like this one.
People get around by walking, riding bicycles, or using cable-cars...
The thing that most impressed me: the tranquility.
You can hear kids laughing, cow bells, distant dogs barking.
I take a look at how Bettmeralp and other car-free villages make it work in this #Straphanger dispatch:
I promote pedal-powered parklets for people, not parking for petrol-powered Pontiacs and Porsches.
"A city is where people come to work, raise families, spend their money, walk in the evening. It is not a traffic corridor."
BIG NEWS: As of today, the maximum speed on the Pรฉriphรฉrique, the orbital highway encircling #Paris, will be lowered from from 70 km/h (43 mph) to 50 km/h (31 mph).
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Love this!
The Bockenheimer Warte U-Bahn station entrance in #Frankfurt , Germany.
Enter the underground via a subterranean tram eruption.
NEW STUDY: Bicycle lanes calm traffic, make streets safer for everyone.
Presence of a separated bike lane decreases average maximum car/truck speeds by 28%, speed of cars making right turns by 21% ...
#Tokyo's Shinjuku station, world's busiest.
53 platforms.
200 exits.
3.59 million daily users .
Every day, as many people use this one station as ride the entire #NYC subway network, which counts 423 stations.
An X-ray cross-section (in ballpoint!) by Tomoyuki Tanaka:
If you really value your freedom, donโt drive a car!
When you think about it, the bicycle is the true choice of the independent and the free.
"Design your vehicles to fit your cityโnot the other way around."
Here's a tiny bus serving the narrow streets of #Rome's centro storico.
The concept applies to fire trucks + other service vehicles.
But is it true for transit?
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Small is often beautiful for fire trucks, like this one in #Tokyo :
In the 20th century, being "modern" meant bringing cars into the center of cities.
In the 21st century, it means keeping them out.
(Images: Grand Place, #Brussels.)
European cities used to be as car-clogged as those in America. Here's what changed:
https://www.politico.eu/article/europe-car-free-plaza-reclaim-former-glory-public-space-pollution/
You can drive in #Switzerland, sure. But if you want to get where youโre going on time, take public transport.
I rode the No. 6 trolley bus in #Lucerne, and made my appointment on time. If Iโd been in a car, Iโd still be waiting.
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The fact that the "Beg Button" exists in so many cities is messed up.
For the privilege of crossing the street, pedestrians are required to press a button, wait, and then scurry across while cars + trucks give them a few seconds of grace.
Here's one I'd press in a second...
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In a rightside-up world, it would be driversโnot pedestriansโwho would have to press a beg button just to use the street.
[drawing by Dhiru Thadani]
The Dutch, naturally, have this sorted.
At this #Delft intersection, cyclists and pedestrians get a continuous green.
The arrival of a car or truck sets off a sensor, which allows it to cross. The default is green for humans, red for cars.
video by @modacitylife
The Kintetsu Railway, #Japan's oldest public funicular, started 1918. In Ikoma, a city between Osaka and Nara.
One car is called Mike the Cat. The other is Bull the Dog. When they pass one another...
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Nulla dies sine linea.Author of Straphanger: Saving Our Cities and Ourselves from the Automobile. Advocate for bicycles, transit, walking, alternatives to the car...and great cities.Words in The New York Times, The Guardian, National Geographic, Smithsonian, L'actualitรฉ, The New Yorker, Wall Street Journal.The Lost Supper: Searching for the Future of Food in the Flavors of the Past now out from Greystone. www.lostsupper.blog
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