A Reddit post that showed a 10-lane highway alongside a beach in Alexandria, Egypt, sparked outrage in an anticar community.
"Looks like a blast for the beachgoers," the poster wrote, sharing two photos of the area, one of which displayed bumper-to-bumper traffic as well as what looked like thousands of people crammed onto the sliver of sand.
Commenters were eager to point out that such highway projects never solve congestion problems. They also make things much worse for the people who live there. Neither stops the onslaught of ever-expanding roadways, hence the r/f***cars argument.
"Each time they say 'it's gonna fix traffic' is another order of magnitude to the cost of 'fixing' the traffic," one user stated.
Another said: "Nice sea view for when you're stuck in traffic. They'll probably add a pontoon lane in the sea next."
"Awful. Just awful," someone else wrote. "I thought my city was bad devoting prime waterfront real estate to highways, but this takes the cake."
A fourth Redditor agreed, saying: "Use your most valuable real estate as a high speed throughway for cars. Smart."
While some governments continue on this treacherous path, others are clearing the way to a cleaner, greener, and safer future.
Regarding the former, Houston is spending $9.7 billion on a scheme that will take 18 years and likely not come close to alleviating vehicular traffic on Interstate 45.
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Definitely 👍 But elsewhere, residents of Utrecht in the Netherlands pushed for a makeover of a diminished roadway into a canal. Montréal and Edmonton, Alberta, have redesigned streets and remade parking lots to benefit cyclists and pedestrians.
Meanwhile, a transportation expert shared how Los Angeles could benefit from induced demand for public transit, bike lanes, and sidewalks.
Even the small town of Thomasville, Georgia, is on board, with a fast-tracked revitalization that has quickly boosted growth by improving walkability.
These kinds of changes improve the community, boost businesses, and enable healthier living.
The dichotomy is clear. In this era of innovation and unique solutions, cities do well when they try something different.
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