Cars Take up Space

[bikejunkie]

The perception that private cars take up a huge amount of space is not simply instinctive. An automobile parked in a lot consumes 300 sq. ft. of space. Meanwhile a vehicle traveling at 30mph consumes 30,000 sq. ft. of space. That's more than half an acre for only one person. If the same amount of space were used by a intracity train, several hundred people could travel in the same space. If everyone in Portland showed the chutzpah to travel without their car for only ONE day a week, we could cut traffic by 15%.<p> (Yes I know it's great for other people, but YOU need your car for work. You could always decide to go carless on a weekend. Or utilize a car sharing program (http://www.eartheasy.com/live_car_sharing.htm).)

[nateted4]

That's cool. Where did you get those numbers?

[eagerdrone]

Don't forget all the other spaces dedicated to supporting car use, namely huge oil tankers, endless roads, junk yards, repair shops, gas stations, Oil drilling facilities, strip mining operations to dig iron ore from the earth, traffic signage and advertisements on billboards, drive thru lanes and windows at the burger stop, banks, laundry, police cars to pursue and ticket motorists, tow trucks, 18-wheelers to ship cars around the country, auto dealer lots, suburbia.
Yes, the automobile takes up huge amounts of space.