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I am not a big fan of driving or of cars in general. I find it stressful, and it taxes my ability to concentrate to its limit. For this reason, I never drive in downtown areas. I find it nearly impossible to keep track of my surroundings and the movements of other drivers, which always leads to a feeling of fear and panic, which makes the situation even worse.
Walkability and good public transit are important to me because they allow me to get to places, especially places near downtown, that I would otherwise have to stress myself out in a car to get to, or never be able to visit at all.
Plus, when things are close together and sprawl is controlled, there are more green spaces to see and enjoy, which is always a plus.
I always wondered how dates work or how guys pick up girls in non-car friendly cities. I guess it comes with the culture.
Then the problem is girls would hardly consider going out with guys with no cars...
A good thing about walkability w/ density is that you can walk by and check out like 50+ shops and restaurants in like 30 minutes. (something I would like to do for a date) You get to discover things from your eye level, experience new things, and learn from them. You always explore, with your own feet, which is one of the basic human instincts I believe. The problem with too much sprawl would be - you have to have a specific destination - one cafe, one restaurant - one by one. If everyone drove and nobody walked, then wouldn't things get too inhuman? Driving wouldn't be fun if there were no people walking/buildings on the setback/etc (which are results of walkability/density)
IMHO urban sprawl is inevitable in contemporary cities but we should watch out because too much sprawl might result in more individualism, segragation and human isolation.
Driving with your date in the car with u has its perks also. I've dont the bus & train thing after a date...CAR IT IS. those 45 convos are alot longer and go alot further in a car. \
After reading some of these posts, Im starting to think some people choose public transit simply because they are terrible drivers. If u cant focus on the music or your surroundings while u drive, u SHOULDNT be behind the wheel.
I am a pretty terrible driver. In the city, that is. In towns and on the interstate, I would actually say that I am a much safer and more skillful driver than most. (Although considering the skill of the drivers around here, maybe that isn't saying much, hah!)
And 95% of the time I had to take the bus. Public Transportation (minus the LIRR) in Queens is a joke compared to driving. Sure I'd love to stand up on 2 very slow buses that are illegally packed to the brim for over an hour, lol are you serious.
I do prefer sprawl over walkability, I like space. I've never really lived in a walkable area, even in NYC it was like a 10+ minute walk to the closest store which was a 99 cent store (which closed in 2009).
i know what type of commute you had but i would think that most of us in queens don't have that type of commute at all.
a lot of us in queens live along train lines (E, F, J, M, Z, N, Q, 7, G, R) PLUS we have access to nyc buses, long island buses and the long island railroad. you do realize that queens alone has more transportation options than anywhere else in the country thats not in nyc, right?
you just live in a very far off part of queens. i definitely agree with you that they really need to expand or create train lines that go farther into queens to help ppl in areas not currently serviced. its been like that for you guys long enough...and all they talk about is the 2nd ave subway and extending the 7 train. smh.
to give ppl on CD outside of ny a more balanced view of queens:
for me, i have access to the F train the E, J or Z trains, the long island railroad, various nyc buses, various long island buses, cabs, etc. it takes less than a 2 or 3 min to walk to an area where i can get something to eat, something to drink, etc. i live near multiple grocery stores, i have very easy access to a major street in queens full of clothing stores, places to eat, etc. the commute into manhattan isn't as bad as yours but its still long. its like an hour.
now to flip that, there are ppl that live elsewhere in queens where the commute is 30-45 min to manhattan.
there are ppl that live in astoria, queens that have a 10-15 min commute via the N or Q train.
if you could have moved to astoria, jackson heights, forrest hills, flushing, etc. then your commute wouldn't have been as bad as it was in south jamaica. the majority of us don't live in an area anywhere close to what its like in south jamaica. most of us live in thriving areas with all types of businesses, things to do, train lines, bus lines, the lirr, etc.
I chose "I hate my car"...although that's not exactly true...in fact I like having a car because I currently live in the suburbs. I need a car where I live, so I obviously don't hate it.
That said, I'd prefer to live in a more urban environment which would allow me to ditch my car and just walk/ride transit/take a cab. I'm sure when I'm older I might want to be somewhere quieter, where I can go at my own pace...but for now I want to be packed in like a sardine, enjoying youth.
Growing up in an area that is auto-centric, I love it! I would hate being crammed and mushed together in cities like those in the North East. I need my elbow room and almost all the cities with sprawl, have a very unique and diverse geography!
I love driving and my cars. I rarely use public transit. In the sprawled out area I live in, there is no viable alternative to an individual car - suits me just fine.
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