@RoadkillUgly @pec The problem is cars.

Cars are an inherently dangerous mode of transport.

According to the WHO, car accidents kill 1.3 million people worldwide each year.

Let’s put that number into perspective.

There’s around 212 seats on a Boeing 777 jumbo jet, depending on configuration.

So 1.3 million deaths is equivalent to around 6132 plane crashes each year. That works out to be equivalent to around 16 plane crashes globally each day.

Cars also make every other mode of transport more dangerous, slower, and less efficient.

You raise walking while looking at your phone. Well, that’s generally not a deadly act (try it in a park sometime). Well, what makes that deadly is cars.

Riding a bike, e-bike, or scooter is significantly more dangerous in mixed traffic than it is on a dedicated cycling path or barrier protected bike lane.

It is car drivers who are in control of a deadly multi-tonne vehicle.

Responsibility always rests with the driver.

Full stop.

Now, there are a range of measures that the Victorian state government could put in place to make streets safer for all modes.

Barrier-protected cycling lanes along major streets and roads. Reducing speed limits to 30 KP/h on local streets. Road diets. Pedestrianising major shopping strips.

But suburban Melbourne’s backwards car-dependent approach to planning means it’s a long way behind the world’s best practice, in countries, such as the Netherlands.

It’s a long way behind countries in Europe that aren’t quite at world’s best practice, such as Austria.

It’s a long way behind cities and countries that were behind the iron curtain during the Cold War.

It’s even falling behind Sydney.

So yes, the problem is with cars. And trying to place the blame on anything else is blaming the victim.

#urbanism #UrbanPlanning #cars #cycling #bikes #traffic #walkability #cities #walking