Good day!

DISCLAIMER: I have no formal training in anything regarding city planning. I simply don’t enjoy cars that much and I would love to find some discussion and hope among the endless doomposting.

For me, the /c/fuck_cars community (and the original /r/fuckcars) leave something to be desired. Because I have already become “based and trainpilled,” reading through the communities feels a bit like beating a dead horse.

I have heard too much about the Netherlands for one lifetime, as someone who lives in the states. Maybe my perspective is flawed here, but: the Netherlands have a GDP greater than every US state except for 4 of them (California, Texas, New York, Florida), and the Netherlands have less land area than 41 of US states. This isn’t to say that the Netherlands has no city planning feature that should be ignored because they are so unique, but I think that is exactly what the Netherlands are: unique.

Anyway, on to the meat and potatoes!

  • If you had to recommend livable places for like-minded people to move to, what city or state would you recommend for anyone? (it must cost less than both an arm & a leg. One arm or one leg is acceptable…)
  • Which state(s) policy in your opinion seem to be heading in the right direction as a whole?
  • thejevans
    4•1 year ago

    I’m about to move from College Park, MD to Denver, CO. Both are very car dependent, but have a strong set of politicians and activist groups that are working to change that.

    To give an argument for college park, here is what the town currently has going for it.This town won’t be a cycling paradise from day one, but it’s a great place to live for the long haul to help shape it into one in the next decade. That being said, this is the town I know, so I would bet there are many others out there that are on the cusp of offering serious alternatives to cars.

    In College Park, we currently have:

    • a decent north/south shared use path that connects to the massive local trail system
    • connection to DC via the Metro and the MARC trains
    • connection to Baltimore via the MARC train
    • elected officials that are all in on transit oriented design and affordable housing

    In college park in the coming years, we will have:

    • unprotected bike lanes on Rt. 1 (the north/south stroad that cuts the town on half), but the city government is trying to work out a deal with the state to change them to protected. ETA 2024, still up in the air
    • a light rail going east/west through town connecting to many other metro lines, with shared use paths on either side. ETA 2026
    • upgrading current bike lanes on Rhode Island Ave to protected. ETA 2024, still up in the air

    The state of Maryland had a Republican governor until this year. Now, the new governor and his department of transportation are less likely to get in the way, so I do imagine the town will be able to get what it wants from the state.

    • @[email protected]OP
      2•1 year ago

      Nice choice on Denver! If you enjoy mountain biking, you need to check out the Colorado Trail, which is over 450 miles long!