An occasional update on items from Motordom – the world of auto dominance
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LEGO NEEDS TO GO ON A ROAD DIET
1970s road plate above:
2000s road plate below.
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“FEWER DRIVERS MAKES IT HARDER TO HIRE”
From the Globe and Mail:
Companies with headquarters in suburban locations are inquiring about locations in urban areas to reduce the commute of younger employees who prefer to live downtown. It also works in reverse, with companies setting up satellite offices in the suburbs for those who don’t want to come downtown every day, he says. Locations along subways or train lines are in high demand.
Clients are increasingly asking about facilities for bicycling, too. In Calgary, “we’re seeing customers making bike storage a primary consideration in choosing a location,” Mr. Lenci explains. “They’re asking about security and cost, because some locations are now charging for bike space during the day.”
And it’s not just young employees, either. “We have lots of older workers who park their vehicles for the summer and utilize bike paths in Calgary,” he says.
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OR, TO PUT IT ANOTHER WAY:
Cities: Rather Than Patronizing Young People, Give Them What They Ask For
Young creatives crave walkable urban places. I am one of them. And believe it or not that is the major reason I moved to Cleveland. Cleveland has been blessed, by nature of its old age, with a relatively walkable built environment and even a decent transit system. But somehow Cleveland’s can’t recognize that this is its greatest asset. It continues suburbanizing the city — to a greater or lesser extent — and it embarks on a new marketing campaign to tell the world it’s not nearly as bad here as everyone thinks.
Mystery solved. This is what young people want.
Example: If 75 young people show up at a public meeting and demand a bike lane: there — right there is part of your answer. Cleveland’s existing young people want bike lanes. But somehow, in the actual hierarchy of city priorities, 75 young people’s wishes rank far, far behind those of favored developers.
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