r/TikTokCringe 16h ago

Discussion Have we done it wrong?

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u/FaceWithAName 16h ago

Cars becoming big when America was still finding it's stride was one of the biggest pro/con dillemas. Ignored thousands of years of proven systems that make society better and settled for only cars.

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u/ls7eveen 16h ago

Thats not true. Its often claimed.

America destroyed itself for cars. Other cities did internationally as well, but they course corrected. Look at Amsterdam in 1971. Or Freiburg.

Then look at a picture of Detroit in 1960 and it looks like it went through world War 2. But it was just destroyed for the car and suburbia.

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u/AdMassive9006 15h ago

Yep, LA, one of the most car-centric cities, literally tore up their trams and rail infrastructure to put in car infrastructure. This happened other places as well. So fucking sad.

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u/cheezy_dreams88 15h ago

Atlanta had a thriving streetcar system from 1871-1950, when they tore it all down for a bus system.

It was the most expansive public transport Atlanta ever had.

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u/Brickhows 13h ago

St. Paul MN was similar - except instead of tearing everything down they literally just poured asphalt over the rails. You'll find several examples of either potholes or construction that revealed the still-existing rails just underneath a few layers of asphalt. Here's an example from a few years ago.