Living without a Car : Is it possible in Kansas City?
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That video above with Chris Lineberger talking about KC is very hard to hear.
I found a much better version of the same talk - though he may have given it somewhere else.
Here it is:
Author Christopher Leinberger discusses urban environments that encourage neighborhoods where citizens can live, work, and play within easy walking distance.
"America went off the tracks after WW2, and basically only built: Drive-able Suburban living environments."
Public transport alternative, including rail, are important to allow people to bet around.
Many folks, like me, think the US needs more rail... and more buses too.
There's plenty more of everything like that outside the US.
Do you see where "the problem" is?
One of the distinguishing things about the US is you can travel 3000 miles in one direction a still speak the same language. The ability or luxury to take advantage of that is why most Americans have personal transportation. It would be unrealistic from my point of view for a person to only have needs that public transportation could address.
One of the distinguishing things about the US is you can travel 3000 miles in one direction a still speak the same language. The ability or luxury to take advantage of that is why most Americans have personal transportation. It would be unrealistic from my point of view for a person to only have needs that public transportation could address.
If so, you (and our country) are going to be in very big trouble when the Gasoline price hits $10, $15, $20 or whatever.
What will you do then?
Have you considered that this "advantage" might also be a disadvantage in that it makes many Americans very insular - They do not realise what a global world they live in, and how some of their "habits" are unsustainable when considered in the context of the bigger planet? (Furthermore, some of the challenges that the US has and will faced have already been "solved" by solutions employed in other countries, and the US can borrow ideas from foreign countries.)
If so, you (and our country) are going to be in very big trouble when the Gasoline price hits $10, $15, $20 or whatever.
What will you do then?
Have you considered that this "advantage" might also be a disadvantage in that it makes many Americans very insular - They do not realise what a global world they live in, and how some of their "habits" are unsustainable when considered in the context of the bigger planet? (Furthermore, some of the challenges that the US has and will faced have already been "solved" by solutions employed in other countries, and the US can borrow ideas from foreign countries.)
A person who has the wherewithal to pay upwards towards $30,000 and above for personal transportation should not be complaining about $10.00 for every 30-40 miles of travel. The people really living on the edge are the ones who rely on a subsidized form of transportation. One day they will have to pay the actual cost of transportation.
About a month ago I took the train to Chicago from Kansas city and rode back in a car. The train ticket was $65.00 one way ,and about 7 hours on the train. The trip back cost about $65.00 dollars in gas. 600+miles @ about $3.50/ getting around 29-32 mpg. The time was almost the same when I included getting to the train station making connections to find the Amtrak, embarking, disembarking etc.
Last edited by thriftylefty; 03-03-2013 at 08:38 AM..
A person who has the wherewithal to pay upwards towards $30,000 and above for personal transportation should not be complaining about $10.00 for every 30-40 miles of travel. The people really living on the edge are the ones who rely on a subsidized form of transportation. One day they will have to pay the actual cost of transportation.
About a month ago I took the train to Chicago from Kansas city and rode back in a car. The train ticket was $65.00 one way ,and about 7 hours on the train. The trip back cost about $65.00 dollars in gas. 600+miles @ about $3.50/ getting around 29-32 mpg. The time was almost the same when I included getting to the train station making connections to find the Amtrak, embarking, disembarking etc.
How many of those Big-Salaried jobs do you think there will be next time TS fits the shan?
How many of those Big-Salaried jobs do you think there will be next time TS fits the shan?
owning a car that will take take me anywhere in the US I want to go anytime of day, night, or year cost me between $13.00 and $15.00 per day. There are plenty of people who would rather ride the bus and smoke cigarettes, drink lattes , eat out and drink a few times a week who spend the same money on what I think is crap. I hate eating out, don't smoke or drink but I love to drive.
owning a car that will take take me anywhere in the US I want to go anytime of day, night, or year cost me between $13.00 and $15.00 per day. There are plenty of people who would rather ride the bus and smoke cigarettes, drink lattes , eat out and drink a few times a week who spend the same money on what I think is crap. I hate eating out, don't smoke or drink but I love to drive.
Okay.
But just face the facts : That pleasure may get more expensive in the years to come.
And not everyone shares that same desire.
One man's "crap" (as you put it), may be another man's pleasure.
(Replace "man" in the above sentence, with "woman", if you like.)
I'm a bit late to the discussion, but I'll add my two cents.
Yes, living without a car is definitely possible in KC. However, the city is very much car oriented, so you need to be somewhat careful in choosing your location. Since you are willing to bike, that will definitely help out, though the urban core of KC has some rather larger hills.
The Plaza has some strong points in walkability, but it does have some holes and wouldn't necessarily be my first choice. There is an abundance of dining (including some al fresco like the photo you shared) as well as shopping, coffe shops, bars, a movie theater, etc. However, the area has a dearth of everyday necessities, such as groceries, drug stores, convenience stores, etc. There is a development planned with a Whole Foods just to the southeast of the Plaza, but that is still probably two years from completion.
My top choice would be in the Westport area. I know Walkscore has been dismissed here, but Westport was named as one of Walkscore's top 10 "Walker's Paradise" neighborhoods. (although I do think the Plaza was also highly rated and in the top 100).
Public transit is a form of socialism/communism. Packing as many people like cattle into a crammed tiny space, people of all creed, color, socio-economic backgrounds are leveled into a larger 'common system'.
This is why the continent of Europe is so big on it, other than the fact that their cities are highly dense and the countries there tiny. What I hate about it most is how highly uncomfortable and strenuous it is, not to mention having to rely on a 'larger system' for my schedule of the day to work out, day after day, tell me, how often has public transit failed you with random and unplanned 'line changes' or 'operating hours changes', 'line diversion', ' union strikes' announced on the day itself? Just by spending a few weeks in NYC, Boston and Chicago, as well as European and Asian cities that are highly dense, was enough to let me experience the downsides to a life of a population reliant on public transit as their mode of daily transit. What do these people do after the subway stops operating anyway? And how do they do road trips, go camping, kayaking, where do they put their snowmobiles, bikes and stuff? Sad.
In the really crowded cities where people are made to pack like sardines in subway trains, those people I pity the most. I've read accounts of women who felt like going to work daily as akin to feeling like they are being artificially inseminated. Having their entire bodies sticking right next to a stranger, is the norm, can you imagine how its like when it's a man stuck to a woman, crotches right next to each other? I feel so sorry for them. And it's no wonder the foreigners I know most desperate to migrate to the US are those from landless, highly dense countries.
This is the reason why it never took off in the US. We are too individualistic and independent for that.
Last edited by kansasturtle; 03-30-2013 at 04:59 PM..
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