Saturday, January 5, 2013

Subways extend the life of autosprawl

Building subways is not green.

The car is choking the city. The best solution is car-free cities. If cities are car-free, there is no need for subways.

Subways make possible longer commutes, something we should not be encouraging.

Subways take people underground to relieve traffic congestion on the surface. This extends the life of the auto-based system of moving people, a system which could lose critical mass if car ownership and use were to drop past a tipping point. Subways delay us from reaching that point. That allows suburban sprawl to last a few years longer. We do not have any years to waste.

Metro systems: Going Underground | The Economist: "London would have ground to a halt long ago without its “Tube”."