More Parks In U.S. Going Car-Free
One mile of road in San Francisco's Golden Gate Park will be closed to cars every Saturday this summer, just one of many examples of car-free zones that are being proposed in the U.S.
"The auto's demotion at Golden Gate Park follows dozens of similar moves in at least 20 American cities in the past three years. It's a trend that is gaining ground rapidly in the US, say urban planners."
"Philadelphia, Cleveland, Chicago, and El Paso, Texas, are planning events to promote car-free days in public parks, most in the hope that the idea will become permanent or extend for months."
"Resistance can be fierce at first, he and others say, because of worries about traffic congestion, parking problems, and loss of visitors for businesses and museums. But studies are showing that traffic problems can be minimized, shops and museums get more visitors, and residents begin to cherish their where-the-action-is location."
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Reason Foundation On Car-Free Parks
It is pretty radical to close parks to cars on occasion.
I presume that the Reason Foundation believes you should pay a fee to drive into the park - and, if you are willing to pay enough, you should be allowed to drive right up into your own parking spot in the middle of the grass, of the beach, or of the forest.
At least, that is the logical conclusion of their attempt to convert all political decisions about how to use public space into market choices.
Charles Siegel
Re: Reason Foundation On Car-Free Parks
Actually, if you take a moment to think about it, you'll realize the vast majority of acres in the public park system are not accessible by vehicle (most parks aren't in urban settings, a lot of public park land doesn't even have roads).
In many of the park areas that are accessible by car, park administrators do exactly what you suggest--charge the occupants of the car a fee and allow them to drive to a reserved camping or picnicking site. It's a great way to regulate and recover costs for a relatively high-impact activity in the park that is limited and in high demand, but which, at the same time, most taxpayers don't benefit from.
Golden Gate Park is a little bit different; it is hugely popular with pedestrians, and auto traffic actually decreases the number of people who can safely use the park on summer Saturdays. By closing a short section of road to cars on those days, more people can enjoy it and public costs are actually decreased (less road maintenance, among other things).
Where San Francisco might really benefit from some market-savvy is at the city's six golf courses, which lost $1.4 million this year and will continue to drain money from the city's general fund as elite commercial uses are subsidized by the public. There are some "political decisions about how to use public space" in that case that certainly should involve the market.
More On Reason Foundation On Car-Free Parks
"Golden Gate Park is a little bit different; it is hugely popular with pedestrians, and auto traffic actually decreases the number of people who can safely use the park on summer Saturdays."
You miss my point about the Reason Foundation. They say that building freeways through neighborhoods should be purely a market decision: charge drivers for the freeway and the externalities, and if they are willing to pay the cost, the freeway gets built, even if it prevents people from walking in the neighborhood safely. (Their logic includes neighborhoods that are "hugely popular with pedestrians.")
By the same logic, SF should charge drivers for entering Golden Gate park, including externalities; if they are willing to pay, they should be allowed into the park, even if it decreases the number of people who can use the park safely.
My point is that this should be a political decision about what sort of parks and what sort of neighborhoods we want to live in - not a market decision.
When they closed some streets in Golden Gate Park to cars on Saturdays, they made the political decision that makes the park most usable for people. Likewise, the question about whether to build more urban freeways is a political decision about how to make our cities most livable for people.
Charles Siegel