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The Future Local Current Global Carfree Majority

This letter to the editor was published in the San Diego Union Tribune on Saturday, March 25, 2006. It incorporates in few words elements of the argument for carfree living and planning, and may be somewhat rhetorically effective? You tell me.

Added by colin #442 on 2006-04-08. Last modified 2006-04-14 19:53. Originally created 2006-03-19. F0 License: Attribution
Location: World, United States, California, San Diego, SDSU
Topics: media: letter to editor

SDSU's urban village plan

San Diego State University President Stephen Weber intends that the Paseo be built for the most part as planned, but minus the 1,922 space parking garage (SDSU hires Paseo consultant, News, March 17).

As a member of the future local car-free majority, I thank Weber for his vision. In July 2005, I had written him to point out that the Paseo was building more residences for cars than for humans.

Readers should be reminded that more Americans have been killed or maimed in motor vehicle crashes than in all U.S. wars combined. Each day, worldwide, 3,200 people die due to motor vehicle crashes and 40 times that number are injured. Deaths due to other costs of car-centric planning, such as air pollution and lack of nice places to walk, bicycle or play, are not included in these statistics.

Terrorists need not deliver dirty bombs to the United States, only politicians and planners who continue to build urban space that encourages private motor vehicle use. But we can hardly expect them to do otherwise since many of their constituents drive and fail to visualize and plan for the car-free urban landscape of the future.

COLIN LEATH
Member, SDSU area Carfree Club
San Diego

(From the San Diego Union Tribune on 2006-03-25.)

They choose the title. The letter may have been saved to be printed on Saturday (I submitted it Monday).

Here are some of the sources:

"the Paseo was building more residences for cars than for humans [1]."

[1] http://groups.yahoo.com/group/carfreeclub/message/7

"more Americans have been killed or maimed in motor vehicle crashes than in all US wars combined [2]."

[2] http://parade.com/articles/editions/2006/edition_03-05-2006/Ask_Marilyn

"Each day, worldwide, 3,200 people die due to motor vehicle crashes and 40 times that number are injured [3]." (on average)

[3] http://www.who.int/world-health-day/2004/infomaterials/world_report/en/

The pretext for thanking Weber is incorrect, as they will build an above-ground parking garage instead (I just spoke with Weber today about it!), but the letter got printed, along with the "SDSU area Carfree Club" byline. One person emailed me noting the irony--Weber has been planning campus grad student and faculty housing across the highway on a dead-end road, requiring car trips to get across the highway. See Save Del Cerro for more on that. Weber said a tunnel or gondola would cost about $25 million. I asked if there would be a shuttle. He said there would be (he seemed to hesitate). And that they do things like raise campus parking fees to encourage use of the trolley.

Below is the version I submitted. In an earlier version, I had "I am writing for the future local and current global car-free majority." So many people seem to think everyone can have a car.

Recognizing Weber's vision for nixing the parking garage

Editor:

Stephen Weber intends that the SDSU Paseo be built for the most part as planned, but minus the 1,922 space parking garage ("SDSU hires Paseo consultant," March 17).

As a member of the future local car-free majority, I thank Weber for his vision. In July 2005, I had written him to point out that the Paseo was building more residences for cars than for humans [1].

Readers be reminded that more Americans have been killed or maimed in motor vehicle crashes than in all US wars combined [2]. Each day, worldwide, 3,200 people die due to motor vehicle crashes and 40 times that number are injured [3]. Deaths due to other costs of car-centric planning, such as air pollution and lack of nice places to walk, bicycle, or play, are not included in these statistics.

Terrorists need not deliver dirty bombs to the US, only politicians and planners who continue to build urban space that encourages private motor vehicle use. But we can hardly expect them to do otherwise since many of their constituents drive and fail to visualize and plan for the carfree urban landscape of the future.

I submitted a different version first, but it bounced. In the meantime I had read someone else's letter that seemed much better written. So I revised mine. Did I make it better?

[First Submission]

In the Friday, March 17 Union Tribune, it was reported that Stephen Weber intends that the SDSU Paseo be built for the most part as planned, but minus the 1,922 space parking garage.

I am writing for the future local car-free majority to thank Weber for his vision. I wrote him in July 2005 to complain that, as planned, the Paseo was building more residences for cars than for humans [1].

I would like to remind UT readers that far more Americans have been killed or maimed in motor vehicle crashes than in all US wars combined [2]. Every day, worldwide, 3,200 people die due to motor vehicle crashes and 40 times that number are injured [3]. These statistics do not include deaths due to other costs of car-centric planning, such as air pollution and lack of nice places to walk, bicycle, or play.

We don't need terrorists to do us in, only politicians and planners who continue to build urban space that encourages private motor vehicle use. Unfortunately, we can hardly expect them to do otherwise, given that many of their constituents drive and fail to visualize and plan for the carfree urban landscape of the future.

It might not read as well, but visually, I think the printed version is more likely to be read on a page with many other letters.


Colin Leath <>    

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