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BureauOfBureaucrats t1_je5ecx2 wrote

Reply to comment by lame_gaming in Has there ever been anything less effective than these Stop for Pedestrian signs on Cary Street? by Dog_Dad_1989

I think many of the residents here need to take a look in the mirror too. I drive rideshare and I see too many people taking Uber to go 3 or 4 blocks. “We” take cars for every stupidly short and frivolous trip. In every previous city I’ve lived in, trips like that would be laughed at (obvious exceptions if elderly/disabled/bad weather).

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lame_gaming t1_je5lyqd wrote

im absolutely hypocritical considering i live in the burbs, but at least im aware of the problems and what we can do to fix things

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BureauOfBureaucrats t1_je5mxzf wrote

If we made our infrastructure walkable and if we could chip away at the cultural hostility we have towards walking up to 1 mile, we could probably make a decent reduction in traffic, traffic accidents, and pollution.

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turnipmeatloaf t1_je5tte2 wrote

Agreed. The most important step is to make walking that mile safe and comfortable and making driving/parking less convenient

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watcher-in-the-water t1_je72hdo wrote

IDK I see people walking ~1 mile from where I live in the fan to Cary or the breweries in Scott’s addition all the time. I make that walk myself at least once a week. IMO it’s a super walkable area.

However a ton of people drive in from elsewhere, which causes the traffic. I don’t think there is an easy solution to reduce cars from short pump.

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dougc84 t1_je7aubc wrote

The majority of Richmond's housing (aside from city neighborhoods built around shopping districts and markets) is large suburban communities that contain no sidewalks. There are extra-wide roads so drivers go unnecessarily fast through residential areas, making people not want to walk. And, even if you were to walk, there's nothing nearby worth walking to anyway. And there's nothing to look at except boring greyge house after boring pale yellow house. "Oh, Cheryl planted a new azalea bush!" Great, exciting.

People that have always lived in the 'burbs come to the city on the weekend. They drive their massive SUVs down residential streets like they do on their street that could easily be a 4-lane road, and end up taking up two lanes down Cary St. because they don't know how to drive on a narrower street. Then they don't give consideration to bikers or pedestrians because that's not what they're used to. The amount of people are so willing to hop in a $65,000 giant pickup truck that they've never really used and they can't see over the hood, then drive down pedestrian-heavy areas like they own it and pedestrians and bikers don't matter, is appalling.

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TrashApocalypse t1_je72n07 wrote

Honestly, I don’t want to breathe in all the exhaust. I don’t understand why people run or exercise on roads when we know how bad the exhaust is.

The only way I’m going to want to walk around Cary town is if they take cars completely off the road. Some intersections I can handle maybe include that block with the parking lot for people to drive, but rest? Pedestrians and bikes only.

Another important point, a lot of Richmond sidewalks aren’t that great and can make it difficult to walk. I know downtown isn’t as bad, but southside is terrible, buses just leave you in the woods 😂

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Infamous_Fly1886 t1_je94dsb wrote

So what you’re saying is you don’t go outside much? 🧐

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TrashApocalypse t1_je9qzqt wrote

As an amputee, I’ll save my walking for pleasant areas that are well paved, not filled with exhaust fumes or the gun shot noises that cars make now.

Go ahead, downvote away Richmonder’s

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