Paris’ Day Sans Cars

wired.com

2 points·b_emery··2 comments

Maybe it's because I grew up in farm country and then lived in a war-torn 'developing' national capital, but whenever I read these kinds of stories, I think, 'Yes, but do you actually want to live in a city without cars? How will your grocery stores get their shipments? Do you really want the necessary human or animal-powered commercial traffic such a city would require? And if there are ideas for alternatives, how do you get that working in existing cities? Almost every idea I've heard basically boils down turning the roadways into something more like the railways, and that just is silly.

Americans wanting cities without cars have a oddly pastoral, almost bucolic vision of their cities when the cars are removed, when the reality is something ( not entirely, but moreso ) like this : http://cdn.c.photoshelter.com/img-get/I0000XCAUBam7ZnI/s/850...

"How will your grocery stores get their shipments?"

The plans don't prohibit vehicles entirely. For example, http://circulatieplan.be/en/content/faq describes the plan for Brussels:

> How are deliveries to be made in the pedestrian zone?

> Deliveries can be made in the pedestrian zone between 4 am and 11 am. At other times. Deliveries are only permitted in exceptional circumstances. The regulations for the pedestrian zone can be found here.

The "found here" document is in French, which I cannot read.

> Do you really want the necessary human or animal-powered commercial traffic such a city would require?

??? Who says that mass transit, taxis, etc. will all be removed?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_car-free_places lists many places which are car free. The more general term is "pedestrian zone"; see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pedestrian_zone for a description of the variety of possible meanings. Few if any turn 'roadways into something more like the railways'.

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