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Also, could you imagine how horrible it would be if everyone in Brooklyn owned a car, even worse if everyone in Brooklyn commuted by car.
Well, street parking would run out quickly if that happened and it'd be an even bigger game of musical chairs…err… street parking. Brooklyn car commute rates are so low mainly because there are so many Manhattan workers. Going by where people workers, transit usage drops fast outside of Manhattan. See Figure 11:
Only in workplaces in Downtown Brooklyn (as well as some other western Brooklyn neighborhoods in a line from Fort Greene to Bay Ridge) are car drivers a minority of commuters. Interstingly, almost half (44%) of Brooklyn residents working in Brooklyn didn't take transit or drive: they walked or bicycled (motorcycle or taxi counts, too but I'd assume those are smal).
Half of households can, that still leaves a lot of adults without a car. My point was that the convenience advantage of a car in Brooklyn is small enough many might not bother have a car. This trip for example:
21 minutes with traffic, 25 minutes with subway. I found it quite a bit slower than driving a few times, maybe I got unlucky.
And how many people can get to Bay Ridge on a straight shot on the R? That's not being realistic. Anything that involves a transfer (which is most places in Brooklyn) is going to take significantly longer. If you're making that same trip from Flatbush or Bed-Stuy, it would save you a ridiculous amount of time to just drive there. The advantage of the car is that it beats transit from practically any starting point (which for most people is their front door) whereas transit can only compete with cars under very specific conditions.
Downtowns are usually good concentration of jobs, as well as business centers that could have been designed more transit friendly. It is impossible to create a system that fits everyone, just like it is impossible to have a road lead from home to work for everyone without anyone having to use several different roads to get where they are going.
That's not the same thing at all. LOL. The difference between driving on several different roads to my destination and taking several buses and trains is a matter of hours.
You are aware I am not arguing with you, right? I am simply saying that people deal with commuting in different ways. I always carry an umbrella and a lunch in my bag because you never know if it might rain, and it saves money having my lunch with me.
Quote:
Originally Posted by nei
My mom manages with boots and layers for going to work (uses transit). She tends to dress heavily for work. She doesn't like cold much, but she doesn't find it such a big deal.
Quote:
Originally Posted by nei
It sounded odd, maybe not boots, but wouldn't you have at least gloves and hat with you at all times in the winter? I walk / take transit more often than drive, so I take having cold clothing for granted.
OK, you two. I said (to paraphrase) in response to a post about people who drive getting "spoiled" as far as not having to cope with cold weather and its accoutrements, that people who live in cold climates keep cold weather clothes, a blanket, and usually some kitty litter in the car. AJNEOA agreed that he does the same. This led to a long discussion about boots at work, boots here, boots there, etc.
The fact of the matter is that when I go out in the car, on a snowy day, even if I don't NEED to be wearing boots (e.g. snow has already been cleared, it's sunny and the roads/parking lots are dry) I take the damn boots with me! Also, I don't always need gloves (which one of you tried to turn into a discussion about gloves v mittens no less) to drive the car, but I make sure I have a pair either in my pocket on on the seat of the car. Ditto a hat. Why? In case I get stuck somewhere and have to walk. In case it snows again before I come home, always a possibility with Colorado's changeable weather. It has NOTHING to do with taking these items on public transit, or whether mittens are better than gloves. (They're not; they're clumsier for driving.) In general, women do not go around in boots all day like guys sometimes do.
And how many people can get to Bay Ridge on a straight shot on the R? That's not being realistic. Anything that involves a transfer (which is most places in Brooklyn) is going to take significantly longer. If you're making that same trip from Flatbush or Bed-Stuy, it would save you a ridiculous amount of time to just drive there. The advantage of the car is that it beats transit from practically any starting point (which for most people is their front door) whereas transit can only compete with cars under very specific conditions.
Why would anyone in Bed-Stuy want or need to commute to Bay Ridge for any reason? I would imagine the number of people making that commute is microscopic.
That's not the same thing at all. LOL. The difference between driving on several different roads to my destination and taking several buses and trains is a matter of hours.
The difference might be hours, but the commute is the same thing. Also, in Brooklyn why would you want to go to the other side of the borough when much of what you need is near your home?
So I'm sure this has been said, but most cities don't have a good mass transit system. For example, St Louis has a metrolink train system, but it's very limited to a few key stops downtown. There are a lot of people whose office isn't nearby a subway stop. Then most other decent size cities only have a bus system which is limited, and time wise it's horrible. The key to people's commutes is time. In Chicago I take the Metra suburban rail as it can get me to downtown Chicago from Mount Prospect, 18 miles away, in 30 minutes on a rush hour express train. Driving would easily take over an hour, and parking is outrageous in downtown Chicago.
Then due to the amount of people in the area it makes public transportation feasible as traffic is horrible, and there is a lot of people still living in the city center. In commuter cities like St Louis or Cincinnati people don't live in the city center, they all live in the suburbs. Therefore the city can't support a public transportation system outside of a small bus system as it doesn't require the funding to run a massive rail network. Rail networks aren't cheap, but they are the most efficient to moving a lot of people quickly. If you have a huge user base, you can do it, but it's rare outside of very large cities/areas like Chicago, NYC, Boston, Philadelphia, and DC.
I'll get raped, mugged, and murdered. Or so I'm told. I live in a dangerous city, but I'd use it a lot more if I lived in Portland or San Fran. ^_^
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