Originally Posted by
downtube42
Prior to the virus, we dined out upwards of 6 times/week. we'll not be dining in an indoor restaurant in the foreseeable future, but we would happily eat at establishments with spaced outdoor seating. We're not unique.
Push the tables out on the sidewalk and road, with umbrellas and awnings, with a walking space down the middle. That's a good use of select streets. If/when businesses realize people spend money, not cars, they will embrace the idea.
Yes. In a smaller area, such as a town's "Main Street" area, or a city's dense/mixed urban "shops" district.
Tougher, in cities where everything's laid out so poorly that it effectively requires vehicles or bikes to get there.
Would love to see shopping+dining zones be relatively denser in key areas across towns, with lots of bike lanes heading to such spots, with park-and-ride lots and bus service, etc. Imagine if most towns and cities had relatively large areas like that where people were forced to walk or bike in the area.
Always thought that a space like that could be designed better, in a city otherwise poorly laid out for such use. With serious public transport in the area (perhaps rings of monorails, or self-driving multi-passenger vehicles traveling along fixed courses). Biggest hurdle: believing it's worthwhile to disallow personal motor vehicles in the zone, that there aren't alternatives.
Someday, perhaps.