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So many comments in here using the context of US cities and missed that Amsterdam (like most big european cities) is not designed for high throughput car transp
by remh 3y ago
So many comments in here using the context of US cities and missed that Amsterdam (like most big european cities) is not designed for high throughput car transportation and as a result painting that decision as making things "crazy slow" and that it "sounds terrible".
I highly encourage you to go live a week in a big old european city (Paris, London, Berlin, Amsterdam, Madrid) without renting a car to understand why it's not a crazy decision and how it can make the life of the residents so much better.
- BlarfMcFlarf 3y agoAmsterdam notably was designed for cars in the 70s afaik, but they consciously redesigned it over time. So I’m a few decades, it could be your American city.
- 65a 3y agoI mean it was quite clearly designed for water traffic first. I wouldn't describe it as designed for cars in comparison to say Los Angeles or Kansas City.
- Tomis02 3y agoLos Angeles was also not designed for cars. It was demolished for cars, as the saying goes.
- jacquesm 3y agoThe water traffic was the equivalent of today's trucks.
- 65a 3y agoProbably more efficient in some ways, definitely better for the environment.
- habeidnendnmd 3y ago[dead]
- jacquesm 3y agoNo, they tried that but aborted the plan, fortunately. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jokinen_Plan https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jokinen_Plan But not until they did quite a bit of damage, some of which remains today. If that idiot had had his way a lot of the historical city would have been destroyed.
- oska 3y agoUnfortunately, idiots in many other cities around the world did have their way at that time
- dex69420 3y agoAmerican cities are built to benefit the people who pay for them. They don’t revamp things to benefit the poors.
- earthling8118 3y agoAn odd take, seeing as it is generally the poorer areas that are subsidizing the richer people's lifestyles. Not the other way around.
- wpm 3y agoThe city itself is often subsidizing the suburbs around them that bring all the congestion in. Car-oriented suburbs are hugely inefficient.
- jochem9 3y agoPretty much all of Amsterdam is pre-WW2 or older. Only the parts outside the A10 ringroad tend to be post war and more car friendly. There were indeed plans to bulldoze large parts of the old city and build highways and high rises, but after many protests almost no plans were executed.
- dex69420 3y agoTbh I don’t know if Amsterdam is a city or a country but it doesn’t matter.
- thinkingemote 3y agoExactly. most of the roads in Amsterdam will have people driving on them at or below that speed without any official limit. I imagine bicycles may exceed the limit now.
- nemoniac 3y agoThe 30 km/h limit will apply to all vehicles, including bicycles and in particular electric "fat" bikes which have become a particular problem in the city lately.