NO TRAFFIC: CLEANER AIR & LESS GREENHOUSE GASSES

Harlem Bespoke: Politicians and activists always point out the air quality issues in the city especially in neighborhoods like Harlem and Washington Heights but seldom talk about the obvious solution. Want cleaner air for healthier kids and residents?  Save the planet from destructive flooding and seasonal fires? How about less noise and making streets safe for families and the elderly? Does the community want to instantly add more green space to absorb excessive heat and carbon dioxide?

Well the elephant in the room is ending the psychological need for cars or at least ones that are not Electric Vehicles (EV) which hardly anyone in the government is talking about.  The EPA states that almost a third of greenhouse gases are caused by fossil fuel automobile exhaust in this country.  Manhattan is especially prime for having car free zones since public transportation is so dense.  In fact only 22 percent of households in Manhattan have cars and a scant 8 percent of those car owners actually drive to work but when the issue comes up, the vocal few in local politics prioritizes street parking and other incentives to encourage automobile ownership.  

Having a car in the Manhattan is a luxury and not a necessity, so the priority should be on improving public transportation infrastructure, more car-free bus lanes, subway line or bike lane extensions along with EV station to charge up. Buses and trains are run on electricity these days and maybe the government should just adopt an all EV line of transportation for all facilities since politicians like being driven around everywhere.  All those big online retail shipping companies should also adopt EV transportation as the standard.  

Then there is the mandate that all large new construction development require parking space to be included.  Maybe that should change to EV parking only on all major building developments along with just basic storage areas for eco-friendly bicycles: LINK

HarlemBespoke.com 2021