Cities around the world that are reducing car access

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118540928#Comment_118540928

Have you not seem combined multistorey parking houses and apartment blocks? They are very common.

I can think of one particularly large development in the rejuvanated quarter of my City which is a combined parking, retail and resendential development.

I figure they get a few million in revenue in the retail levels from the residents above some of whom would be renting car spaces below.

One particular car park I visit has differnt levels for residents and customers.

cgcsb

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118541512#Comment_118541512

Untrue. Car free spaces equal more vibrant spaces. That's the case around the world. Oslo has seen a big increase in footfall after going car free

cgcsb

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118541756#Comment_118541756

Dublin is also bypassed

cgcsb

There's a thread on that already

Zebra3

Dublin has far too much private traffic, it is not a pleasant place to be for pedestrians or cyclists. This is what sends people to suburban shopping centres.

cgcsb

Agreed. The suburban shopping arguement is good if you are from one of the circles of hell that is worse than suburban shopping centres. For regular humans, city centres are more attractive shopping, eating and drinking venues. The suburban centres offer convenient access to the big brands for people who are forced to live out there for economic reasons. They certainly aren't places you choose to go to or remain in after you've obtained your goods.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118541652#Comment_118541652

baseless claim.

cgcsb

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118543210#Comment_118543210

Well you cam Google Oslo like. On the other hand, your claim that removing parking kills city centres is completely and utterly baseless and contrary to observable facts the world over.

I don't have far to go to visit a vibrant city that is welcoming to those who chose to visit it by private transport. It is just around the bend in the river.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118543308#Comment_118543308

We'll have to take your word for it

Which part leaves you incredulous. Most cities are to be found on Rivers... or that it is vibrant and welcoming to private transportation?

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118543431#Comment_118543431

As I said, have to take your word for it.

irelandrover

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118543431#Comment_118543431

The poster gave an example of a city that discourages car use and has seen a big increase in footfall. You tell them that it is a baseless claim and use a city that you wont name as an example. How can that be taken seriously?

I live in the Netherlands and while cars are allowed in the city it is made more difficult for them with one way streets, reduced speed limits, priority access for pedestrians/bikes. It leaves the city centre a nicer place to be. To get into the centre for me would take about 8 minutes by bike with free city centre parking, to drive could take anywhere from 5 minutes to 30 minutes depending on traffic and would cost at least 2 euro an hour. I never drive into the city centre. And the car free streets in the city centre are definitely the more vibrant streets with on street seats for restaurants, and the pedestrian shopping street seeming to be a lot busier than the shopping street that allows cars.

I won't name my City or provide information about myself because the Activists on this sub-forum are raving lunatics and doxxing would not be beneath some of them.

you may not have seen that I have provided the names of multiple Cities in the locality which remain car friendly.

Cookiemunster

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118543685#Comment_118543685

So what you're saying is that cars aren't actually banned from the city centers in the Netherlands then? (And I know they're not because I've driven along the canals and through Dam square down towards Centraal Station in Amsterdam).

I doubt anybody has an issue with what occurs in the Netherlands and it's an ideal that Ireland should strive towards. There are many on here however who want to to even further and have a total ban on cars. It's not realistic and shows them to be anti car zealots IMO.

irelandrover

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118543949#Comment_118543949

I havent read every post but i havent read anyone calling for a complete ban on cars from a city centre, maybe a ban in certain areas to create pedestrian areas, or a severe reduction on parking to discourage driving. But that is pretty much what happens in the Netherlands.

irelandrover

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118543913#Comment_118543913

I'd say there is a big difference between car friendly and car tolerant. The cities you mentioned would be more car tolerant. They have large pedestrian areas where cars aren't allowed. Cities in the Netherlands are car tolerant whereas you can drive into the city if you want, but it is almost always easier/quicker to cycle or take public transport.

cgcsb

Oslo doesn't have a car ban per say, it just has no through roads and no parking, it's an access only situation for cars and a big increase in pedestrian space.

Could be easily done in Dublin but you'd have to remove most of the multi storeys, they are so numerous that their access routes cover the entire city centre.

There's a lot of rumblings about congestion charging but the results from the Oslo approach are far superior to what any congestion charge can produce.

Sam Russell

Grafton St used to have two way traffic - including buses. It was always jammed. Then it went one way and then it went pedestrian only, with restricted delivery time for the businesses. Hmm - what happened to all those cars and buses?

If the traffic (specifically cars) are restricted in the city centre such that their use is reduced and people who were used to going by car choose either not to go or to go by other ways, then those who need to use the car just put up with the restrictions. Those restrictions are either harder to find parking, or higher parking fees, or a congestion charge, or whatever, then with those enforced, the pedestrians and cyclists and bus users will find the city a more pleasant place.

Now if a new motorway is built, and a toll is imposed, then the motorist either pays the toll, or goes another way, or does not go. Apply the same logic to cities, and you have the view put forward by those who favour a more pleasant city centre.

It is not anti car, it is anti congestion, anti pollution, and anti thoughtless parking.

Pollution? Euro6 cars are clean at point of use. Electric cars are clean, full stop. fines for not displaying environmental green discs on windscreens and bad parking take care of those other points.

People do not abandon cars anywhere they choose in my city as the likelihood of their car having a fine or not being there when they return are so high as to be bordering on a certainty.

IrishRover has given us the basis of a new mental illness: car intolerance which is the state of being irrationally disturbed when observing a car within a Streetscape. Debilitating and Incurable.

irelandrover

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118544536#Comment_118544536

Irrationally disturbed? Car intolerant?

Firstly I am not disturbed by by cars. I own a car, I just realise that there are places that are better without cars. Do you think this would be as pleasant a place to be if there was a two lane road down the middle of all the tables?

Also I'd brush up on your reading skills. I said car tolerant, not intolerant. I would like an explanation from you how your city is car friendly rather than tolerant, do they encourage driving into the city or is it just one of the options? Do they provide free parking?

And its Irelandrover, not IrishRover.

The open spaces turned over to outside dining here would put that city to shame if that is the best example you can post.

It is car friendly in that parking is plentiful accessible and affordable.

If the bar and cafe owners heard that parking was going to be restricted they would be rioting as they are highly dependent on their patrons being able to access the city otherwise they go out of business. Locals generally go home as they do not want to pay 3 to 4 euro for an espresso or apfelschorle.

L1011

Bar owners haven't been dependent on their patrons having car parking spaces since drink drive limits were brought down in the 1990s! City centre bar owners have been nothing but entirely supportive of reducing car access.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118544764#Comment_118544764

We'll have to take your word for it

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118544808#Comment_118544808

Have you heard of Cafe Society? I didn't say anything about Weißbier or Steinkrugs. Also. Consumption of Alcohol is not prohibted, it is controlled. It is possible to consume a glass of Wine or Beer and later return to your car without fear of losing your licence.

L1011

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118544849#Comment_118544849

People drinking coffee in to the night in nice cafe bars are also not likely to be driving anywhere.

Your post was and remains completely wrong.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118544834#Comment_118544834

Yes, you will.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118544865#Comment_118544865

Your view of how people socialize on the Continent may not actually be current.

Some people choose to leave their cars in the multi-storeys overnight as the prices per hour between 19:00 and 09:00 are usually very low or a flat rate.

irelandrover

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118544764#Comment_118544764

Again I didn't state that was the best, I asked if it would be improved by a two lane road. You seem to have trouble stating that some places are better if cars are forbidden. Are those outdoor dining areas in your city in pedestrian areas or do cars drive by as you eat?

So car friendly to you means that you can park your car?

See that sounds like my city but I'd describe mine as car tolerant, they have a lot of one way streets and even a lot of pedestrian only streets. Id say my city is bike friendly, priority bike lanes going through the city centre, multiple covered, supervised free bike parking, prioritizing bike lanes over the car lanes, bike lanes are both directions when car lanes are one directional.

Im not actually sure what your point is here, you just seem to be here to tell everyone how great your city is without telling anyone where your city is. The fact is that transport isnt a zero sum game, in a lot of cities widening bike lanes means that footpaths or traffic lanes get smaller, turning over a street to pedestrians means that it is harder to cross the city for drivers. Prioirtizing bus lanes means cars wait longer at traffic lights, bike lanes have to have traffic lights installed.

My preference is to make cycling the most commonly used option, it takes up the least amount of space, creates the least pollution, is the healthiest option and allows the most useable space for people, greenery and shops in the city centre rather than car parking spaces.

Seth Brundle

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118544536#Comment_118544536

The emissions from cars in only one issue with them in a city. Having cars moving around a city centre means that there is less room for other means of travel including walking. In addition, ther eis also the safety risk from having cars move relatively freely around a city.