02-11-2015, 12:54 PM
(02-11-2015, 12:40 PM)BuildingScout Wrote: Open a Metro store within walking distance and I'm trekking there even if parking is free.
I would be inclined to say that, instead of hoping that a huge company decides to open stores within walking distance of their homes, people consider grocery store locations when they choose where to live. They have no incentive to do that at the moment, since driving a car is so cheap (for the people actually doing it).
You're right about zoning, and you're right about intensification: if a lot of us continue to insist on single-family homes on forty-foot lots, few of us will be within walking distance of grocery stores. But, if traveling by car continues to seem so cheap, few of us will walk to grocery stores even when they are. Many trips taken by car right now are short enough that they could easily be replaced by bicycling or even walking. The reason they aren't is because the car user doesn't bear the true cost of the trip.
I'm not sure I understand your fixation on parking. I am meaning that more of the costs of the car generally should be covered by people choosing to travel by car. Parking is one; road infrastructure (and other infrastructure that is made more expensive by sprawl) is another.
I agree with you completely that transit needs to be improved. You need ridership to do that.