<story><title>The spine of San Francisco is now car-free</title><url>https://www.citylab.com/transportation/2020/01/market-street-car-free-san-francisco-bike-lanes-transit/605674/</url></story><parent_chain><item><author>cletus</author><text>As someone who doesn&amp;#x27;t live in SF but has visited many times I&amp;#x27;m not really sure what the issue with Market Street and cars is. It&amp;#x27;s always seemed fine to me. Compare this to say Oxford Street in London (where I lived at the time congestion pricing was first introduced), which was clearly an issue. But sure, I&amp;#x27;m on board.&lt;p&gt;Although I&amp;#x27;m not sure why taxis need an exemption. I guess it&amp;#x27;s another way to prop up a dying industry. Having caught cabs in SF before, I never will again, even if they can drive down Market Street.&lt;p&gt;The article also mentions 14th Street in NYC, which I live near and am very familiar with. This has been a contentious issue. Originally the L was planned to shutdown for 15-18 months and there was a plan to make 14th street sort of car free. I say sort of because cars were allowed to turn onto 14th Street but had to make the next right turn. This plan is now moot.&lt;p&gt;But a big concern was that it would just push car traffic to 13th and 15th streets, which are &amp;quot;residential&amp;quot;.&lt;p&gt;I&amp;#x27;m honestly not sure why 14th Street needs a dedicated busway as it does have the L. Compare this to say 23rd and 34th street that have no cross Subway (42nd does).&lt;p&gt;But the elephant in the room here is that you can still park on 14th street. If you&amp;#x27;re serious about increasing the traffic flow (of buses or otherwise) the obvious thing to do is free up 2 lanes by getting rid of the parking. But weirdly free street parking is sacrosanct in NYC politics. Why people who live in downtown Manhattan need this huge public subsidy is beyond me.</text></item></parent_chain><comment><author>addicted</author><text>Maybe because people believe all this valuable public space can be better used than as a Thruway for ferrying individuals in massive steel cages from one part of town to another.&lt;p&gt;Re: the 14th street busway, The “fears” about 13th and 15th street turned out to be unfounded. In the meanwhile, thousands of people who used the bus are benefitting with much faster and more reliable service (to the point that buses on 14th street are now waiting at stops because they are arriving too fast).&lt;p&gt;Car traffic has basically been unaffected.&lt;p&gt;Pedestrians find it much better and safer.&lt;p&gt;People who live and work there have it much better with the massively reduced air and noise pollution.&lt;p&gt;And you’re right that this should be replicated throughout the city. If it works on 14th street, which as you rightly point out already has a train, it will be a much bigger success on other streets.&lt;p&gt;Similarly in SF besides the quality of life improvements you have reclaimed valuable space that was being given away for no good reason.</text></comment>
<story><title>The spine of San Francisco is now car-free</title><url>https://www.citylab.com/transportation/2020/01/market-street-car-free-san-francisco-bike-lanes-transit/605674/</url></story><parent_chain><item><author>cletus</author><text>As someone who doesn&amp;#x27;t live in SF but has visited many times I&amp;#x27;m not really sure what the issue with Market Street and cars is. It&amp;#x27;s always seemed fine to me. Compare this to say Oxford Street in London (where I lived at the time congestion pricing was first introduced), which was clearly an issue. But sure, I&amp;#x27;m on board.&lt;p&gt;Although I&amp;#x27;m not sure why taxis need an exemption. I guess it&amp;#x27;s another way to prop up a dying industry. Having caught cabs in SF before, I never will again, even if they can drive down Market Street.&lt;p&gt;The article also mentions 14th Street in NYC, which I live near and am very familiar with. This has been a contentious issue. Originally the L was planned to shutdown for 15-18 months and there was a plan to make 14th street sort of car free. I say sort of because cars were allowed to turn onto 14th Street but had to make the next right turn. This plan is now moot.&lt;p&gt;But a big concern was that it would just push car traffic to 13th and 15th streets, which are &amp;quot;residential&amp;quot;.&lt;p&gt;I&amp;#x27;m honestly not sure why 14th Street needs a dedicated busway as it does have the L. Compare this to say 23rd and 34th street that have no cross Subway (42nd does).&lt;p&gt;But the elephant in the room here is that you can still park on 14th street. If you&amp;#x27;re serious about increasing the traffic flow (of buses or otherwise) the obvious thing to do is free up 2 lanes by getting rid of the parking. But weirdly free street parking is sacrosanct in NYC politics. Why people who live in downtown Manhattan need this huge public subsidy is beyond me.</text></item></parent_chain><comment><author>odiroot</author><text>&amp;gt; Although I&amp;#x27;m not sure why taxis need an exemption&lt;p&gt;I agree. Taxis are usually one of the most dangerous and impatient drivers in the city.</text></comment>