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lestermagnum t1_j1w8t0x wrote

Reply to comment by Sarcofaygo in Brett Smiley looks to change / eliminate bicycle lane on South Water Street by Locksmith-Pitiful

Another problem is that most of Providence relies on people coming in from outside of the city, either to work or dine or to support events. Those people need car infrastructure.

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Sarcofaygo t1_j1w93fe wrote

Exactly. The notion of a walkable city is a great idea, but it has to be planned that way from the start. It's too late to retroactively change, in my opinion.

As-is, it's potentially fatal to travel by bike because there is many roads without adequate sidewalks.... Let alone bike lanes

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Proof-Variation7005 t1_j1wazu9 wrote

I think there's probably room for improvements in areas. Some wholesale change like a car free downtown or something is ranging between very difficult and impossible.

All things considered, the city isn't that bad for walkability. There's plenty of spots that you could point to and say "That needs to be better" in terms of design, traffic calming , etc but I think the walkability and bike-ability issues aren't really one in the same.

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Sarcofaygo t1_j1wbo0i wrote

That's fair. I think what I'm trying to say is that there is areas where that is true, but they are little "zones". However to go a long distance from one zone to another is where difficulties are encountered

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jconti1233 t1_j1wgrrn wrote

Pvd was built before cars existed

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Sarcofaygo t1_j1wiad6 wrote

Genius take. How does that apply to today? Best of luck biking across the city with all the cars

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jconti1233 t1_j1winet wrote

The point being pvd was originally retrofitted to fit cars. Making pvd more walkable puts the city back in line with it's original design

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Sarcofaygo t1_j1wlprq wrote

Wouldn't reducing accessibility by car/bus disproportionately impact disabled people who can't walk or bike? OP of this thread has implied they no longer want PVD to be a car city. I guess disabled people will have to shelter in place for the rest of their lives

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jconti1233 t1_j1wmtib wrote

Not an expert in the topic, but valid concern. Imho A nice bike lane is a lot easier to use than the sidewalk for low accessibility people. I agree with your premise though, Public transit for low accessibility residents is the mark of a solid public transit system

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