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Comment by ponector | Hacker News Reader

Sidewalk fall into disrepair in few months? Here in my city sidewalks are keeping well intact for more than 10 years.

Is theft a huge problem? Electric scooters are everywhere in the streets.

Underground tunnel which is capable to fit furniture and cars will be extremely expensive. The whole idea for last mile delivery via tunnel is not economically viable.

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A last mile solution that accommodates all possible use cases would indeed be expensive. One that handles 50% of deliveries? That seems useful. Would 50% be economically viable? What about 10% or 90%? Hard to know and probably will depend on many factors including the local geography. But even if it can't handle 100% of deliveries, perhaps it will be viable for a significant percentage, even if in just limited situations like a suburb with a sweet spot between the cost of adding subterranean pipes and high enough population density to provide high enough volume to justify the capital investment. Very few solutions are able to work for all use cases in all environments. That doesn't mean they can't be useful.

> Here in my city sidewalks are keeping well intact for more than 10 years.

They are not doing it all by themselves, especially if you live where there are seasons. If you don’t notice maintenance happening, it doesn’t mean maintenance doesn’t happen.

In the best case, sidewalk slabs tilt and settle unpredictably from frost heaves and water movement, and it only takes a small step between two slabs to trip an able person. If a sidewalk is maintained at all the lifted edges will be ground level, a yearly process. Just one example of routine maintenance that I notice.

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