divorcing my car

Last December I decided to move downtown and learn to function without a car. There are only a few things that really challenge me – washing laundry and recycling are difficult and I have not yet figured out a great way to get these things done – but overall I love walking everywhere.

I just bought a bike. It is an old cruiser in the prettiest sky blue. I need to put new tires on it and have it tuned up but I am really excited to have another way to get from here to there. Public transportation has been working for me too – when I need to go across town I am thankful for the local transit system. There are odd things like some routes that don’t run on Sunday or after 8pm – but I am sure that as demand grows, service will improve.

Jean has been looking at walkable communities and neighborhoods. With the price of gas it is easy to imagine more people might begin to limit their driving. There is a site where you can see just how pedestrian friendly your neighborhood is. You put your address in and it calculates your ‘walk score’ for you.

When folks complain to me about the cost of gas, traffic, and trouble finding a spot to park or having to move their car every few hours downtown, I find it difficult to care. We are such a car based culture and folks seem to think that it is a god given right to have cheap gas and parking lots outside every single building.

I live and work downtown. I have made this choice and you could too. If you make the choice to drive your car to the office, which is downtown, you make the choice to get a spot in a garage and walk a few blocks every day. Millions of people all over the country make this choice.  Stop complaining and/or change something about how you do things. Besides, walking is good for you. Try it – you might get in shape.

This is turning into a rant – honestly, it started out that way – but the fact is the world is changing and we need to figure out how our lives change with it. It is time to make a different choice.