Just a parent who wants my kids to have even the slightest bit of autonomy before they’re adult-sized.

Germans are famous for following speed limit signs. They are particularly famous for the signs on some sections of highway that indicate there is no speed limit, but they slow way down whenever an actual maximum is posted.

Mayors should exist for metropolitan regions. If there’s a significant cluster of jobs and a functional commute-shed, there should be a unit of government by, of, and for that population.

How we currently define municipal boundaries is a problem.

The questions are what the French baseline is for speed limit compliance and did they do anything additional to achieve compliance (enforcement, signal timing, etc). Like…Germans will obey a speed limit sign without question, while Americans are renowned for ignoring them.

It’s similar in American Rust Belt cities, even with the much stronger national growth and manufacturing resurgence.

The places that are repairing their economies are doing so by fostering more entrepreneurs (small & venture-backed alike) per capita. It takes decades of work to address.

Pedestrianization works if people live there. When the pedestrianized place is basically a commuter destination, it can (and has in a number of US examples) failed.

But overall, if there’s a significant population that lives there, it will work and people will love it.