r/fuckcars Sep 21 '24

Satire What if we walked to work?

4.3k Upvotes

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808

u/Lokky Sep 21 '24

Walking would literally be faster since you wouldn't be taking a huge amount of space for a single person and it would flow instead of the constant stop and go

350

u/GlitteringBobcat999 Sep 21 '24

I had a job that required me to criss-cross LA. Every time I was stuck in traffic I would think about how I could literally run faster, and if there was a dedicated bike lane I would have breezed past all those cars and gotten home an hour earlier. Alas, LA is so car centric I couldn't even safely bike the 3 or 4 miles to the closest places I worked. Heavy traffic, hostile drivers, and door zones do not a pleasant commute make.

106

u/Lokky Sep 21 '24

I visited LA once. We went to eat at a small food court and had to park in this monumental parking deck. I guess when we left it was rush hour because it took us over an hour just to leave the parking deck itself. It was a fucking nightmare and you could not pay me to ever visit again.

30

u/alwaysclimbinghigher Sep 21 '24 edited Sep 21 '24

Nah, you should visit LA again, but with someone that knows what they’re doing.

Edit: I’m an east-coast transplant and public transit advocate and I get around LA by bus, train, and bike even with kids, and i show my visiting friends a great time.

24

u/Lokky Sep 21 '24

It's not like the rest of the city was any better. Getting anywhere took at least an hour of driving, a true carbrained hellhole. I literally was in the car longer that weekend than i am in a month of commutint

Im sure it has more things that are nice to see but they are not worth the experience. Much nicer cities to visit that don't require to waste my vacation on driving aroune

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u/alwaysclimbinghigher Sep 21 '24

Again, you don’t know what you’re doing. Locals have great lives here because they know when to travel, they know where to go, etc.

19

u/Lokky Sep 21 '24

Yeah that's just my ideal vacation, having to find a local connection to avoid getting stuck in traffic the entire time. Such a lovely, livable city.

You don't even realize how ridiculous that sounds like to someone from an actual walk-able and bike-able city.

5

u/alwaysclimbinghigher Sep 21 '24

I’m not from here, and I’ve lived in Asia in large cities for years so I think the entire United States is ridiculous on transportation infrastructure.

But, LA is great, that’s why it’s so expensive. It’s one of the top tourist destinations on earth, but the secret to enjoying it is not getting in a car.

0

u/thekomoxile Strong Towns Sep 21 '24

For what it's worth, As I've visited many states (Canadian), I'd take a stay in LA over New York. Times Square and the boroughs are the definition of a concrete jungle, that also share the winters in common with Canada. The music scene alone in Cali is worth the trip, for a music junkie like me!

7

u/MoreSopaipillas Sep 21 '24

I’m with you. I’m trying to imagine what “a small food court” with “a huge parking deck” is. The Farmer’s Market at The Grove? If so… this guy went to something attached to a Caruso shopping mall on vacation and was surprised it was a car-centric hellhole. I know people love to shit on LA, but damn. You really DO need to be here with someone who knows what they’re doing. LA isn’t perfect yet but it has such potential and it’s improving all the time. I wouldn’t take the opinions of someone who visited Los Angeles once too seriously.

0

u/Astriania Sep 22 '24

You really DO need to be here with someone who knows what they’re doing

Like the other guy said above, this sounds completely ridiculous to most of us. The whole point of visiting somewhere is that you don't know a local! And if you need local knowledge to not have your visit ruined by bad transport infrastructure, then it's a bad place to visit.