Oakland, California - 10 hours, "ciclavia" another session began. Oaklavia, as it is called in this, is a special metropolitan area in which a downtown once dominated by the car is temporarily transformed into blocks of open space where even toddlers play safely in the middle of the street.
Ciclavias took place in other cities like New York and elsewhere. It is one of the first to arrive in Oakland.
My wife and I have lived our whole lives in Oakland, but we have never lived without cars in the streets, so we decided to check it out.
The car-less spaces were not enough contiguous but police and volunteers in the event ensured that cyclists and pedestrians did not wait long, or not at all, to move between each segment of the car-less.
To be honest, even with police blocking traffic in the opposite direction, it is always difficult to relax in the middle of the street. Seeing a mother and her child in the pavement was really surreal. No fear of imminent death in these two: just the joy of being on a Sunday in a space of great spaces.
Once the absence of noise of the car and the abundance of defined space, it was really incredibly exciting and liberating. Events like this and cycling in General flood you with much more detail on your friends that you would normally get. Being a steel and glass pregnant moving at high speed (aka a car) deprives you of parts of a place.
Any single food odours made the useful trip: such as an installation of caf? in the open air in the street from market & Deli Ratto, not to mention Oaklavia barbecue.
From downtown in this way, you notice things simply that you didn't know were there. My wife (the gardener) found a little garden half a block down from the prison of the city, with a beautiful view of the Federal building in the background. Who knew? How would you know because this boulevard track (aka freeway) is what is the garden along. Today, without the fear of imminent death by car, we could literally stop and smell the roses, or at least the tomatoes. Yum!
As we survey the garden, we met a volunteer event. His sweet cargo bike capable of carrying up to 600 pounds and cost $ 1,100. It is more than my friend Randall can carry on its Bilenky. Awesome.
In all, Oaklavia was a great success by giving people such great new perspectives and experiences on their city. Now, if this type of open car-less space could simply be made ubiquitous and permanent.
The website cyclav?a Specifies that these temporary spaces are purely recreational. This essentially transforms a temporary Park streets. It is a wonderful thing. However, the withdrawal of a business district cars as this is reminiscent of another type of space which has a more sustainable and perhaps more profound impact on life: the plaza.
Europe is full of these places, the squares and the platzs, that is to say mass without car spaces where people congregate, not only on weekends, but every day, for example, Trafalgar Square, place Saint-Pierre, Marienplatz, etc. In these places, you feel safe cars not only when you re-create but while you work, dinner, boutique, run races, etc. In other words, you feel from the cars practically all the time. Life without the fear of imminent death by car is a discount if a profound change in the orientation of your mind. Suddenly, brainpower currently happening on parking, driving, and dodging cars is available to ponder other things. Reflect on the possibilities of that.
Europe is not necessarily more informed on public spaces. They have their share of car-obsession, - dominance and - congestion. These spaces are spaces simply inherited era pre - car. Since a large part of the United States was designed and built in the 20th century, car-obsessed, we have relatively few places less car. "Drive-through" everything seems to be our legacy in many cities. Fortunately, many of the United States believe that this must change.
The authors of the Oaklavia, for example, walk Oakland bike Oakland are trying to diversify our streets of cars. Another site that represents supporters of this idea is the livable streets Initiative. There are, of course, many others. Nevertheless, as shown in Vegas, there is much more to do.
Regardless, Oaklavia has done an excellent job of showing how rewarding this vision can be: for a few hours, or even forever.
No comments:
Post a Comment