The Big Ugly Truth of American VS German Streets
Type Ashton・20 minutes read
Many towns in the Black Forest struggle with modernizing roads for 21st-century vehicles, while US cities have wider streets due to historical reasons, leading to higher costs and financial burdens. Germany invests more in road maintenance and research, focusing on narrow local streets for safety, livability, and reduced car usage compared to the US.
Insights
- Historical reasons, like pre-automobile wide roads for horse-drawn wagons, contribute to the wide streets in the US, which are costly to build and maintain, leading to financial burdens and taking up valuable land space.
- Narrower roads in Germany prioritize local access, community livability, and safety, reducing the need for extensive car usage, encouraging slower speeds, and creating more people-friendly spaces with minimal impact on overall driving time.
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Recent questions
How do road widths differ between the US and Europe?
In the US, streets are notably wider compared to Europe due to historical reasons like wide roads for horse-drawn wagons. US cities allocate more land to streets, with residential streets being over double the width in the US.
What are the financial implications of wide roads in the US?
Wide roads in the US are costly to build, maintain, and repair, leading to significant financial burdens. The US is constructing more roads than it can afford to maintain, contributing to higher land prices and taking up valuable land space.
How does Germany prioritize road maintenance compared to the US?
Germany invests heavily in road maintenance and research, spending more per capita on R&D compared to the US. Narrower roads in Germany prioritize local access, community livability, and reduce the need for extensive car usage.
What are the safety concerns associated with wide roads in the US?
Wide roads in the US encourage speeding, leading to higher average speeds and increased crash risks. The Federal Highway Research Institute recommends visually narrowing new local roads to slow down speeds and enhance safety for road users.
How do narrow local streets impact urban environments?
Narrower local streets create quieter, safer, and more people-friendly spaces, deterring unnecessary traffic and reducing stormwater runoff. While potentially inconvenient to drive on, narrow streets have minimal impact on overall driving time and contribute to a more walkable urban environment.
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Summary
00:00
"US Wide Roads vs. German Narrow Roads"
- Many towns in the Black Forest, including the author's, struggle with modernizing their roads to accommodate 21st-century vehicles.
- Driving in Germany and Europe differs significantly from the United States, where streets are notably wider.
- US cities dedicate a larger land area to streets compared to European cities, with residential streets being over double the width in the US.
- Historical reasons, such as pre-automobile wide roads for horse-drawn wagons, contribute to the wide streets in the US.
- Wide roads in the US are costly to build, maintain, and repair, with construction costs varying based on location and type of road.
- The US is building more roads than it can afford to maintain, leading to significant financial burdens.
- Germany invests heavily in road maintenance and research, spending significantly more per capita on R&D compared to the US.
- Wide roads in the US take up valuable land space that could be used for housing, contributing to higher land prices.
- Narrower roads in Germany prioritize local access, community livability, and reduce the need for extensive car usage.
- Wide roads in the US encourage speeding, with studies showing that wider streets lead to higher average speeds and increased crash risks.
17:41
Narrower roads enhance safety and livability.
- The Federal Highway Research Institute recommends visually narrowing new local roads by applying lateral guidelines at a constant distance from the edge to slow down speeds and protect road users and edges from damage.
- Lateral guidelines, while enhancing safety, require increased attention during encounters with other vehicles, especially for drivers with Lane departure alerts in newer cars.
- Wide roads are criticized for detracting from the beauty of cities and being less human-centric, leading to less walkability and increased impervious surface in urban environments.
- Narrower local streets, while potentially inconvenient to drive on, create quieter, safer, and more people-friendly spaces, deterring unnecessary traffic and reducing stormwater runoff, with minimal impact on overall driving time.
