What also contributes to <18 (and the elderly) social isolation is the car-centric urban planning which denies mobility freedom to this demographics. This is even more relevant in North America
Agreed. What's next: If I am enslaved and my expectation is being paid for my work, I must change my expectation? Fuck that.
What we must do is maintain the expection, fight however you can to change reality and crucially learn how to live with this dissonance, don't let this stress consume you .
The NHS has also been deliberately weakened by the Tory (and Labour) to justify its privatization. That is the crucial point. The unusual seasons would just be a small extra burden if they had not weakened it.
The car infrastructure built to provide you that comfort has very big negative externalities to others. Among them:
1/ The massive amount of space dedicated to cars, taken away from pedestrians and cyclists. Cars are the most space-inefficient way of moving people around, if anything they should be the _least_ prioritized in public space allocation.
2/ Streets become hostile places to pedestrians, to children, to communities. Why do children not play outside anymore? No, its not the phones+internet, its the cars. Phones+internet are symptoms. Streets have been made into traffic sewage.
3/ Economics. If you need a 1500kg / 15000$ machine to carry a 70kg adult to a nearby grocery store, then there is something fundamentally wrong with your city planning. Alternatives should be there by default: walking and cycling infra is the solution. Cars were meant to give us freedom, it seems they took it away from us.
4/ Air pollution. EVs will partially solve it and no I am not going to wait for them, many micro particles PM are from tires wear and tear and engine (I dont have full details).
5/ Inclusivity. Cars are only for adults 18+. Children and teens have no mobility freedom. They are hostage to their parents to go from A to B. American suburbs are the most teen boredom place for a reason. Elderly and disabled are also restricted. Cycles are much more inclusive to all these groups. And cycle infra is not only for bicycles: its for mobility chairs, three-wheeld cycles, basically any humans-on-wheels vehicle.
This is not about bicycles, its about civil rights issue. Bicycles just happen to be one of (the preferred, the most visible?) method of traveling at a human scale.
Problem with Mastodon is 1/the name 2/ "pods".
I simply forgot which damn pod I signed up to and most people are simply unwilling to understand what the hell is a "pod". People just want on url where to sign up to.
Actually many of us are a bit tired of WFH but guess what: the reason I and many HAVE to WFH is due do the bankruptcy-level childcare costs (UK). It is easier to change job than to re-arrange childcare. School starts at 9am stops at 15:30. Think about it. Some parents have one kid in nursery/school A, other kid in B. We are tired. No, I am not going back, fuck them.
You dont know how lucky you are to have a sustainable inclusive mode of transport. Here in the UK its a fight against NIMBYs and right-wing idiots. The whole thing is becoming politicized and weaponized. Its super dystopia. Stay there, trust me. Thanks
Cycling is becoming politicized in the UK and some politicians are trying to score points. The other day an ex-transport minister suggested forcing registration plates on bicycles. Any cycle lane that pops up will trigger all the right-winger NIMBYs making them go full ape mode. Some cars are becoming super aggressive (most are actually cautious or unaware). Its a sad state of affairs.
Aint gonna work. Design affects behavior. If the road encourages speeding but the sign says "hey go slower", drivers will end up speeding. This is known for decades. Design roads for slower speed: complexity e.g. chicanes, trees whatnot
Oh you have soooo much space to add some cycle lanes. Here in the UK we are fighting for shared space. There in the US you _have_ the space. Holy shit make some cycle lanes. US is seriously carbrain damaged.