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Originally Posted by swimmer_spe
History is everything. Did you know Halifax had a streetcar system? Do you know why it is no longer in service?
Well, during WW2, all the metal was put towards the war effort and back home, the equipment for the streetcar was breaking down and needed some much needed repairs. The problem was that by the end of the war, the costs skyrocketed to repair it, so the company instead ran buses as it was cheaper to replace with buses.
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More specifically, WWII resulted in a huge influx of people to Halifax, as it became a major port for military operations during the war. This sudden increase in population resulted in the Birney cars being run much more frequently, and at maximum loads, which over 5+ years resulted in accelerated deterioration of both the cars and the tracks. Combine that with the fact that Birney cars were no longer made after 1930 - all along the NS Power Corp (owners and operators) were purchasing used Birney cars from other transit corporations to keep Halifax's system running.
After the war, a study was done and it was determined that pretty much everything would have to be replaced at once - both cars and tracks - which would have been a huge expenditure for the company. As a result, they decided to replace the entire system, in 1949, with electric buses that ran off of overhead wires, on the roads that had already existed (cars had been using Halifax roads since the teens, and a little known fact is that cars had been driving on the lefthand side of the road, like England, until 1923, when they switched to the right side). These electric buses ran until 1970, when the city of Halifax took over the transit system and the electric buses were changed up for diesel units.
There are members on here who are much more knowledgeable than I about the tram/trolleybus/transit system, so I'll leave it at that.
Quote:
Originally Posted by swimmer_spe
What do buses need? Roads. After the war, the automobile was a status symbol. That meant getting one meant you were well off. So, as more families bought cars more roads wee needed. More lanes were needed as well. That is why post-war subdivisions are car friendly and horrible to walk in. For an example, think of most of the peninsula and all of the roads have sidewalks. Now look at the post war areas. Where are the sidewalks? It is really bad in anything past the 90s.
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Not quite accurate, actually. Yes, large expensive cars were status symbols, but inexpensive cars were around since the late teens/early 1920s, most famously represented by the Model T Ford, which through economy of scale actually had the price decrease in successive years as Ford's precursor to the modern production facility was able to build more by reducing production time per vehicle. So, the public had adopted the motor car as a preferred method of transportation, and thus demanded their elected politicians to improve the road system, as you eluded to.
As such, cars were available in all price ranges to the point that the average person with a steady job could afford one. Additionally, as time passed there would be a used car market that resulted when people traded in their older, serviceable vehicles for new ones. This made cars affordable by just about anyone.
As for sidewalks, new subdivisions still have sidewalks installed. You can find many examples of that in Halifax, so sidewalks didn't disappear from new construction after WWII. What did happen is in some areas sidewalks were only run on one side of the street as a cost-cutting measure - typically, and easement was left on the other side of the street in the event that sidewalk installation would be necessary or desired. I have never agreed with this, however, as I think sidewalks should be on both sides of every street. This is especially a problem in the older areas of Burnside, where traffic is very busy and truck-heavy, so walking in that area can be somewhat challenging (though recently they had started to install sidewalks in Burnside).
Quote:
Originally Posted by swimmer_spe
Your tangent isn't wrong. If anything it helps keep in focus that what we are doing is what we think is right now. Those hovercrafts you speak of are possible, but if we just look at the technologies that existed in the 50s and 60 and now, we see a shift. Back then, they had cars, buses, bikes and rail transit. The Toronto Subway was started then. Boston's started in the 1800s. The shift was from the road being for all, to the road being for gasoline/diesel driven vehicles, to the road being for all. Back then, there were no reserved lanes. Everyone was riding in the same lane. Now we are trying to carve everything into 1800s roads. This is why those new bike lanes are snow covered. This is why the idea of an LRT or streetcar system is tough. We want a lane for each, but also not lose lanes for parking and cars driving.
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To be clear, the roads evolved as needs changed. Most Halifax roads, notably in the downtown area were always wide enough for at least two lanes of traffic, but were not marked as such due to the fact that many weren't paved (a fact that pedestrians also complained about when they became wet and muddy - not to mention the horse poo that had to be dodged...). Those dirt roads were quite bumpy and difficult to maintain, which was one of the drivers which brought about Halifax's first street rail system (horse-drawn). In winter and spring conditions the roads were very difficult for even horses and buggies/carts to traverse, so pavement was an improvement for all, not just motor vehicles.
I said carbon-neutral hovercrafts in jest - the carbon-neutral being the salient point, but just to introduce the idea that there may be a technology that we don't yet know about which will become the preferred choice for movement - replacing cars, buses, bicycles, or whatever... and at that time infrastructure will be optimized for that method, and likely whatever was used before will be considered archaic (as is the typical response by humans whenever older technology is replaced).
Good discussion!
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