A lot of us are well-read about transportation, housing, economics.

>So what do you do, /n/, to improve the quality of life for the US public?
Outlaw smoking in public places and harsher road rules
>What motivates you to continue using our laughable public transit or risk your life by not driving to work?
Mostly for exercise and because I live close to my school and my work there's no point in buying a car right now. It's also just really fun imo

here's some irony.
i've dedicated my life to developing and improving public transportation infrastructure which means i always have to go places where there is none. so i am forced to have a car, and use it most every day

>>1087449
Is it that bad? Here it is real dense so I lost touch of its real prevalence.
What does /n/ think about cigarettes and tobacco?
My smoking policy priorities list:
1. Ban in transit facilities and indoors, closed-air, covered venues
2. Ban on the move
3. Total ban outside designated places (eg smoking lounge, smoking booth) or inside certain areas
All doesn't include vaping, for the obvious.

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>>1087485
>All doesn't include vaping, for the obvious.
You people are like the e-bike owners of smoking policy debates. Nobody on either side likes you, and you seem oblivious to the fact that you're wasting limited political capital on a useless discussion that no one is interested in having except you.

>>1087486
I'm not interested in either side and I don't have time to spend on them.
And yes I support all kinds of alternative fuels in ICE vehicles and all kinds of energy storage/carrier (including any batteries and fuel cells) in EVs.
If you haven't guessed it I doubt e-bike legislation should be limited to pedelecs.
Better transport, better road, I take it for the air and environment, public or private.

>>1087495
> * better road, better rail, better bike infrastructure, better walkability

>>1087431
>So what do you do, /n/
I used to participate on a city council committee that focused on improving conditions for walking and biking, but right now my work schedule doesn't allow me to. So what I can do is to set a good example for others to follow: cycle for transport, encourage other people to do the same, and praise people who walk or use transit. I do this because I believe that is what a rational, responsible citizen should do.

But I don't stress about the (admittedly) grim outlook for the future because there's no point in worrying about things that you beyond your power to control - and that includes other people. Educate those who can be educated, humor the rest the way you would treat children who are too young to know better.

>>1087485
>is it that bad?
Depends on who you ask.
Infrastructure projects cost 3-10 times as much in the US as they do in the rest of the world due to middlemen, corruption. Seems ~2x a year someone I know has injuring/fatal auto crash, it perpetually feels somone in my family's turn is literally right around the corner. My dad has improved houses most of his life (part of the problem I realize), now lives in one worth ~1.6m. He pays 12k/yr in tax on it (fair I think) and basically cannot afford health care/insurance which is still rising in price. My GF comes from poorer family and has a pretty big chunk of student loan debt to shoulder for her business major, yet the best job she can get is basically min. wage like many people our age/wealth. News outlets continue to spew 90% terrorist propaganda (two people stabbed on bus in seattle! you could be next!) and partisan bullshit instead of anything relevant to our well-being as a country/world

Easy to criticize these points, this stuff is ubiquitous here though. China, seen as second world distopia here, seems to be pretty similar in terms of corruption, wealth gap, even quality of life depending on location.

>>1087502
Good on you. I appreciate the genuine reply. This thread has less troll than I expected aside from the vape police.

I am in a similar situation. I'm moving to the center of my small city partly because I feel it is responsible. Also because it will make my life easier; there are like ten blocks in this city considered dense enough for walkability-still a bike or wheelbarrow is required as the nearest not-boutique grocery is 2mi away. I bet it's faster to push a wheelbarrow than bus that distance most of the time.

I'm glad to live where I do, many of us share the same mindset. The city can't change the nation, and we must continue to operate within their system. We're doing alright, considering that.

>>1087486
this being the vape police

smoking is relatively small issue but issue indeed. Watching video from 1940's shows how much smoking has changed. I feel it was central to social exchange then, and not sure what has replaced it. We may just be less in touch with each other, at the benefit of being much healthier.

>>1087502
I work in planning, and sometimes i just have to remember that i am not going to save the world. Just take the small victories here and there.

>>1087505
> "China, seen as second world distopia here, seems to be pretty similar in terms of corruption, wealth gap, even quality of life depending on location."
This being the easiest criticize.
I was actually asking about smoking on the streets. US healthcare, insurance and student loan debt are well-known. Getting rid of physical, tangible issues frees us for these institutional defects.
Imo toll road is the nice starting point for a government facing budget and spending headachee, if not also deficit.

>>1087510
> "wheelbarrow"
Wait what?
Feel the same in this foreign city. Setting an example in our living environment >>1087502
for ourselves and others is a civic conduct.

>>1087513
> "I feel it was central to social exchange then, and not sure what has replaced it. We may just be less in touch with each other, at the benefit of being much healthier."
> Internet unhealthy blah blah blah
Makes me wonder how much everyone communicate and make contact in their car during commute. Freeing the burden of driving is valuable, with a caveat for the potential of of increased car usage.

I do consulting work on transit projects which are frequently for smaller towns (~65k) or even rural shared ride taxi systems. It's frightening to see how poorly planned out some developments are which make it really difficult to implement cost effective transit projects near them. Even places like large college towns have terrible development patterns even for the affordable student housing or do silly things like building a 5,000 student community college over 5 miles through cornfields from the local city which makes commuting to it by anything but car a major chore.

>>1087467
>i've dedicated my life to developing and improving public transportation infrastructure which means i always have to go places where there is none
at least it gives you a chance to create something good

>>1087431
It's really not that hard. The typical burger sprawled city can be seen as basically a oversized version of the nordic type city. You can never have proper "walkability" all over, as in there's not enough density to sustain as many walking trips as a mediterranean type city. This must be compensated by a convenient public transport system, ideally one more focused on good coverage than very high speeds, which means buses and trams.

Problem with burger cities is that they just don't want to really change the modal share, either because they don't really think it'll work or they're bribed by car makers, whatever.
Proper LRT systems are a good solution, akin to urban and interurban type streetcars in the early 20th century. Obviously the "short single streetcar line around gentrified downtown" is horseshit. LRTs must also go together with interurban bus lines and P&Rs, and very importantly thiese services have to be reasonably frequent and fast. It's not that this would be all too expensive, but you would have to seriously fuck with car traffic and that would get cagers up in arms and nobody wants that.

>>1087522
That is definitely a problem, 'windshield vision'. People meet at their start and destination, but in between is generally isolation.

Walking back to my house with friend one day, we were in the shoulder of a straight stretch of road with nothing there but a car flying past at 45 mph every thirty seconds and the trash thrown out people's windows. Huge expanse of land, expensive road, just desolate and depressing to walk on. In early 1900's or prior there would have been shops, housefronts, anything. It makes a person feel small. And almost as if government doesn't give a shit. We didn't pass anyone else on foot.

http://urbankchoze.blogspot.com/2016/04/police-box-policing-walkable-city.html

>>1087570
>It's really not that hard
>they just don't want to really change the modal share

It's also really expensive in the US to change. Seems the existing systems built over time by auto complex, and the huge amount of money in politics always stand in the way of improving liveability.

Older friend drives past empty bus, says 'I'm never voting to increase bus funding again. There are so many driving around nearly empty.'

Younger friend gets to bus stop. It's 40 min till next bus comes, the last one of the day at 4pm. It's faster to walk most of the time.

No social mobility. Young friend has to spend huge amount of time just getting from a to b. Old friend keeps all money for a new car. Everyone loses except Toyota.

>>1087449
>>1087485

Smoking should be banned in public places and outdoors. It should only be allowed in houses and specifically designated corner stores.