Just in time for Sunday night's failed launch of congestion pricing, Streetfilms's Clarence Eckerson has returned from Stockholm with a new video that shows how great a city can be when 20 percent of the cars are removed.
See it for yourself:
- Public space repurposed for people, not cars.
- Business-friendly shopping strips filled with strolling pedestrians instead rushing drivers.
- Calm and relaxed residential streets where kids can even play (remember that?!).
- Public transit that isn't stuck in private traffic all the time.
Meanwhile, the film features a bike ride with Lars Strömgren, also known as the Ydanis Rodriguez of Stockholm, and a rare Streetfilms guest spot by yours truly:
Watching the film makes a mockery of Gov. Hochul's claim that she undid congestion pricing on behalf of "working" New Yorkers. Every "working" resident of Stockholm has benefitted from that city's decision a generation ago to charge a small fee to drive into the most congested part of town — with the money going towards urban improvements.
It's something Streetsblog also chronicled during a fact- (and fish-) finding mission to Sweden earlier this year:
