AIBU?
to think cars should be banned from towns and cities
chrome100 · 26/04/2013 19:55
I don't own a car, mainly because I am too poor but also because I don't really need one and get around from A-B either on foot (short distances), cycling (medium distances), or bus/train (long distance). I am not a lentil-weaving hippy by any means but I really dislike the way that the dominance of the car has influenced our towns and cities - children can't play out, we are always waiting at junctions and traffic lights, running and walking necessitate several lengthy pauses to cross busy roads etc etc.
Why can't we create some kind of system whereby cars must be left on the outskirts of a city and everyone wanting to move around inside it has to walk/cycle/use the bus? I know this is hugely unrealistic and expensive but the impact this would have on our daily lives would be immense. The general environment would be so much more pleasant, we'd be to roam (ok, maybe I am a bit lentil weaver 
)
I know some people are disabled etc and allowances could be made for that but the vast majority of car journeys within a city (I think) could be avoided if people gave themselves more time to get to where they were going.
I'd love to live in a town town with no traffic, to cycle along with no cars and not have to fight dangerous junctions as a pedestrian.
nancerama · 26/04/2013 20:06
Rather than banning or restricting car use, I'd love to see some real thought going into planning consents and town planning to make the use of a car less necessary.
I used to live in the Netherlands, where everything you need is a walk/short cycle ride away from home and public transport is reliable, frequent and affordable.
Unfortunately the UK seems to prefer the American way of life with massive out of town supermarkets and retail parks taking business from local shops and thereby increasing car use.
overprotection · 26/04/2013 20:09
I'd also like to see driving distances that are easily walkable banned (with obvious exceptions for the disabled etc).
To enforce this we could either:
a) Have police follow people around to see if they drive a short distance and then get out of the car.
b) Microchip everyone and put a tracker in their car, to see if they drive it somewhere they could have walked.
A fine use of government resources I'm sure all will agree.
chrome100 · 26/04/2013 20:12
You're right - I live 20 mins walk from the city centre so I can access everything I want on foot, give or take and also the train station. I accept this would be harder for those living in the leafy suburbs. However, many suburbs are only 5 miles away from the city centre - an easy distance to cycle or if not bus and possibly walk for those with more time.
Everything would need hugely overhauling but, imho, it would be worth it.
thereonthestair · 26/04/2013 20:33
So what do you do with me. I am lucky, I live in a city centre, and for me I cycle or walk, or get the train. My my ds has cerebral palsy. He can't ride a bike nor walk. What do you want us to do fly. If I had my way more congestion charging, more costs at bringing a car into the centre, better park and ride and much better public transport are all priorities. I am happy to pay far more tax for that. But I have to drive a little when I am transporting ds, and walking, cycling and bus just don't work. If they did I would use them more. But they don't because most people won't pay the tax we need to.
VinegarDrinker · 26/04/2013 20:36
thereonthestair exemptions for the disabled have already been mentioned upthread.
If I ruled the world I would be giving all parents Bakfietsen though - free disability adaptations if necessary bakfiets.nl/nl/
To comment on this thread you need to create a Mumsnet account.