Over 20 years ago I moved from my native Portugal to The Netherlands.

Then over time I've moved backwards in this - in the sense of moving to countries with progressivelly worse urban planning and increasing pro-vehicle mindsets - first to Britain, then back to Portugal.

It's pretty infuriating when you actually know first hand how it feels to live in a place that doesn't put cars uber alles and are now living in one where its painfully obvious in everything from urban planning to how drivers tend to break mostly the rules that are there to protect pedestrians, that you're in a society which at least in this has a mindset from 40 years ago.

This is Haussmannien architecture, it looks pretty and unfiform because the prefect of Napoleon III in the 19th century got the permission to destroy most of the shitty medieval districts with poor people inside and build good looking housing with modern accomodations for rich people instead. That's largely why Paris is pretty today.

Rue du Dr Paquelin was pedestrianized so crosswalks aren't really needed.

It's a very small street.

Given that a guy is walking in the middle of the street, why do you assume that cars are even allowed?

Yeah. I'd do more little islands instead, which would also give space for other stuff, like benches or other seating areas, bike racks, etc.

Definitely agreed. Strictly better than cars, but there has to be something we're missing here, else this is a huuuge pain in the ass for literally no reason.

I'm a bush.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R1UCbMqAAvI

Were I live there is a tendency to put trees in holes (about 1m wide) on the road side of the sidewalk - which puts them at least 1m away from the houses, generally more - and unless they get really tall (20m + tall) their roots are only really a problem for the sidewalk itself (which gets raised and bumpy) and even in this it depends on the kind of tree (so, for example, pine or oak are a problem but not orange trees).

I don't remember even seeing even the kind of brick wall that might surround a property cracked due to such nearby trees, much less actual buildings. Mind you, buildings over here are made of brick and concrete and have actual foundations.

I have similar trees in front of my apartment building and I love them, they make me feel like I'm living in a tree house in the summer.

Not every tree essence grows as much as oak. I know some linden trees, older than I am, that were pruned properly one or twice a year and have kept a manageable size. I think hackberry tree don't get much thick with time and there essences of tree that are chosen to be put in the street because they don't grow that much in European climate.

Street trees are trimmed regularly in France when it's needed. People enjoy to see the green and the added privacy when it reaches their windows.

It took two years to do the transformation. Do you think it'll be difficult to do another transformation when the time comes?

In the usual way trot trot