Looking forward to this. I've just spent two weeks in Kiev, where they block a large section of Khreschatyk St. (8 car lanes plus very wide side walks) around Maidan Nezalezhnosti (Independence Square) plus some of the side roads each weekend. It makes for an amazing atmosphere and lots of people come out to socialize, chill, shop etc. and I'm almost certain business is better on pedestrianized days vs. 8 lanes full of cars for no good reason.
How do citizens who have limited mobility get around in the area this is enforced in? Huge proponent of these efforts (having experienced car free zones in Spain), but I’m always interested in how accommodations are made for people who have a hard time walking (whether it’s due to age or an ailment).
I've lived in various places in Europe (most recently Eindhoven) with large car-free areas. Car-free only applies to folks who have no mobility issues. The areas are all fully driveable (in the early mornings delivery vans and trucks are all over) usually with electronic pylons or gates as blocks. Folks with mobility issues can drive in. I often hear the question from North Americans - but again, car free is not a punishment but a reward. It is actually safer for folks with mobility issues because there are massive pedestrian areas with limited/no curbs and no cars.
Check Google Maps for some representative distances (i. e. picl some apparment building, then map the route to the next supermarket, doctor's office, etc).
You will have a store within 500m for the vast majority of residential buildings, and often within 200m. The closest bus stop should also rarely be farther away than about 150m.
Wheelchairs and electric scooters are used almost exclusively by paraplegics, not by, say, elderly people with arthritis. Having far lower obesity rates compared to the US helps.
My impression is that car ownership is exceedingly rare among the elderly, below the already low 30% of households owning cars.
But these pedestrian areas don't make too much of a difference: they tend to be just single streets, so you can always park on the parallel streets and walk just one block.
My grandmother is 90, and is unable to walk more than a few feet at a time without being in debilitating pain from advanced arthritis and her being too old for knee replacement surgery. These are the edge cases I'm interested in, especially as the first world rapidly ages and the number of people in the population with mobility issues increases. If the solution is exceptional accessibility for wheelchairs and electric scooters, perfect!
Don't forget about Podil, where they closed off a major 4-lane street permanently. Now the street is full of outdoor seating for restaurants and cafes, and it's always busy with people.
I wish more American politicians would visit Europe and see how great closing off a few streets could be.
>I wish more American politicians would visit Europe and see how great closing off a few streets could be.
How's that going to help anything? American politicians are just doing what they were elected for by the American people, and the American people love cars and hate public transit. Enlightening some politicians will either have them doing nothing different because they want to appease their constituents, or doing something different and losing their re-election bid. The problem isn't the politicians, it's the voters.
