Sunday Movie: Pike Place Market With and Without Cars

Pike Place Market with cars in 2022, and without cars in 2025. (Juan Rodriguez)

Cars were removed from Pike Place in April due to a building construction project blocking a lane. They were supposed to return this month but Mayor Harrell extended the ban to spring 2026. The city is taking advantage of this temporary pedestrianization to study how people are voting with their feet and cars; e.g., any changes in foot traffic or vendor sales. Some people have long advocated for a permanent ban, while some drivers complain about losing the ability to quickly drop into a shop and leave. Some vendors are concerned they may be losing sales as people walk in the middle of the street and don't see the shop rather than being forced to walk directly in front of the shop. But there's is a great opportunity to create a truly pedestrianized street to complement the early-1900s market and new overlook walk and waterfront renovation.

Serfaus, Austria, population 1000, has the second-smallest subway in the world. (TFS Transport via RMTransit) Why does it have it? Skiers! Cars are banned in the village. The U-Bahn runs from the consolidated parking garage through the village center to the ski lift.

The smallest subway according to some criteria is the Carmelit in Haifa, Israel. It's 1.1 miles long with 6 stations. Other contenders can be found by doing a web search for smallest subway in the world". It partly depends on the criteria: shortest length, fewest stations, lowest capacity, smallest host city, and whether funiculars (steep-incline services) are eligible.

This is an open thread.