In the blog CityWatch ("An insider look at City Hall"), transportation planning consultant Ryan Snyder pens an interesting assessment of what's wrong with the Olympico proposal in his view. The short answer: A lot. Here's part of Snyder's longer answer:
The need to move faster in our cars trumps every other community goal. Indeed, it conflicts with many. Mobility may be one goal, but what about the others that we never dare to consider because we’re afraid to challenge the primacy of the car?
We want healthy neighborhoods where kids can walk to school and seniors stroll to the store. People don’t walk because our streets are inhospitable. Making Pico and Olympic Boulevards one-way race tracks will raise ominous barriers to pedestrians who want to cross. What about a kid who lives on one side of Olympic and goes to school on the other? Instead of walking, her parents will drive her, putting another unnecessary car on our streets. The medical price we pay for keeping our cars moving is obesity, diabetes, heart problems, respiratory illness and more.
Second, what about the value of social connections? The children that can’t cross the street become isolated so they’re slower to develop social skills. Seniors that don’t feel safe walking become housebound. Casual meetings happen where cars are tamed. Communities with strong social fabric provide nourishing places to grow up and rewarding places to live. We sacrifice this when cars are king.
[snip]
Last, our need for speed confounds efforts to reduce global warming gases. Accommodating more cars means more CO2 emissions and all of the catastrophic consequences of climate change. Reducing our driving isn’t just a matter of preference – it’s a matter of survival for our entire planet.
