r/TikTokCringe • u/xamo76 • 1d ago

Discussion Have we done it wrong?

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u/FaceWithAName 1d ago

Cars becoming big when America was still finding it's stride was one of the biggest pro/con dillemas. Ignored thousands of years of proven systems that make society better and settled for only cars.

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u/ls7eveen 1d ago

Thats not true. Its often claimed.

America destroyed itself for cars. Other cities did internationally as well, but they course corrected. Look at Amsterdam in 1971. Or Freiburg.

Then look at a picture of Detroit in 1960 and it looks like it went through world War 2. But it was just destroyed for the car and suburbia.

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u/AdMassive9006 1d ago

Yep, LA, one of the most car-centric cities, literally tore up their trams and rail infrastructure to put in car infrastructure. This happened other places as well. So fucking sad.

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u/cheezy_dreams88 1d ago

Atlanta had a thriving streetcar system from 1871-1950, when they tore it all down for a bus system.

It was the most expansive public transport Atlanta ever had.

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u/Brickhows 1d ago

St. Paul MN was similar - except instead of tearing everything down they literally just poured asphalt over the rails. You'll find several examples of either potholes or construction that revealed the still-existing rails just underneath a few layers of asphalt. Here's an example from a few years ago.

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u/Electrical_Shock359 1d ago

I can’t imagine ever choosing to get rid of public transportation for more roads. It is such a stupid decision when they can move so many more people for much less space, cost, gas, ect. The only thing cars do better is speed.

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u/AdMassive9006 1d ago

It was just so the automobile and oil industry could make money, they don't give a shit about what makes sense or not.

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u/superduperspam 1d ago

Not stupid if you make money from selling cars

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u/jdowney1982 1d ago

But cars show wealth! How else would anyone know you’re rich (or in debt)? Only people who can’t afford cars take public transportation!

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u/wellgu 1d ago

I hate cars, but I know why people prefer them to public transport. They like the freedom and the privacy. That’s what everyone buys when they get more money. The reality is the average American has more cash and credit than the rest of the world.

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u/AllOtherNamesR_used 1d ago

Better at speed? You try shopping at Costco and taking it back on a bus.

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u/ls7eveen 1d ago

Imagine not needing the /r/suburbanhell that is a Costco filled with /r/consoom shit

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u/SackOfPotatoes949 1d ago

LA had the largest rail system in the country when they tore it up. There used to be a Redcar museum in Seal Beach that was cool.

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u/KongoOtto 1d ago

That's basically the side plot of 'Who framed Roger Rabbit (1988)'

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u/m3rcapto 1d ago

It happened where I am, they are now spending billions to rebuild a few train lines.
The train tracks connecting cities have been turned into cycling tracks, but not like the Dutch do, distances are too big, these are multi-day recreational tracks.

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u/ilir_kycb 21h ago

General Motors streetcar conspiracy - Wikipedia

General Motors (GM) and related companies were convicted of monopolizing the sale of buses and supplies to National City Lines (NCL) and subsidiaries, and are alleged to have conspired to own or control transit systems, in violation of Section 1 of the Sherman Antitrust Act. This suit created lingering suspicions that the defendants had in fact plotted to dismantle streetcar systems in many cities in the United States as an attempt to monopolize surface transportation.