Should cars be banned in DC?

[Anonymous]

Easy to access and affordable public transport, including self driving taxis. No private cars.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Easy to access and affordable public transport, including self driving taxis. No private cars.

Again, this is great for inside the city. Going outside there are no self driving taxis to take you on road trips and to have to go to suburban or rural places to visit family/friends, take kids to activities, sports, attend special events/concerts, or go to work/run a business if you have to use your car for it and have to visit multiple manufacturing or farming facilities or clients if you are in sales, etc. It's like you are a child and you don't know how the world works?? What exactly is preventing you now from enjoying DC now as a pedestrian or a biker? It's one of the most pedestrian and bike friendly cities in the entire USA. It's not like you have to deal with the clogged up sidewalks with nowhere to walk or sit for the pedestrians. Even NYC doesn't have this problem.

Trapping people inside the city making it difficult to leave is pandering to the 15 min city conspiracies.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Berlin is close to voting on a referendum to allow people just 12 car trips per year in the city.

https://wattsupwiththat.com/2025/07/03/berlin-moves-to-ban-autos-from-inside-the-city-widespread-chaos-looms/

I figure this might solve the problem of congress being too old if everyone has to take a bike.

It will be interesting to watch all the cyclists in DC when the temperature is 25 degrees with a wind chill temp of 18.
And, you expect the Congress members who live in VA or MD - 20+ miles from DC to bike to work?

People will be a lot fitter and thinner

And before people say that dc is thin…it’s still bigger than Paris or Milan

Even in the umc community - dc people pack a solid 20+ lbs more than their ses counterparts in Western Europe

Who is their right mind is driving inside DC if they live in DC and are walking distance away from amenities and can easily commute to their job? This is a fake grievance. People already walk by far and large. The reason we need cars when living in urban areas is because areas outside are very car dependent and we need cars to go OUTSIDE of the city. Some people have family they need to visit outside or even jobs, and with transit being limited it’s often faster to drive than take a combination of metro and buses if you don’t live/work near stations.

These limitations isn’t about improving the lives or residents in the city but controlling how many times people leave their city limits. Get real. This is precisely the thing paranoid conspiracies mean when they say “15 min city”. People should have access to personal vehicles and be allowed to use them whenever they want to get outside and have freedom of movement. And I am a big proponent of urban lifestyle and walkability and NYC is my favorite city (lived there for a very long time).

People with families. People who have to juggle picking up multiple kids from different schools, aftercare. People who need to buy groceries, who need to be in different places on tight deadlines.

people who don't lice downtown

Downtown is not congested. DC is a lower density city, stop making it Manhattan. If you charge people to come to DC in their personal vehicles or for people who live here to drive them around, then it will become a wasteland of decay in due time. Tourists cannot sustain it, and office workers aren't coming back in droves, not to mention Fed jobs are getting cut not increased.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Berlin is close to voting on a referendum to allow people just 12 car trips per year in the city.

https://wattsupwiththat.com/2025/07/03/berlin-moves-to-ban-autos-from-inside-the-city-widespread-chaos-looms/

I figure this might solve the problem of congress being too old if everyone has to take a bike.

It will be interesting to watch all the cyclists in DC when the temperature is 25 degrees with a wind chill temp of 18.
And, you expect the Congress members who live in VA or MD - 20+ miles from DC to bike to work?

People will be a lot fitter and thinner

And before people say that dc is thin…it’s still bigger than Paris or Milan

Even in the umc community - dc people pack a solid 20+ lbs more than their ses counterparts in Western Europe

Who is their right mind is driving inside DC if they live in DC and are walking distance away from amenities and can easily commute to their job? This is a fake grievance. People already walk by far and large. The reason we need cars when living in urban areas is because areas outside are very car dependent and we need cars to go OUTSIDE of the city. Some people have family they need to visit outside or even jobs, and with transit being limited it’s often faster to drive than take a combination of metro and buses if you don’t live/work near stations.

These limitations isn’t about improving the lives or residents in the city but controlling how many times people leave their city limits. Get real. This is precisely the thing paranoid conspiracies mean when they say “15 min city”. People should have access to personal vehicles and be allowed to use them whenever they want to get outside and have freedom of movement. And I am a big proponent of urban lifestyle and walkability and NYC is my favorite city (lived there for a very long time).

People with families. People who have to juggle picking up multiple kids from different schools, aftercare. People who need to buy groceries, who need to be in different places on tight deadlines.

people who don't lice downtown

Downtown is not congested. DC is a lower density city, stop making it Manhattan. If you charge people to come to DC in their personal vehicles or for people who live here to drive them around, then it will become a wasteland of decay in due time. Tourists cannot sustain it, and office workers aren't coming back in droves, not to mention Fed jobs are getting cut not increased.

I don't commute into the city often anymore, but when I do, I drive, and I pay $19 for parking. And I do this because driving is faster and cheaper than the metro + parking. I used to drive in every day for the same reason. I'm fairly close to a metro too, but it's not worth the time or money, and that's too bad because if it were something more reasonable, like $5-10 round-trip, then I'd reconsider my choices. There is a tipping point where inconvenience is outweighed by benefit. But $20 to commute via public transport doesn't get you to the tipping point where people change their behavior.

Barring making public transport cheap/free I'm afraid any measures that greatly inconvenience commuters will just make people and employers flee the city. DC isn't NY, in comparison; it's a rather sleepy provincial town, it lacks any sort of vibe, as there isn't much going on, much less now than before the pandemic, so you might as well be working in an office building in Tysons, hey at least your more likely to get free or cheap parking in Tysons, and not have to deal with express lane fees.

[Anonymous]

This thread is stupid. Also, driving is the only means of transportation that is becoming more popular in DC. Bicycling, the subway, buses, everything else are all losing market share.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This thread is stupid. Also, driving is the only means of transportation that is becoming more popular in DC. Bicycling, the subway, buses, everything else are all losing market share.

This is a joke, right? Driving is becoming more popular in THIS DC?

https://www.consumeraffairs.com/automotive/cities-with-the-worst-traffic.html#five-cities-with-the-worst-traffic

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This thread is stupid. Also, driving is the only means of transportation that is becoming more popular in DC. Bicycling, the subway, buses, everything else are all losing market share.

This is a joke, right? Driving is becoming more popular in THIS DC?

https://www.consumeraffairs.com/automotive/cities-with-the-worst-traffic.html#five-cities-with-the-worst-traffic

The secret reality is that traffic is actually lighter inside the beltway. If you never come here, you wouldn't know, but I drive through the city often, and it's when I try to drive out of the city that traffic gets awful.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Easy to access and affordable public transport, including self driving taxis. No private cars.

How do you propose getting children to school since the mayor does not supply bus transport? Especially as you get to MS and HS, even to a of inbounds kids do not live within walking distance and many have what would be a 3 bus, hour+ commute on transit to school (which btw isn’t especially safe for the 11-18 age group).

[Anonymous]

Total straw man. I hate cars, bike in the city all the time, think there should be 10x more bike lanes in DC, a total crackdown on speeders and red light runners, much higher registration fees on cars, and much higher parking costs.

And even I'm not in favor of banning cars in a large part of the city.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Berlin is close to voting on a referendum to allow people just 12 car trips per year in the city.

https://wattsupwiththat.com/2025/07/03/berlin-moves-to-ban-autos-from-inside-the-city-widespread-chaos-looms/

I figure this might solve the problem of congress being too old if everyone has to take a bike.

It will be interesting to watch all the cyclists in DC when the temperature is 25 degrees with a wind chill temp of 18.
And, you expect the Congress members who live in VA or MD - 20+ miles from DC to bike to work?

People will be a lot fitter and thinner

And before people say that dc is thin…it’s still bigger than Paris or Milan

Even in the umc community - dc people pack a solid 20+ lbs more than their ses counterparts in Western Europe

Who is their right mind is driving inside DC if they live in DC and are walking distance away from amenities and can easily commute to their job? This is a fake grievance. People already walk by far and large. The reason we need cars when living in urban areas is because areas outside are very car dependent and we need cars to go OUTSIDE of the city. Some people have family they need to visit outside or even jobs, and with transit being limited it’s often faster to drive than take a combination of metro and buses if you don’t live/work near stations.

These limitations isn’t about improving the lives or residents in the city but controlling how many times people leave their city limits. Get real. This is precisely the thing paranoid conspiracies mean when they say “15 min city”. People should have access to personal vehicles and be allowed to use them whenever they want to get outside and have freedom of movement. And I am a big proponent of urban lifestyle and walkability and NYC is my favorite city (lived there for a very long time).

People with families. People who have to juggle picking up multiple kids from different schools, aftercare. People who need to buy groceries, who need to be in different places on tight deadlines.

people who don't lice downtown

Downtown is not congested. DC is a lower density city, stop making it Manhattan. If you charge people to come to DC in their personal vehicles or for people who live here to drive them around, then it will become a wasteland of decay in due time. Tourists cannot sustain it, and office workers aren't coming back in droves, not to mention Fed jobs are getting cut not increased.

I don't commute into the city often anymore, but when I do, I drive, and I pay $19 for parking. And I do this because driving is faster and cheaper than the metro + parking. I used to drive in every day for the same reason. I'm fairly close to a metro too, but it's not worth the time or money, and that's too bad because if it were something more reasonable, like $5-10 round-trip, then I'd reconsider my choices. There is a tipping point where inconvenience is outweighed by benefit. But $20 to commute via public transport doesn't get you to the tipping point where people change their behavior.

Barring making public transport cheap/free I'm afraid any measures that greatly inconvenience commuters will just make people and employers flee the city. DC isn't NY, in comparison; it's a rather sleepy provincial town, it lacks any sort of vibe, as there isn't much going on, much less now than before the pandemic, so you might as well be working in an office building in Tysons, hey at least your more likely to get free or cheap parking in Tysons, and not have to deal with express lane fees.

Lol, says the person who admittedly spends zero time in the city yet declares from their SUV parked in a downtown garage that it has no vibe.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Berlin is close to voting on a referendum to allow people just 12 car trips per year in the city.

https://wattsupwiththat.com/2025/07/03/berlin-moves-to-ban-autos-from-inside-the-city-widespread-chaos-looms/

I figure this might solve the problem of congress being too old if everyone has to take a bike.

It will be interesting to watch all the cyclists in DC when the temperature is 25 degrees with a wind chill temp of 18.
And, you expect the Congress members who live in VA or MD - 20+ miles from DC to bike to work?

People do bike in those conditions. I am not sure this is the burn you think it is.

This is like...almost pleasant temperature for biking in winter? If you have a coat, it's actually nice to not overheat!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Easy to access and affordable public transport, including self driving taxis. No private cars.

How do you propose getting children to school since the mayor does not supply bus transport? Especially as you get to MS and HS, even to a of inbounds kids do not live within walking distance and many have what would be a 3 bus, hour+ commute on transit to school (which btw isn’t especially safe for the 11-18 age group).

Almost all DC Public middle and high schools are well served by public transit and certainly most kids attending their neighborhood school can in fact walk there.

But let us know what school your kids attend - I bet there are ways for them to get there without being driven and if you lotteried into an OOB school that should not be everyone else's problem.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Berlin is close to voting on a referendum to allow people just 12 car trips per year in the city.

https://wattsupwiththat.com/2025/07/03/berlin-moves-to-ban-autos-from-inside-the-city-widespread-chaos-looms/

I figure this might solve the problem of congress being too old if everyone has to take a bike.

Is this a joke? DC is not Berlin. We are the US where everyone drives! We don't have public transportation like Europe/Asia do. There is zero way in hell DC can function without cars. Zero.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Berlin is close to voting on a referendum to allow people just 12 car trips per year in the city.

https://wattsupwiththat.com/2025/07/03/berlin-moves-to-ban-autos-from-inside-the-city-widespread-chaos-looms/

I figure this might solve the problem of congress being too old if everyone has to take a bike.

It will be interesting to watch all the cyclists in DC when the temperature is 25 degrees with a wind chill temp of 18.
And, you expect the Congress members who live in VA or MD - 20+ miles from DC to bike to work?

There's this concept called "clothing appropriate for the weather". I can be very happy riding a bike in 25 degree weather, because I wear that. And its not even fancy/expensive clothing from overprice patagonia or something. Just a fleece, coat, and some bar mitts.

Yeah this is a stupid talking point from people who don't bike.

Biking in the cold really isn't a big deal - as someone who bikes to work most of the year it is much more comfortable biking in the winter than the summer and you don't have to worry about getting to work hot and sweaty or changing clothes.

And in case folks missed it because of global warming we've barely had cold weather in DC the last 10 years but lets not change anything and keep on driving.

Culturally, Americans are not people who take trains, bike or walk. You know the obesity rate in the US yes? So it's less about what to wear in winter keeping warm as it's just not the norm to actually go somewhere without driving. This is what Americans do. Watch the Super Bowl. Eat burgers. Put a zillion flags up at their house. Drive.

It's not about what's good for DC or whether it can work. It's about people live their cars and they don't really want to get from point A to B in any other way because it's not what they are used to.

[Anonymous]

I do drive but don’t prefer to drive downtown to work since I’d have to pay for parking. I live in the district. Wmata just changed my bus line so a commute that used to take 15 minutes takes 40… and the buses only come every 40 mins. Thanks, Wmata.

Also, no thank you to biking in 90s at 80 percent humidity.