A Harmony Moment

I spent an hour over at Frankfurt today....at Mainkai Strasse.  It's a talked about street in Frankfurt now....mostly because the city council went and made it a non-car street....strictly bikes, e-scooters and walkers.....about three-quarters of a kilometer.

It's an odd experience standing there. 

Did it push traffic off to another street?  Yes.  Those folks are whining about this, and dislike what was done. 

But here on this street....just a minute away from the river, it's peaceful and quiet.  Waste of asphalt?  No doubt....if this was permanent.  No one is saying that. 

There is some effort in Frankfurt to slice off a significant part of the city (mid-town area) and make it into a bike and pedestrian zone.  You might be able to eventually find a four-block area where it might be proven practical.....but the whole mid-town area?  It'll never happen. 

The over-arching problem?  Lets be honest here....a fair number of people who work in Frankfurt....don't live there.  This movement out of the city has been going on for decades, and professional people (lawyers, accountants, etc)....simply don't want to live in the city.  They make good money and prefer a different landscape, and the mass transit business just isn't a five-star system (as some might fantasize about). 

But I'm guessing the locals who live on this street will sit there on a Saturday afternoon, and enjoy the quiet street.