This graphic resonates strongly with me... Especially the serious need for us to move to walk/cycle/transportation. (maybe a pipe dream, but one must attempt to take the right path...)
(via https://climatejustice.social/@breadandcircuses/113079409964347792 )
@ai6yr people are generally bad at imagination and geometry, especially together. Half of all car trips are less than three miles, which is easily under 15 minutes by e-bike. But if most ppl look at where they're driving these short trips, it involves crossing a stroad and/or taking kids to school, getting groceries, carrying more than they know how to do by the dusty old bike in their garage. It's going to take imagination and learning, but mostly reallocation of street space away from cars.
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@yoused @enobacon LOL I have done the "forgot an item at the store" and realized ("dang, that's another 30 minutes to ride back to the store..."). Also, it's much easier to run to the store in any weather condition in a car than by bike. This week is a heatwave, 100F here, so if I want to shop by bicycle I have to get up early (before work) when things are cool and you don't give yourself heat stroke.
@ai6yr @yoused there's also the time axis of this geometry problem, where the space between things shrinks as free parking becomes less useful than housing and other destinations. But the gap between walkable 15min neighborhoods and where we are now is hard to cross without a lot of bike use. If enough people shift to e-bikes, political will for density increases. Useful transit routes and schedules won't happen in the suburbs without last miles to/from transit hubs by bike.
@enobacon @ai6yr Years and years ago, my brother, living in a loosely-populated area, came up with the notion of an inverse-bus. It would have been like a grocery delivery route for a rural area, where people place their orders and the truck makes its rounds, saving a lot of traffic. And probably carrying some unrequested stock that people could buy off the truck. Seems like it could have/could work.
@yoused @enobacon I believe this was not uncommon in the wagon/buggy era.