New York City announced this month to transform the city’s outdated pay phone booths into a citywide network of 10,000 futuristic pillars that will give New York City residents and tourists free, super-fast and reliable Wi-Fi coverage.
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Boston is now experimenting with a new form of mobile experience: a dozen solar-powered park benches placed in select parks, playgrounds and sports fields throughout the city. By converting this solar power into electricity, these “Soofas” offer charging capabilities for multiple digital device owners, making them a social experience for mobile users as much as a technological experience.
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Good ideas. In time we will realize that cars are far too cheap to park, too in tight urban areas with limited pedestrian space. If you look at Europe cities were built before there were cars. The rich had horses and the masses walked. Only in NA did cities evolve with the commute car in mind, and as such the process of converting valuable city space into pedestrian space today will take much much longer. It annoys me to no end that Robson Street, for example, even on a very busy Friday afternoon or Saturday allows cars to park for $2/h. It is insanely cheap and should be a pedestrian street all the way from stadium to Stanley Park. Move the Christmas market there as a linear middle of the street 2-3 block event for December. It would be a huge success and attract visitors and massive shopping $s.
So, these little ideas here help, but the bigger far too car oriented picture in Vancouver has no pedestrian oriented “vision”. Yes, a few more bike lanes .. ho humm ..
Does anyone know what happened with the “V-Poles”?
http://www.vancitybuzz.com/2012/05/v-pole-a-wi-fi-electric-vehicle-charging-lamp-post-of-the-future/