[the_biot]

No, it's worse than that. The city council very much implemented an anti-car (harassment) policy, to the point that car owners felt hounded by their own council's policies. It seriously wasn't a matter of "marginally less privileged".

[TimK65]

Motorists are incredibly fragile. I'm glad Paris has had a mayor who could stand up to their entitled whinging.

[dwedge]

Motorists are an easy scapegoat but without alternatives it's just political handwaving. And most people are motorists.

Take my city for example. I work in an office block around a 15 minute walk from the centre, which has free parking for employees. Monday this week the city announced that the land is now paid parking to the city effective immediately. When it was pointed out they they hadn't provided any of the necessary signage or machines for this, they decided it was illegal to park there at all, with fines and tow trucks for non compliance. An email from them suggested "cycling or using public transport as the weather is nicer".

I cannot stress this enough. No warning, no compromise, no other use for this land, just an immediate draconian announcement.

It's very easy to call another group entitled if you're not one of them

[enriquto]

> the city announced that the land is now paid parking to the city

what a strange way to put it... why didn't they just say that they are not using any more taxpayer money to finance your parking space? Land in a city is not "for free".

> It's very easy to call another group entitled if you're not one of them

yeah, well: my point, exactly!

[dwedge]

I'll be totally honest in that I don't know what the arrangement was before, but that free parking was previously enforced by permits so it's a reasonable assumption that it was not at the tax payers expense

[bluGill]

You miss the larger point not mentioned: all those motorists will be mad and looking to vote for someone next election that will undo it all.

[input_sh]

Your job in any political office is not to leave everything as-is and to cement yourself into that position, but to make marginal improvements, even if doing so costs you the next elections or inconveniences people (hopefully only temporarily).

Most of those marginal improvements can only be seen as something positive in retrospective, not while they're being made. While they're being made, they'll always be unpopular, as the voter base is usually not keen on defending the people that are currently in charge. That doesn't mean they won't show up in the next elections, just that they are quieter in the meantime.

[bluGill]

in the ideal world maybe - but we don't live in the ideal world: most are trying to get re-elected, or elected to a higher office now that they have experience.

and even in the ideal world a great leader can do more in the next term if they get relected.

[yulker]

Interesting how correctly naming them motorists sharpens how "the default" is often to be presumed drivers and pedestrians and cyclists are marginal

[rootusrootus]

I don’t know that it’s a helpful distinction. A lot of people do it all - drive, walk, bike, and take public transit. Only in this kind of discussion do I see people declaring it a team you have to choose.

[stef25]

> Motorists are incredibly fragile

Until you throw yourself in front of my car

[alamortsubite]

> > Motorists are incredibly fragile

> Until you throw yourself in front of my car

Fragile with regard to their egos, as illustrated here.

[Mawr]

The starting point is anti-anything-but-a-car, so it's understandable that in the process of getting to any sort of parity you'd feel like it's "harassment".

It's like claiming getting rid of slavery is "harassment", because your unfair privileges are being taken back.

[hamdingers]

When one is accustomed to privilege, equality feels like oppression.

[jadyoyster]

Imagine how "hounded" everyone else feels by driver friendly polies in other cities.