Comments by "Joe R M" (@joermnyc) on "City Beautiful" channel.

  1. They replaced the viaduct, but not the exits that it had going into downtown. The tunnel completely bypasses downtown, so Alaskan way has to take on any traffic that doesn’t want to go all the way to the north/south ends of downtown.
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  2. A bit off the beaten path, but visiting Sofia, Bulgaria, we saw both a pedestrianized street (Vitosha Blvd) which had lots of small business and major chain (mostly European brands) retail and restaurants (they put their smoking “sections” in separate structures out in what used to be the street) and then taking a kind of old tram farther away from the historic part of town (protected buildings galore) the was the Bulgaria Mall, a newer style mall that was actually doing a lot of business (we visited in early December, so the middle of the Christmas shopping season).
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  3.  @Josh_Fredman  I recall the ferries are part of the state road system because they are that important.
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  4. Yes, because in Soviet system you might be “given” a car... but you’re on a long list for it.
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  5. It really depends, Grafton Street in Dublin seemed to be a more touristy place, but it was a great shortcut to other parts of the city since our hotel was at the end of it on St Stephen’s Green. The Strøget in Copenhagen was wonderful, and the way it connected into several small squares and OTHER pedestrian only streets really worked! The only other example I know of personally, Vitosha Blvd in Sophia, really nicely done, a huge street (since it used to have trams) and it was a way to have restaurants keep a smoking section, in a separate enclosed space on what used to be parking (kind of what we’re doing now with outdoor dining during COVID, but the spaces looked more professionally made and not cobbled together out of plywood.)
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  6. I still think NYC made a huge mistake letting all those JOBS go. The tax breaks weren’t forever, they would eventually sunset and a TON of revenue would have started to roll in after that. People are too shortsighted and NIMBY-minded. Hindsight being 2020 (bad pun), the city and state could have benefitted from the jobs and the future tax revenue.
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  7. In Copenhagen the Stroget pedestrian street next to our hotel did have access for deliveries in the morning.
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  8. Most of my family moved to New Jersey (basically in and around Old Bridge, and my poor Aunt who lived in Brooklyn, NY for almost 80 years and doesn’t drive and walks with a cane is now basically homebound if her daughter or son-in-law aren’t around to drive her somewhere. There’s nothing but houses for at least a mile. Anything that would get into the city (the NJT bus) is only on the state route cutting through town, which is also the main commercial strip, and the commuter railroad is many towns away. They claim it’s “Better” and “cheaper” to live out there, but while the home prices are lower, but the property taxes are INSANE!
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  9. It takes me an hour or so to get from central Queens to my job near City Hall, and that’s only if there’s no subway delays. My wife has about the same commute but she has to go to work in Harlem, and the subway is designed to funnel people from the boroughs downtown, not uptown, so she has to go to Times Square and back track. (Her job is moving to midtown, so her commute will likely be chopped in half… I’m jealous.)
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  10. Think about it, cars and drivers are revenue generators for cities and states, you can’t get fuel taxes, or a speeding ticket out of someone who bikes everywhere.
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