car free streets?

Kriscan in New York City for one of the experimental Saturdays in August 2008 in which 6.9 miles of street is blocked to automobile traffic between 7am and 1pm. People used this opportunity to ride their bikes, walk in groups, push their strollers without fumes or fear of cars. Might this car free experiment resemble our near future when fossil fuels become more expensive or possibly scarce?

Category:

Education

Tags:

• peakoil
• peak
• oil
• car
• free
• city
• summer
• streets
• new
• york
• fossil
• fuels
• human
• energy
• cheap
• bicycling
• walking

[Mechman064]

Downsizing your transport is important. I just filled my 55mph 150cc scooter today. At 1/4 tank it took 1.06 gallons. I had gone 77 miles. That works out to roughly 70 miles per gallon! I should be able to commute to work almost 5 times on a single gallon of gas! Ya Baby!

I still ride my bike to work but when I'm not up to it I now have an alternative to driving.

This is a great way to "STICK-IT" to all the super rich jerks who own big oil (and everything else!).

[kriscanshow]

cheers to you mechman - bikes and scooters are a great, really fun way to get around!

[Carlstens]

1. It takes millions and millions of fossil fuel calories to move a human the same distance in a car, as that 10cal/1cal of human energy distance.

2. Kris... You need to see the whole picture, on Peak Oil. Look under Your feet in vid. That smooth grey stuff'll be gone! Look at those round things on the bikes, no rubber either! Peak Oil will affect us much worse than people realize!!!

[kriscanshow]

thanks for the comment, carlstens. i understand the fossil fuel/human calorie ratio. i also think that biking more and driving less is helpful, for our bodies and our environment and i think our government could help facilitate this. i know, too, that in the very near future, getting bikes and rubber tires might be difficult, but right now, most of us have access to one, so let's make the best use of them and possibly think about how we might be able to manufacture them without fossil fuels.

[Mikannika]

Since when is human energy cheap? The energy comes from food and it takes 10 cal of fossil fuel to make 1 cal food, in the US probably much more... The difference is that we do not use 1500kg steel to transport ourselves when we use a bike... Want to see what happens if there's a meter of snow and -20 degrees C... The real win is in shortening the distance between living and working... Nice video's...

[kriscanshow]

i absolutely agree about shortening the distance between living and working and i do realize that winter makes it more difficult to find those calories. i know about the fossil fuel/human calorie ratio - i'm interested in how a lot of us have forgotten that we can still use our own energy for transport. in other countries, biking and walking are the norm. wouldn't it be nice if our cities gave us more incentive to use our human energy, with better bike paths and dedicated walking/biking streets

[mariojragucci]

It's hard to understand the mindset of car people. I wish my Seattle would do this, but many here are bullied by the short term revenue car people drop. Like, at Pike Place Market....it's so crowded with tourists and pedestrians...yet they still allow cars to drive through. New York City is America's largest city and I would love to be there when the cars are banned from certain streets. Cars are Coffins!

[mikoguy]

yeah take those streets back!

[hubbertpique]

Can you post the lyrics to "Human Energy"?

[dantmanc124]

i like this idea, and it would make the world like cleaner and stuff, but no cars would be like, idk. it wouldnd be good cuz they are so reliable and u need them to get around places fast and easy.

[bdist]

I totally love the notion of a car free city. Jacques Fresco has some nice designs and interesting visions of better cities.

I live in a flat that is dead hot in the summer, and I can't open the windows since the noise is unbearable. Working in 30 C heat is just no fun.

Great video, nice to see some experiments going on over there in the US.

[GoEBAYGo]

I agree totaly with this but as a person like me I would either ride a pedal bike which is ok, or a motorcycle thats at least 250cc's or better. NO WIMPY MOTOR SCOOTERS OR MOPEDS! I and other would probably agree that we don't want this to be a wimpy nation of moped/scooter riders. GET A REAL BIKE! Mine is a 500cc w/50MPG. Motorcycles are very reliable transportation and can go further than scoothers. They also use less gas than cars and some models are equivilant to scooters on fuel milege.

[Road82]

I have a friend who hates cars, rides his bike everywhere. But, when we go camping and we all hop in my truck and go out to the mountains he is as happy as a little rabbit. No cars no more people... Oh wait, there is a truck involved there. MINE! And he is in it! One of these days im going to blaze off and leave him there! Muhuwaahhaaaa.

Ya'll hate cars till your in one. I dont get it.

[artgardon]

I love it!!!