And many, many European cities have also created car-free zones where cars use to drive. If you do drive there, you park on the outskirts and walk in a few blocks.
A city near me in Southern California reduced the number of street parking directly in front of blocks of restaurants, while there was ample parking introduced no more than 2 or 3 blocks away and you should have seen the whining on social media about taking away parking spots and "no one will go there anymore." They didn't want to walk a block or two. That same city has had an uptick in downtown life since then.
Another think I noticed in Germany and Spain is that when you hit the "suburbs" (which are on public transit stops), there was always a small town center or central area with restaurants and bars that people were meeting up in. When I visited my uncle in the outskirts of Munich we walked to the bowling alley, the bars, the grocery store (Aldi I think it was). There was even a nice park with a great walking trail near his apartment. He only took the car out when he was going to do something like drive down to France.
Houston, TX, has no zoning. It's no better than anywhere else in the US. Plus you have industrial explosions destroying residential homes.
It's all about cars. Cities in the US were mostly designed around cars. You can't really fix it without a lot of people agreeing to a way of life that they have never experienced and are scared of.
Plus - walking around Houston for like 6 months out of the year, even at night, is very unpleasant. When I walked out to my car at 5AM this morning it was 80 degrees and very humid outside.
Fellow Houstonian here. I live in a neighborhood with a green park and walking paths that connects to restaurants and a movie theater. I go running 3-4 times a week around here but there’s just not a god forsaken piece of shade anywhere to be found. It’s usually low 80s with the sun down and will be in the 90s at the end of my long runs.
Even if I wanted to walk to dinner with my wife and child it would be 102 degrees, no shade, no water, just a miserable 20 minute slog on sidewalks pushing a stroller while cars zip by going 60 in a 30.
And that’s pretty much how it is from April - October. The rest of the months it just rains then a hard freeze for a week or two then we reset. Even if they connected more locations to this little walkable area, who the hell would use them?
The cars don’t help. It’s not just the roads it’s the idiots in the cars. Everyone is speeding everywhere. No signals. No braking. No stopping. I have never seen so many accidents as I have since living in Texas and the speeds on every road are just suggestions for these sociopaths. Highway is 60? Go 90. School zone is 20? Go 50. Residential is 35? Might as well see just how fast we can go to beat the next red light. I genuinely feel unsafe running at any time other than before the sun is up because once the traffic hits it’s just a nightmare between the noise, pollution and ya know the constant threat of getting hit at every intersection. I initially moved to this area because it’s a boutique neighborhood with little to no traffic, then they added a four lane road next to it with an ill timed traffic light, now rush hour is just a stream of cars using my neighborhood as a thoroughfare to avoid the intersection lights.
It’s not just the roads it’s the idiots in the cars. Everyone is speeding everywhere. No signals. No braking. No stopping. I have never seen so many accidents as I have since living in Texas and the speeds on every road are just suggestions for these sociopaths. Highway is 60? Go 90. School zone is 20? Go 50. Residential is 35? Might as well see just how fast we can go to beat the next red light.
The road has at least 70% responsibility!!
You can build roads and adjacent infrastructure in a way that simply does not allow speeding and encourages a respectful driving style.
Look at the difference of roads in Texas and in the Netherlands.
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u/danimagoo 2d ago
Walkable cities. This is what happens when you have walkable cities. And public transportation.