blubton

In this NYT article they say that 55 percent of NYC households have no car, and this site claims a modal share of 30% for cars. So most NYC residents already use sustainable transportation, but not all of them.

In my experience (Dutchie living near the German border) the car culture of Germany isn't that big; it is mostly the industry. Yes, there are many cars and a few more people driving in big BMW than the Dutch average, but there are quite a few people on bikes too. Also, transit in Germany is quite decent, despite the governments efforts; and, contrary to the Netherlands, it is affordable. Meanwhile the UK cancelled part of their HSR system and the prime minister claims it is a "country of motorists".

Deutsche Bank I don't know about, so you may still be right.

I completely understand the weather thing. In the Netherlands it doesn’t get that cold, but the rain is really annoying (it rained basically non-stop from october till late february). In the city where I live however, there is also a pretty good bus service, so you can avoid cycling longer distances in the rain. For me I find cycling in good weather so good for my mental and physical health that I wouldn't want to go without it.

You say an e-bike doesn’t quite do it for you, and I'm curious what you mean. Is it that it doesn't have the range, that the engine isn't strong enough for hills, or something else? I would love to learn about more disadvantages of micromobility, so I can create more nuanced opinions.

Fair point. You probably could still build a metro, but because it would not be worth the cost it for a city of this size. But no soil should stop a tram from being built, only the VVD and co may do that.

Good luck! It seems to me like Eindhoven would be perfect for trams: a lot of major destinations, like the university, football station, ASML in Veldhoven and the airport. Add to this that the region will definitely grow a lot in the future and trams (or even a metro) should be a no brainer. The fact that the much smaller city of Enschede is actually going to look at trams potentially in the future, but Eindhoven doesn't, is absolutely crazy. Hopefully they'll change their minds.

Somewhat beside the point, but cycling infrastructure makes most of these things way better too. Every year I do an inline skating time trial with a club where we use a bike highway: the asphalt is way smoother than anywhere else!

Do you have any stories/articles about this you can share? I would love to hear more about it!

I don't know about interstate water systems. In Europe something of the kind is already there, but the ecological consequences are pretty bad. Unconnected rivers sometimes have their own species, but connecting the rivers will mean that species from one river can invade the other. This happened when they connected the Rhine and the Danube. I don't know how big the economic gains would be, but I feel like the world has damaged its rivers enough, with canalization and dam placements.