There’s nothing like a journey to place issues in perspective:
Although I can’t assist including some extra perspective, which is that, whereas it’s true that no person has taken away our freedom to journey in New York to date, they’ve gotten fairly shut:
I additionally appear to recollect the advocates being on board with all that stuff on the time.
Simply one thing to bear in mind.
Talking of 2020, probably the most profound methods through which the cityscape has modified since then is the proliferation of meals supply riders. Advocates have allied themselves with meals supply riders, they usually have typically dismissed any criticism of them by deploying the basic “…However Automobiles!” counter-argument–which is truthful sufficient, since supply riders don’t trigger practically as a lot carnage as drivers.
However, supply riders have made getting across the metropolis extra fraught for pedestrians, customers of the bike lane (it’s probably not a motorcycle lane anymore, it’s now a motor scooter lane), and sure, even drivers, and I used to be shocked to see that advocates are lastly acknowledging this–or one is, anyway:
Not solely that, however he’s calling them “a drag” on biking and even citing them as the explanation persons are giving up on using bikes, all whereas suggesting they’re worse than vehicles and vehicles!
Heady stuff certainly. Till just lately this might have been positively unthinkable, like Grant Petersen saying friction shifters are a ache within the ass.
Charles Komanoff, the writer of the piece, is the town’s preeminent congestion pricing pundit. Nevertheless, congestion pricing has been “paused” indefinitely. So within the meantime it seems he’s tinkering with the supply rider drawback, like a hairstylist working towards on the canine whereas his salon is being renovated. The issue, as Komanoff sees it, is that meals supply journeys are too lengthy, and he thinks in the event that they’re shorter issues will likely be much less chaotic:
However lengthy journeys are the one purpose this complete trade exists. Earlier than supply apps you simply ordered meals regionally. However now in case you get a hankering for some out-of-the-way restaurant all you must do is faucet in your cellphone and a man on an e-bike or motor scooter will go get it for you:
To handle this, Komanoff, who thinks taxes repair the whole lot, says that we’d like…a tax, go determine:
I’m undecided why that may work. For one factor, who cares if the journeys are shorter if everybody’s nonetheless whizzing round to carry you the meals? Brief journeys are presupposed to be the issue with driving, however now they’re going to repair the meals supply shitshow? Additionally, no person ordering out-of-the-way Viking meals is doing it out of necessity, the town’s vibrant Viking group however:
No, ordering in is a luxurious and a comfort–some may go as far as to name it an extravagance–and even Komanoff admits he has no concept if an extra tax would work. However he does say that even when it doesn’t we may use the cash to construct “deliverista hubs:”
That’s all fantastic, but it surely’s value noting that till 2020 we had common eating places. Then we began constructing eating places outdoors the eating places:
Now we have to begin constructing much more infrastructure in order that eating places can serve diners who can’t even be bothered to depart their properties.
Urbanists discuss a superb sport, however when you begin digging you understand it’s actually nearly turning the town into one large restaurant.
However the greatest drawback with this plan appears to be that it reduces meals supply riders, who’re human beings, to information factors you’ll be able to plug right into a mannequin and whose conduct you’ll be able to manipulate just by rising or lowering a greenback determine. Whether or not supply riders are making quick journeys or lengthy journeys they need and have to earn a living. They’re additionally most likely touring lengthy distances to take action; dwelling near the town line myself I see supply riders streaming out and in of the town from factors north. The identical contraptions that facilitate journeys to and from the Viking meals restaurant additionally make it doable for them to commute to and from locations outdoors of the town the place the price of dwelling is less expensive. So whether or not their Viking meals runs are .5 miles or 1.5 miles they’re nonetheless creating what Komanoff calls “a drag” on biking by turning the paths into motorscooter superhighways.
In an ideal world these shitty supply apps would take a few of their enterprise capital cash, construct their very own services, present their very own autos, and rent their very own supply riders as precise workers. As an alternative they only construct fancy places of work for themselves and make the remainder of it everybody else’s drawback:
Will somebody operating a DoorDash supply be allowed to a lot as take a leak there? I admit I’m speculating, however my guess could be no.
By the best way, Komanoff additionally hyperlinks to the New York Metropolis comptroller’s Avenue Security within the Period of Micromobility report, which accommodates this desk:
Should you ignore the e-bike and moped deaths, and also you contemplate that ridership has elevated significantly since 2010, you may conclude that the streets are literally getting safer for folks on common bikes.
Both that or we’re disappearing altogether, which might be extra doubtless.
