Many European cities, and a modest number of North American cities, have pedestrian zones in their urban centers. Europe fares better, and those spaces are bustling places, full of people and energy, especially in summer, and even after most of the department stores on the streets have closed. Most restaurants have their tables outdoors, extending onto sidewalks, streets, and squares, and it’s common to see a restaurant waiting an hour for an outdoor table but inside it’s empty.
It’s wonderful, and several North American cities have even tried to diversify Covid, although many have reduced their measures, in part due to calls from merchants on those streets who fear they have lost car traffic. Promenade, located 10 blocks from Santa Barbara, is under pressure to fix vehicular traffic, and motorcycle lanes have gone and returned. The United States has not been able to reflect what Europe has done.
Even Europe is debating it. Part of Lyon is made up of pedestrian zones, but opposes a new call to convert the entire city centre. Strasbourg, which declares itself the “Christmas Capital”, closes its entire center to cars for a month, but also has giant pedestrian spaces the rest of the year. The key is to get a critical mass of other people to keep the energy going. It is unexpected that many cities remain on their streets buying groceries even after almost all businesses are closed, and strange that those stores will remain closed while a large crowd passes by.
Except on the narrowest streets, European pedestrian zones are not closed to cars. Almost all of them are open for premises and deliveries after the afternoon and other times. Many are “limited traffic zones” where only certain cars are allowed, such as those of Dominion citizens and hotel guests. They may have multiple cars, but they move slowly and much less than if they were fully open. There are also many cars parked on the streets, because in those older spaces there are many parking spaces unless they are underground.
Of course, there is public transport and trams are added, often added intentionally, as in Bern, to offer safe mobility. And in cities with greater density, there are also more people close to the center on foot or by bicycle. Transport systems are designed to concentrate on the city center or central station, making it possible to transfer many other people to the pedestrian zone. However, it is interesting to note that, for a large percentage of the population, cars are the same way that other people outside the center of the pedestrian domain used to enter and be pedestrians there. A bustling pedestrian center depends on a critical mass of people: this is the opposite of popular automobile traffic where drivers must avoid traffic jams; Pedestrians, being sociable, look for where the (almost unlimited) crowds are.
For merchants concerned about wasting drive-through access, newer cities may follow models like Mountain View, California. Mountain View (Google headquarters) is a natural expansion of California, but it has a successful small pedestrian mall in the city center after Covid. Contributing to this is the fact that car traffic is directed to back streets, but there are parking lots and paths through advertising buildings so that everything is available smoothly for cars and pedestrians.
Robocars will offer a number of engaging tactics to help the pedestrian core. Robotaxis are a great option for those who come by car, as they don’t want to park, which can cause many of the allowed cars to park on those streets. They can also provide access to other people with disabilities, even those of the same age. They’re also great for deliveries, as they allow for small delivery robots that require less space and don’t want to go through quickly. Nowadays, in the face of the need for a driver, delivery trucks are getting bigger and bigger: a giant load can simply be transported in several smaller delivery robots without the need for more humans. Robot cars without humans on board do not hesitate to wait to avoid hindering pedestrian traffic.
They are also suitable for hotel guests. I like to stay in centrally located hotels, which requires walking with my bags from a parking lot. This makes it very inconvenient if you have extra luggage or want to get back in your car to retrieve something you forgot.
Limited traffic zones are really a vital way to charge congestion (and some only apply during certain times). Intelligent transportation and robotaxis allow for much more complicated types of counting, and even the ability to dynamically control the number of cars entering intermediate or pedestrian areas. Setting up and controlling this is based not only on vehicle traffic, but also on pedestrian traffic. The goal of a pedestrian core is to reach a critical mass of people to keep it vibrant. It becomes imaginable to slow down cars, taxis, and deliveries as foot traffic becomes denser, or to have commuters pile into cars. The value can also be reduced to ensure that the core has the critical mass of pedestrians necessary for the domain to thrive. The prospects for expansion, and even bustling European-style walkable urban centers, may prove bright for the future, even in the United States.
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