I had a similar experience when in LA last. LA is very much a car city and things are laid out so that cars have it easy, but that doesn't make it bad for pedestrians. They've actually thought about how pedestrians are supposed to get around in a car culture and made provisions.
One example of this is the crossing lights. Here they'll put two buttons on a corner, one for crossing in each direction. There they use two poles. I thought at first this was dumb, but I discovered I never had a chance to walk the five feet from one pole to the next before the light would change to green for me. It made walking in a car city easier than it is here.
Oh, and there were plenty of crosswalks and overpasses as well, as I recall.
it's too bad that a society has to be so car-centric before we start making it easier for people to get around by other means. our poor planet!
(ironic you post this on car-free day, huh?)
ps. can we also have walk lights with pictures of a little man walking and then running as it gets closer to the light changing? that is soo much cooler than a boring flashy hand.
sorry to point this out, but the 1100 sq km you mentioned for hk also includes lantau island, which is virtually uninhabited. Lantau is almost twice the size of HK Island.
If you take the inhabited area of HK(I don't have statistics), the population density is actually much higher in certain areas as opposed to others. Causeway Bay for example is one of the highest density areas in the world.
Another reason why there are relatively less cars per person in HK is because you get taxed almost 100% on purchasing a car.
It's cheaper to take public transportation in HK, faster, more efficient. The HK subway system is by far the fastest, most efficient, safest subway system in the world IMHO.
Plus when you live 10 minutes walking distance from where you work, eat, play, and socialize, you do end up walking more.
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One example of this is the crossing lights. Here they'll put two buttons on a corner, one for crossing in each direction. There they use two poles. I thought at first this was dumb, but I discovered I never had a chance to walk the five feet from one pole to the next before the light would change to green for me. It made walking in a car city easier than it is here.
Oh, and there were plenty of crosswalks and overpasses as well, as I recall.
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(ironic you post this on car-free day, huh?)
ps. can we also have walk lights with pictures of a little man walking and then running as it gets closer to the light changing? that is soo much cooler than a boring flashy hand.
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If you take the inhabited area of HK(I don't have statistics), the population density is actually much higher in certain areas as opposed to others. Causeway Bay for example is one of the highest density areas in the world.
Another reason why there are relatively less cars per person in HK is because you get taxed almost 100% on purchasing a car.
It's cheaper to take public transportation in HK, faster, more efficient. The HK subway system is by far the fastest, most efficient, safest subway system in the world IMHO.
Plus when you live 10 minutes walking distance from where you work, eat, play, and socialize, you do end up walking more.
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However, the amount of money that you would pay for an apartment in HK...can get 4 times the size in canada....
I miss trees in the autumn
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