Wednesday, May 14, 2014

Bicycle Coalition plans for "car-less" city





The Bicycle Coalition and SPUR fantasize about the future:

Designing and Planning for a Car-less City
12:30-1:30PM | SPUR Urban Center, 654 Mission Street

The car as we know it could be gone within the next few decades. The prospect of driverless taxis, increased ridesharing and other new kinds of mobility is forcing us to rethink how our streets and cities function. Learn what a car-less future might look like and what it means for planners and urban designers.

Rob's comment:
According to the latest numbers from the Department of Motor Vehicles, there are 477,314 motor vehicles now registered in San Francisco (I don't include trailers in that total). Back in 2000 there were only 451,879 motor vehicles registered in the city. Looks like the city's anti-car movement, led by the Bicycle Coalition, has a lot of work to do to make the city "car-less." As the city gentrifies, it's not surprising that there are more cars registered in the city. And 35,400 (page 3) more motor vehicles drive into the city on workdays. Millions of tourists (page 10) drive into and around the city every year.

And you don't want to miss this:

Treehouse Talk: How to Win Your Arguments About Bike Lanes
6:30-7:30PM | SF Bicycle Coalition HQ, 833 Market Street
Ever feel put on the spot to speak for everyone who rides a bike? Join Aaron Bialick, editor of Streetsblog SF, for a discussion about the way we talk about bicycling, and why it’s as important as making the most convincing points.

Rob's comment:
Bialick tries to win these arguments with distortions and suppressing those with contrary opinions, not that he gets much dissent on Streetsblog, where Streetfighters go to congratulate themselves for being cool and car-free. Maybe one of them will provide us with those "most convincing points."

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