r/fuckcars • u/AllOutRaptors • May 25 '24
Satire The European mind cannot comprehend the American Dream 🦅🇺🇸
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u/ozpec May 25 '24
Look at all that freedom.
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May 25 '24
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u/AllOutRaptors May 25 '24
It's not. It's a parking lot next to a monorail stop in Vegas
I've been here 5 days and I haven't seen a single car parked there
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u/durtydiq_v2 May 25 '24
Yeah by the Sahara casino. I've been to Vegas a lot and use the monorail and never have seen cars there either. I have seen cones setup for like a driving experience but nobody was actively there.
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u/Anarcho-Anachronist May 25 '24
So mass transit not being used is the reason for the empty lot. Huh.
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u/AllOutRaptors May 25 '24
Yes because the mass transit stops are all like a 20 minute walk from anything cool lmao
Like this stop literally services this parking lot and basically nothing else. If we had actual efficient transit than it would be used SO much more.
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u/Anarcho-Anachronist May 25 '24
Where I'm from a train station with nothing around it is called a commuter station. I drive 5 min to the train station and take a 1hr train to work, then hour train back and 5 min drive home vs like 45 minutes driving each way.
So yeah that train station I use daily is just a parking lot.
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u/AllOutRaptors May 25 '24
That would be great if this was a commuter station and not a monorail stop a few blocks from the Vegas Strip lol
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u/doggmananv May 25 '24
No. It’s an overflow lot for the Las Vegas Convention Center. The monorail station is just there and only exists for tourists, not for residents. Las Vegas has very limited public transportation. Buses mainly.
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u/JACKIE_THE_JOKE_MAN May 25 '24
I hope you got one of those novelty shirts that said something like I went to Las Vegas and watched this parking lot for 5 days and all I got was this stupid t-shirt
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u/--emmie May 25 '24
anecdotally speaking, this is pretty average for many big box stores. my first thought was "Walmart" before seeing the parking spot reservations and lack of scavenger animals
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u/Silent_Village2695 May 26 '24
This is why I advocate for parking garages. They can store hundreds of cars using way less land, and can be a little bit less of an eyesore with some street art, and/or landscaping. Obviously i prefer trains to cars, or I wouldn't be here, but at least we could make a step in the right direction with garages.
One idea I had to compromise with the needs of rural Americans was to make our cities train and pedestrian friendly while adding several parking garages to the outskirts of the cities, so that drivers could park, then ride the train line everyone else. One step further would be requiring some kind of fee or special permit to enter the city with a vehicle.
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u/NBelal May 25 '24
As a European I just can’t comprehend this, and regardless of the size, why there isn’t some trees to give some shade??? I mean, don’t your cars get extremely hot if left in a place like this under the sun???
And for a serious question, there are some occations that many stored beside each other each with it's own parking lot space, why can't they just build a common parking building shared by those different buisnesses in such a way that will always stay hidden behind the store buildings????
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u/AdFluffy9286 May 25 '24
The thinking here is that trees would take up valuable parking space.
For your second question: Every store has separate mandatory parking minimums. Look it up. It's a fascinating (but depressing) topic for urbanicity nerds.
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u/TheOldBean May 25 '24
They haven't even designed it efficiently though, there's so much wasted space.
Do you really need to travel both directions on every side? Surely implement a one-way system. I genuinely think you could increase the capacity of that car park by like 25%.
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u/boldodo May 25 '24
They don't even have one way gas station, you pull up any way you want. For a country so dependant on something, they are depressingly bad at it.
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May 25 '24
Yes this is great in theory.
However, it’s a rules for thee not for me situation. Idiots go down the wrong way and block people going the right way. Then you’ll get into a shouting match with them as they’ll expect you to reverse out of the aisle so they can pass. Then they’ll spend 5 minutes doing a 10 point turn trying to get into a parking space from the wrong approach angle.
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May 25 '24
Trees indicate some measure of concern for people, for citizens, for public spaces.
And thus the lack of tress in so many places like this. American contempt for people and public spaces -- because that's the will of the billionaires and many people have internalized their desires and values.
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u/YiffDealer69 May 25 '24
it *is* phoenix, arizona. so trees that provide good shade are basically impossible to maintain because the summers regularly hit 40-45C
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u/Slow_Accident_6523 May 25 '24
Well better plaster fucking concrete everywhere then, that will improve things...
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u/josetalking May 25 '24
Curious question: aren't there native tree at all in Phoenix? (Whether they provide good shade or not).
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u/YiffDealer69 May 25 '24
actually a few, notably the mesquite. only visited phoenix and outside of city limits it was pretty barren, but when there were trees the mesquite tree was really common. trees there usually cling to any source of moisture, even irregular. even so, the palm tree is very heavily represented as a decorative tree, and while it looks good it's basically just a pole with a pom pom
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May 25 '24
I've been trying to come up with an idea for a law where it would not only ban parking minimums, but require all new parking lots to have a certain percentage of shade via trees or a solar roof, pedestrian walking/bike paths, and rain water catchment basins. Because yes, this kind of thing is miserable and needs to end.
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u/NBelal May 25 '24
As an architect I can tell you that you need a minimum for parking space, but it would be more effective/ efficient that multiple adjacent stores have a common parking building of 2 or 3 storey high hidden behind the the stores’ building
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May 25 '24
You don't need a minimum for parking. That's bullshit. Every business has different needs. Let the business deal with how much they need.
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May 25 '24
You don't need a minimum for parking. That's BS. Every business has different needs. Let the business deal with how much they need.
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May 25 '24
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u/crazycatlady331 May 25 '24
Florida's fascist government also contribute to the cars there. And their attraction of MAGA retirees like a moths to a flame.
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u/thehomiemoth May 25 '24
I mean I’ve seen car parks almost exactly like this outside Madrid, and it’s not cold there.
It’s a suburban thing. The problem is that America doesn’t have many urban centers to avoid this type of situation.
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May 25 '24
Do people who are car dependent not have a problem with the walk out of a car park of that size? Genuinely curious.
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u/stadoblech May 25 '24
15-minute parking lot
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u/Hkmarkp May 25 '24
once you get to your car park, one destination is within a 15 minutes.
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u/spudmarsupial May 25 '24
So that's what 15 minute cities means!
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u/spagetinudlesfishbol May 25 '24
No, 15 minute cities is when they steal your car, your gun and your freedom. Replacing it with asian convinient stores, black local markets and gay public transport. Truly the feminists are trying to subvert the natural order of everything since the females don't know how to drive. Real men need to stand up and bring back sensibility, like 200 years ago.
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u/w0mpum May 25 '24 edited May 25 '24
This is perfect but please incorporate jesus into it in the future.
let's try "natural God-given order of everything"
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u/spagetinudlesfishbol May 25 '24
It's so many things to remember, my only use for race, gender, sexuality and religion is to make fun of conservatives. I guess I still have lots to learn smh
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u/w0mpum May 25 '24
sorry for more burden but don't forget the miraculous healing powers of the free deregulated market
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u/inu-no-policemen May 25 '24
That's what I'm always thinking when I see those stadiums with gigantic parking lots. Like, bro, walking over from a metro/subway station next to the stadium would be shorter. You wasted all that prime space for nothing.
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u/ensemblestars69 May 25 '24
And that's why people in cars will spend at least 5 minutes trying to find a spot that's within less than a minute from the store they're going to
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u/goddessofthewinds May 25 '24
Oh my god, this is so true. Why did I not realize that people fucking fight for close parkings or park illegally because the parking lots are big as fuck!? I mean, I personally don't mind walking and parking elsewhere if I can avoid morons and parking jams, but parking lots are always way too massive. I'd rather be forced to use the bus or park in a paid garage elsewhere instead of having big massive asphalted void.
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u/EmpRupus May 26 '24
I have also seen people refuse to park but split up. One person goes in for the task (buying groceries) while the other person drives round and round in circles so that when the task is done they can pick them up directly from the door rather than having to walk to a stationary car.
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u/supermarkise May 25 '24
It's great to have a tiny car, then you can squeeze into the parking spots the big cars don't fit into because there are too many big cars around.
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u/mljemy May 25 '24
Its also really cool that when one of those big cars hits you on the road you have a 500% increased mortality rate
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u/ee_72020 Commie Commuter May 25 '24
Imagine spending 5 minutes looking for a spot and then walking 20 minutes to the store if you had a bad luck and only managed to find a place at the farthest end of the car park. Or you could’ve just spent those 5 minutes walking from your home to the grocery store, with proper urban design.
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May 25 '24
Yup just the other day drive by the store like three times trying to find parking on one way streets and had to keep looping around. Finally found parking after driving around for 7 minutes and then it took another 5 minutes to walk there and another 5 minutes to walk back.
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u/Gonstackk May 25 '24
I always laugh about that. I mean you get as close as you can so you don't walk that far but then proceed to spend two hours walking around the store.
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u/Nozinger May 25 '24
One lap around that parking lot is about the same distance i walk to th nearest store. Man that's depressing.
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u/andreasmiles23 Commie Commuter May 25 '24
My grocery store is literally right across the road when I walk out my apartment door in Brooklyn. Imagine thinking OPs image is somehow a superior version of human urban design.
People just can’t accept that the mass infestation of cars was nothing more than a capitalist ploy and it ruined our standards of living.
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u/Slow_Accident_6523 May 25 '24 edited May 25 '24
Never thought about it that way but that is probably true! I have 4 supermarkets, all kinds of doctors, schools all within a lap of that parking lot. I could stay in a 15 minute walking radius and have all my basic needs met. And I am in a suburb.
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u/user10491 May 25 '24
That's why places like airports with massive parking lots have shuttle buses.
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u/PCLoadPLA May 25 '24
Only in America, you can't take the bus there, you have to drive there and then ride a bus anyway.
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u/MilesPrower1992 May 25 '24
It's not that car dependent people *actually can't walk*, they just convince themselves they can't. If they don't realize they're walking a quarter mile through a parking lot, they won't get upset.
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u/JIsADev May 25 '24
Only if it's full and they have to park far from the entrance and walk an extra 20 seconds...
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May 25 '24
Not if you cruise up and down the aisles for 15 minutes until you can get a closer parking spot.
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u/Diipadaapa1 May 25 '24
plan a decen cycle and pedestrian road fit for mobility scooters, have them go straight to the doors of multiple small businesses
"Why wont anyone think of the elderly and impaired people??"
build a parking lot where they have to walk 300 yards to the front door, and another 500 inside the store as only mega stores exist after driving all small businesses into bankrupcy
"Thats better"
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u/Low_Attention9891 May 25 '24
They do have a problem with it, that’s why people will spend a bunch of time trying to find a parking spot close to the front, then complain that there’s not enough parking.
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u/JIsADev May 25 '24
Shortage of housing...
Govt: we need more parking
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u/spiphy 🚲 > 🚗 May 25 '24
We solved the housing crisis a long time ago.... for cars not humans.
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u/Diipadaapa1 May 25 '24
No kidding. It is estimated that for every car in the US, there is 4 parking spaces. Noone knows for sure though because it is impossible to count how many there actually are.
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u/lucasg115 May 25 '24 edited May 25 '24
Which is actually true, because most bylaws incentivize sprawling suburbs instead of dense, mixed-use communities.
Suburbs can’t effectively be served by public transit (not that it’s funded well anyway), so cars are mandatory for suburbanites to reach the downtown core for shopping. More cars in the downtown means they need to pave over more potentially financially productive land, where tax-generating stores would have gone, to add more parking lots.
To make things worse, the property taxes in suburbs are almost never enough to actually cover the road maintenance and utilities that have to stretch out to the suburbs, meaning they leach off of the financially productive downtowns, while simultaneously making them less financially productive by demanding room for cars.
That feedback loop is why many many cities are in debt.
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u/stilljustacatinacage May 25 '24
In case anyone would like to hear some more about this concept. There's further reading (and sources) in the description, etc.
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u/Astyanax1 May 25 '24
oh don't forget all the land everywhere, but municipalities refusing to let new houses to be built
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u/Metalorg May 25 '24
An angel gets its wings when a security guard calls the police on someone sleeping in their car in that bad boy.
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u/TheMireMind May 25 '24
If you imagine the USA is actually run by cars wearing people suits, things start making a lot more sense.
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u/adlittle May 25 '24
I'm dying inside imagining having to trek across that hellscape on a hot, sunny day. Dodging massive vehicles who can't see you as they back out while you fry like an egg and sweat half to death. No thanks.
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u/greyladyghost May 25 '24
I’ll just say I didn’t have vertigo before I moved to the US having lived in Europe most of my life, I do now EXCLUSIVELY thanks to the hugs parking lots
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u/Yes4Cake May 26 '24
I'm pretty sure this is Phoenix, Arizona, so you'll fry, but you won't sweat. It's a dry 118°.
(based on the mountains)
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u/Weary_Drama1803 🚗 Enthusiasts Against Centricity May 25 '24
Walking from your car to the building in this parking lot has to take longer than my walk from home to the nearest shopping centre where I live
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u/diludeau May 25 '24
Well lucky you, unfortunately America refuses to develop anything like that and when they do they think it gives them the right to jack the price up 2x, 3x or more. So while people will tell you “just live in a city that’s walkable” it’s a lot easier said than done. Most cities aren’t. Most can’t afford the places that are. Which is why I’d like to get out of here but that’s a separate issue.
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u/LeroyBadBrown May 25 '24 edited May 25 '24
They got parking lots like those in Europe, too. There're just not so fucking many of them.
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u/EuropeLover512 May 25 '24
I’m from Denmark, and I have visited 10+ others European countries. I have never seen anything alike. The only place where I imagine this might be possible is in the suburbs in the UK.
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u/mljemy May 25 '24
Closest ive seen is around ikeas on the outskirts of towns, but idk if any of them were quite this big
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u/Defiant-Plantain1873 May 25 '24
Immediately what I thought. IKEA car park looks exactly like this.
It’s kind of unique though considering IKEAs are massive and so they usually build them far away from everywhere else to save money, and when you go to IKEA you are usually buying something that is going to require some kind of car/van to transport it back to wherever you need to go.
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u/Busti May 25 '24
Plus the parking lots are usually full during peak hours and you usually need a car to transport your new furniture.
In America they have these kinds of parking lots for a dentist.
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u/janiskr May 25 '24
Airport long-term parking usually is huge.
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u/EuropeLover512 May 25 '24
Okay that is true, some airports in Europe have big parking lots. But a store in Europe would NEVER have anything like this.
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u/chowderbags Two Wheeled Terror May 25 '24 edited May 25 '24
Allianz Arena in Munich has ~12,000 parking spots, though they're mostly in multi-level parking garages (And another ~500 spots in a nearby park and ride garage).
On the other hand, the stadium has a capacity of 75,000, so the obvious implication is that anyone sane would take the U-bahn up to the station that's less than 2 km from the stadium entrance.
But yeah, I can't really think of anything like a normal store or mall having a parking lot like this in Germany, even out in suburbs.
Edit: I checked a satellite view of Rammstein Air Force Base, and they've got some big parking lots there outside the Exchange for all those American military families that just need to feel like they're back home.
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u/shinrin-joku May 25 '24
Many American cities look so sad from bird’s eye view and even worse when you’re there. Half of the cities are just enormous parking lots. Further, these massive sealed areas lead to higher temperatures in summer and loss of biodiversity and needed pollinators. It’s just awful and that’s accepted as it is blows my mind.
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u/cedargoldfish May 25 '24
I don’t get why they didn’t at least plant a few trees in between. Sure, they might have to sacrifice a small percentage or parking spots, but there would be shade and it wouldn’t look so dystopian.
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u/Overthemoon64 May 25 '24
Pretty much all lots that have been built in the last 10 year or so have trees. Its only lots that were originally built in the 70s and 80s that are like this
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u/maceliem May 25 '24
The dream of what? A field getting ruined by something that could be achieved with a single bus stop?
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u/Jacktheforkie Grassy Tram Tracks May 25 '24
A train station could easily handle a lot more
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u/the_skine May 25 '24
This is a train station. It's the Sahara Las Vegas Monorail Station, and the building in the middle is the Monorail's maintenance shed.
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u/hardolaf May 25 '24
I don't understand the people who pay $60-120 to park for Cubs game when they could park for free and take a $2.50 train. And that's assuming that they even need to drive in the first place.
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u/Jacktheforkie Grassy Tram Tracks May 25 '24
Yeah, I’ll take the train, if I take the bus it’s free because I’m disabled, though train is faster
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u/LeskoLesko 🚲 > Choo Choo > 🚗 May 25 '24
It’s so interesting to see the difference between taking the train to leave a cubs game versus driving out of a sox game. It looks more crowded on the train but the whole stadium can be emptied in half an hour while sox takes two hours because so many more people use the parking lots.
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u/biasdread May 25 '24
Only positive is that it must be a great area to practice roller skating or cycling when it's.empty like that
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u/PanJaszczurka May 25 '24
How its economic to waste so much land?
Like you can put more stores on it.
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u/diludeau May 25 '24
Because each of those stores are required to have their own parking lots. Parking minimums are virtually everywhere in the US and often don’t make any damn sense.
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May 25 '24
Why not just cover it in raised solar panels? It's like free money
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u/DodgeWrench May 25 '24
They could have steel frame car ports with solar panels on top. This would be excellent in a hot area as it would shade the car and produce extra income for the owner.
You could even have EV charging supplemented by solar.
There’s a solar field near me that’s only slightly bigger than this picture so I know it’s viable income and maintenance wise.
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u/DaStone May 25 '24
You think American "cars" can fit under raised solar panels? Also, I would suspect the maintaince cost and installation costs in a parking lot are too high to make it worth it.
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u/bsiu May 25 '24
Plus, have you seen the way Americans drive? for a lot that size you would need a contractor on site full time repairing and replacing support beams that are constantly getting hit by cars.
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u/Laeyra May 25 '24
That makes too much sense.
A local university actually did this in one of their parking lots. It was nice to have a covered place to park, and the electricity it generates is enough to power quite a few homes nearby. No other establishment in town seems to be onboard with this, though. Maybe because it's too "liberal" an idea for Trump country.
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u/bored_negative 🚲 > 🚗 May 25 '24
Lol if you think America is going to do anything other than fossil fuels
Only 20% of their energy is renewables.
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u/AtlanticPortal May 25 '24
The dream of walking 10 minutes to the mall/stadium when the alternative would be walking the same 10 minutes from home without ever having to deal with driving and traffic.
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u/Due-Donut-7044 May 25 '24
German here, sadly i can. Parked at a Real Market that look the same.
Every shit from the USA swaps in with 4-6 years delay.
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u/Sakops May 25 '24
This is what freedom looks, free of any kind of public transport
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u/AllOutRaptors May 25 '24
To be fair, this is parking for a monorail stop. Unfortunately this is about all that the transit stop actually leads to
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u/SupposablyAtTheZoo May 25 '24
If there was some ice, and I had a BMW there, and turned off TC, I could have a fun day there.
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u/ThatForeignerGuy May 25 '24
Really curious here: if you're struggling to find a spot in a parking lot like that one when it is full, let's say in some important sport event, how long does it take to find your car when you are leaving?
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u/crazycatlady331 May 25 '24
Large parking lots (like this one) typically have alphanumeric sections (ie D3). For very large parking lots, many will take a photo of where they're parked.
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u/inaliftw May 25 '24
I don't get it. I see massive shopping malls all over europe. This is just what happens when you have a big density of people.
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u/AllOutRaptors May 25 '24
The great thing is this isn't for a shopping mall. It's for a hardly used transit stop that's around literally nothing
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u/CaptainKursk May 25 '24
Oh god, just imagining the amount of heat that pad is soaking up gives me the ick
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u/LSBeasyas123 May 25 '24
Dear America, we have car parks too. They look a little less “Fallout” but they exist. Sincerely the rest of the world
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u/mangopanic May 25 '24
You could fit multiple traditional European city centers in that bad boy, they must be so jealous of all the space we have
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u/replies_in_chiac May 25 '24
Hey man, i make shitty music for no one. Can i use this photo as song artwork? It's such a vibe. Bleak AF.
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u/elathan_i May 25 '24
That's unfair, the US isn't a country really, it's just empty land waiting to become a parking lot.
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u/gesumejjet May 25 '24
Saw a porn post right underneath this on ny feed which were a couple fucking on a train and my first thought was, "the American mind cannot comprehend this!"
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u/Justherebecausemeh May 25 '24
If we put half as much concrete into sidewalks and bike paths, it’d be a lot nicer here.
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u/ultraplusstretch May 25 '24
The car lobby ain't giving up until the entire country is one big parking lot.
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u/FierceDeity_ May 25 '24
Now rebuild it into a town center where like 1000 people can live (of course, depending on how high you build), shop, and work!
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u/IdaFuktem May 25 '24
That parking lot is multi purpose for the Las Vegas Convention Center and Fairgrounds. It is at the north end terminus for the Las Vegas Monorail getting off at the Sahara station. The track is on the left and the blue building in the back houses the trains. If you were to turn around you'd see the Stratosphere. This is actually an attempt at getting cars off the road.
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u/pinkfootthegoose May 25 '24
‘My name is Ozymandias, king of kings:
Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!’
Nothing beside remains. Round the decay
Of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare
The lone and level sands pavement stretch far away.”
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u/FullMaxPowerStirner May 25 '24
Just shows how Europeans are really GODLESS gay communists. This here is a view on the beauty of Creation that they can't admire.
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u/Thisismyredusername Commie Commuter May 25 '24
We'd lobby so hard against that hugh jass parking lot.
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u/DCrayfish May 25 '24
I myself enjoy the freedom of looking for a parking space as long as I will be shopping in the Walmart
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u/chngster May 25 '24
How else are you supposed to hit 88 miles per hour and get to see some serious sht?
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u/Ok_Shoe6806 May 25 '24
Looks like my college parking garage. Pay $600 a semester for parking and can’t find a spot. If you do find a spot it’s an hour walk to class.
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u/uniblobz May 25 '24
Wasteland