🚀 go-pugleaf

John McCarthy (jmc@Steam.Stanford.EDU) wrote:
: leguerrl@ERE.UMontreal.CA (Le Guerrier Louis-Luc) writes:
: 
: > I live in a suburban area, I work downtown a large city, and I don't use
: > a car. I prefer the train. Now we must work on railing some highways, and
: > building more walking, cycling, and small local railways, to help us
: > getting to the "main" railways that go downtown.  
: > 
: > We should focus on bicycle trailers, tricycles and other human vehicles
: > to transport normal personal goods,, and
: > use horses to carry heavy loads to/from the railways (to replace trucks).
: 
: Le Guerrier's proposal expresses a moderately widespread sentiment.  I 
: would like to see it done experimentally at Government capital expense 
: but without subsidy of running expenses.  Would a city of 100,000 suffice,
: or does the idea require 500,000?
: 
: There could either be a new city built from scratch or an existing
: city could be taken over for the experiment.  If the latter, the
: inhabitants commuters from the suburbs who didn't like the new way of
: life would have to be bought out.  I am one who wouldn't live or work
: in such a city, but for a suitable price I would go away.
: 
: Horses take a lot of space, eat a lot of feed, and require a lot of
: people to take care of them.  In the 1890s New York had 100,000
: horses, but unless you drastically reduced the amount of goods used, a
: larger number of horses per thousand people would be required.  
...

I suggest the horse as a truck replacement, not as a car. Not everyone owns
a truck (a lorry), so not everyone would own a horse, but mostly transport
companies in fact. Most people are able to bike or walk to the railway for
their everyday moves, to do casual shopping, groceries. Just a bike
with a basket or a trike does the job.

There would still be less horses per inhabitant in the human city than before
1900, but a much wider railway network. Imagine what would have happened if
the gas motor wouldn't be invented. The railway network would have expanded
much more, so it would have become easier with time to live without a horse.

Louis-Luc