Cars are the blight of cities. They speed around their boulevards, their piazzas, their streets... as a wise urban planner once said: “Only one thing is better than slow traffic – and that is no traffic.”"

ON WEDNESDAY this week, I woke up in Bruges. My hotel room faced on to one of the city’s central squares, but when my alarm clock went off at 8 a.m. I was puzzled. Outside my window, all was quiet. I could hear birds singing, and the occasional bus. What had happened, I wondered, to rush hour? If this had been central London, or central Paris, or central Rome, the noise outside my window at 8 o’clock would be deafening. What I’d be hearing in any of these cities – what I do hear, since I’m lucky enough to often spend time in them – would be traffic. And more specifically, cars. Horns blaring; sirens screeching; engines racing; police whistles blowing.

Get Instant Access

Continue Reading

Register for free to read this article in full

REGISTER

Subscribe for unlimited access

SUBSCRIBE NOW

From just £37.50 quarterly

  Print copy of The Tablet delivered directly to your door.
  Complete access to all Tablet website content including all premium content.
  Access to the weekly digital copy of The Tablet.
  Full access to The Tablet’s archive – over 180 years of back issues.

Already a subscriber? Login