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And kids, the elderly, and cats can enjoy the streets without worrying all the time about traffic.

How do they do that, you may ask...

It's because cars have to be parked in off-street garages. Since 1962, you've need a shako shōmeisho ("garage certificate") before you're allowed to drive one off the lot. You're not allowed to warehouse private cars in public space, which is at a premium in dense cities. The parking laws lead to some interesting arrangements; cars squeezed into tiny garages (how do you open the door to get out?); car elevators; multi-storey lots where cars are stacked like battery hens.

You can find out more it in this week's #Straphanger dispatch. Every week, I go into depth about transit, bicycles, trains, urbanism, and alternatives to car-centered thinking.

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https://straphanger.substack.com/p/whats-missing-from-this-picture