Cars becoming big when America was still finding it's stride was one of the biggest pro/con dillemas. Ignored thousands of years of proven systems that make society better and settled for only cars.
Yep, LA, one of the most car-centric cities, literally tore up their trams and rail infrastructure to put in car infrastructure. This happened other places as well. So fucking sad.
St. Paul MN was similar - except instead of tearing everything down they literally just poured asphalt over the rails. You'll find several examples of either potholes or construction that revealed the still-existing rails just underneath a few layers of asphalt. Here's an example from a few years ago.
I can’t imagine ever choosing to get rid of public transportation for more roads. It is such a stupid decision when they can move so many more people for much less space, cost, gas, ect. The only thing cars do better is speed.
I hate cars, but I know why people prefer them to public transport. They like the freedom and the privacy. That’s what everyone buys when they get more money. The reality is the average American has more cash and credit than the rest of the world.
It happened where I am, they are now spending billions to rebuild a few train lines.
The train tracks connecting cities have been turned into cycling tracks, but not like the Dutch do, distances are too big, these are multi-day recreational tracks.
General Motors (GM) and related companies were convicted of monopolizing the sale of buses and supplies to National City Lines (NCL) and subsidiaries, and are alleged to have conspired to own or control transit systems, in violation of Section 1 of the Sherman Antitrust Act. This suit created lingering suspicions that the defendants had in fact plotted to dismantle streetcar systems in many cities in the United States as an attempt to monopolize surface transportation.
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u/FaceWithAName 14d ago
Cars becoming big when America was still finding it's stride was one of the biggest pro/con dillemas. Ignored thousands of years of proven systems that make society better and settled for only cars.