the thomsen telegraph

Who says professional cycleriders aren’t openminded and well-informed people. Check out this recent posting by 7-time Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong on Twitter refering to a New York Times article about the village of Vauban, Freiburg, Germany, which is an example in terms of sustainability and decent infrastructure for prioritizing walking and cycling in the neighborhood.

“Residents of this upscale community are suburban pioneers, going where few soccer moms or commuting executives have ever gone before: they have given up their cars.

Street parking, driveways and home garages are generally forbidden in this experimental new district on the outskirts of Freiburg, near the French and Swiss borders. Vauban’s streets are completely “car-free” — except the main thoroughfare, where the tram to downtown Freiburg runs, and a few streets on one edge of the community. Car ownership is allowed, but there are only two places to park — large garages at the edge of the development, where a car-owner buys a space, for $40,000, along with a home.

As a result, 70 percent of Vauban’s families do not own cars, and 57 percent sold a car to move here.”

Read the full article from The New York Times here.

Check out more of The New York Times photos from Vauban here.