> The city needs to actively make it harder to use cars with bus lanes, road diets, removing parking, etc.

After thinking about this a moment, you might realize that this mostly just makes life harder and more miserable for the poor, disabled, etc. Most people don't have a plausible option to change their mode of transportation--they just have to suffer.

Beyond that, these "improvements" often don't even benefit their intended targets. I currently live in a city that has this "make it harder" smug in spades. Ironically, the resulting improvements have made it a scarier place to walk and bicycle, due to the attention overload induced on drivers.

As the saying goes: God save us from people that only mean well...