It never was, but the car problem always existed because roads needing to be clear for horses caused the same prohibitive issues of using streets for pedestrians.
> why do you think it would become true just by getting rid of cars?
It wouldn't be just getting rid of cars, its what you do with the space once you get rid of them. Added greenery, protected bike lanes, a lane or two for trains/buses, and you get a ton more pedestrian room. Suddenly people could want to be on the streets of midtown manhattan maybe, save tourist spots.
And deliveries, not just your amazon prime 2 hour service, but for shops to restock, and building sites to handle tons of equipment, cement, rubble, etc?
Pedestrian areas in the city center here usually get delivery trucks in the early morning and after ~8:00 or so no cars are allowed in that zone. Seems to work well. Construction sites are an exception and while inconvenient I doubt people insist on bringing construction equipment by wheelbarrow from a km away.
They can go through the bus lane. Usually when you design people centric streets you still leave a clearing big enough for vehicles to pass through, it's just they have to go very slow or have siren to alert everyone to move out of the way for an emergency.
As it works in Europe, businesses and residents can get a (usually paid) permit to enter such areas, or there're hours when traffic is permitted. The same for building sites, they get an approval for a temporary modification of the traffic regulations. Most minor deliveries (food, post) are done using lightweight transport (small trucks, scooters, bicycles, kick scooters, on foot). Usually there are parkings on the borders of the area, so it's not a problem for who arrives from afar. It's actually very nice experience.
Sure, for a small area that's fine, but if you're talking about the entire island of Manhattan that's a problem.
I suppose if you made say every 20th street open to one way single street traffic (so 20th goes west, 40th east, 60th west etc), and every even avenue open (2nd south, 4th north, 6th south), that could work
It never was, but the car problem always existed because roads needing to be clear for horses caused the same prohibitive issues of using streets for pedestrians.
> why do you think it would become true just by getting rid of cars?
It wouldn't be just getting rid of cars, its what you do with the space once you get rid of them. Added greenery, protected bike lanes, a lane or two for trains/buses, and you get a ton more pedestrian room. Suddenly people could want to be on the streets of midtown manhattan maybe, save tourist spots.