Unfortunately, this is not remotely feasible in many of the most populated cities of the US, nor many of the rural cities. [0] It's a nice thought, but not one that could ever happen.
Till we learn to drive responsibly and be aware of our environment as a matter of course, these accidents will continue to happen.
How is public transit not remotely feasible in large cities? At one time, many US cities (large and small) had extensive streetcar systems that were far more efficient than cars. We are now left with just a handful of such systems, not because automobiles are technically superior but because of the intersection of business and politics:
The executive summary is this: car companies took advantage of stupid laws to destroy almost all American streetcar systems.
The sooner we undo that damage, the better. Cars make a lot of sense in rural areas and for a few very niche uses in suburban and urban areas, but they are a dangerous, polluting, and inefficient way for people to commute to work.
"JonSkeptic"..not surprised by the sentiment of your comment.
I think it is feasible..certainly not in all cities and maybe not in any established cities..but some small cities could implement such a solution. That or entirely new cities could be created with this design.
Just require cars to be parked when entering city limits and traded for a golf cart or Segway or something of the sort. The boundaries could be expanded as the city grows if the idea was popular..
An incremental alternative would be to impose a congestion tax for people who choose to drive their cars into the city. The tax would create an incentive not to drive and could be used to fund things like transit and bike sharing.
Even if you start designing new small cities to accommodate no automobiles, you will not be able to eliminate automobiles outside those cities, nor will you be able to force everyone to live in them.
You'd basically just be building a car-less retirement community and hope that young people opt into it.
Build light rail in existing cities, build parking lots for people who need to drive to a light rail station, and start charging a toll for people who drive in places where light rail could take them. Slowly but surely you can turn a city built around cars into a city built around public transit. This is possible in small and large cities and would reduce congestion, pollution, and the danger to pedestrians and cyclists.
Till we learn to drive responsibly and be aware of our environment as a matter of course, these accidents will continue to happen.
RIP.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2013/03/05/c...