Saving Suburbia (Part III): Ditching the Car

Over the last few weeks I've been giving a lot of thought to another one of those big(ger) ideas for saving suburbia: alternative transportation options. Or put more simply: Ditching your car/truck in favor of a less-impactful way of getting around town.

"No way," I'm sure you'll say. "Can't be done."

I admit, the idea of a suburban lifestyle sans the car is a tough one to sell. The inherent layout and design of your typical suburban town is self-limiting: Disconnected neighborhoods spread out over a large land area; roads built primarily for four wheels and little else; small pockets of limited economic and business activity that cause consumers to drive long distances to get what they need, when they need it; a general car-centric mentality that's so engrained it's tough to buck.

All that aside, a few things have happened recently around town that do provide a glimmer of hope:

• News that Stafford and Crandall Roads will be receiving new "Share the Road" signage courtesy of of the RI DOT that aim to raise awareness of and promote bicycle traffic. This is in addition to new signage that was a part of the Main Road corridor improvement work that happened over the summer.
• Last week's passing of new business zoning regulations that will set the stage for transforming the north end and Bliss Four Corners parts of town into more pedestrian-friendly and inviting community-scapes.
• Continued development of the new artists' community at Sandy Woods that showcases the effectiveness of mixed-use neighborhood and community design.

Clearly, this will not enable all of us to leave the cars at home and still get things done. But what else do we need? Here are my two-cents:

• Continued partnering between Town Planning and Economic Development entities that look to shape other pockets of value-added business development in town. Basically, cut down on the distances that people have to travel to secure the necessities of living while promoting local businesses. Start with basics such as food, then go from there with a preference for small, mom-and-pop style endeavors. This could be at the macro, multi-neighborhood level, or in the case of the Sandy Woods project, at the micro, single neighborhood level.
• Partner with local businesses and/or the town to install bike racks to encourage car-less travel
• Continue to repair/install sidewalks
• Renewed enforcement of speed limits and other safe driving behaviors to create a safe environment for walking, biking, etc.
• Exploration of in-town public transportation (e.g., small-scale bus or shuttle services) to get people to these new town centers
  
• Take additional cues from other urban-based transportation planning playbooks

This problem won't be solved overnight and I'm firmly grounded in the reality that we're not going to wake up one morning and not need our cars, but improved suburban transit could benefit us on so many levels: environmental, health, economic and so on.

What about you? Would you ditch your car once or twice a week if the infrastructure was in place?

Update on Bike Racks

Wouldn’t you know, I have not heard back from our Town Planner or DPW director on my inquiry about creating a network of bike racks across town. Granted, I sent this via email and from what I’ve heard usage of email by our town officials is spotty. (Why have their email addresses published then?)

Next step: Good ol’ fashioned paper-based snail-mail.

But biking as alternative transportation option is getting a fair amount of press coverage. Take a look at this Boston Globe article describing how employers are how helping their employees drop their four wheels for two; or this one about the continuing struggle between drivers and riders over sharing the road; and finally this one about what needs to happen to raise the visibility of bicyclists and bicycling in general.

Closer to home, the RI DOT has a site dedicated to bike travel. It’s OK; at least you can get area bike path maps and read all about the state laws pertaining to bike travel.

An even better site is that of the Providence Bicycle Coalition (PBC). Lots of great info. While coasting around I discovered this Projo article about Barrington’s efforts to erect a covered bicycle shed and get RIPTA to help pay for it. If that works out, I wonder if we could get the same at our Park & Ride? It just goes to show that there is more than one funding avenue out there for these types of projects.

Saddle up for the ride. More to come on this.

[Image: BikePortland.org, http://www.flickr.com/photos/bikeportland/43605746/]

Going My Way? (Part 2)

Back in early April, I wrote a post espousing the value of carpooling in the wake of high gas prices. (Note: I got a chuckle as I re-read how it was $3.15 a gallon that day. Gas is up nearly $1.00 since that post just over three months ago.) Well, I guess carpooling is starting to get a bit cooler as more mainstream media start touting passenger tag-teaming.

This week NPR ran a story about the trend in social networking sites taking up the carpooling cause. This story leads you to goloco.org, a new start-up by the founder of ZipCar. While you might find the site useful for finding folks to share rides with, I found the accompanying blog much more interesting.

Every single post on the first page was eye-opening for me. From the silver lining of $4/gallon gas to some true cost of driving analysis (extrapolating the rough math, I’m shelling out way over $10K a year – I need to work closer to home!) to the real connection between carbon emissions and humanity’s fate.

Closer to home, I continue to see a small increase in the amount of cars parked at the Park & Ride on Fish Road. This past week – and on the heels of seeing No Impact Man – my thoughts drifted to how to do even better than just carpooling. I landed at riding my bike to and from the Park & Ride. The problem? No bike racks. Then I thought: I don’t know if I’ve ever seen a bike rack anywhere in town.


Hmmm. This is interesting. I’m going to drop a line to our town planner and DPW director to inquire. Even in the midst of suburbia, a bike rack here or there (and the physical and environmental benefits of riding a bike) couldn’t be a bad thing. Stay tuned on this one.

If anyone out there works in the Quincy, MA, area and is looking for a carpool opportunity, drop me a line. Happy trails.

[Images: A Google Image search popped up all sorts of things. I found these WWII propaganda posters to be slightly ironic given our current situation in the Middle East (Should we slide in Mahmoud Ahmadinejad?). Also check out the one on the GoLoco blog. Credits: Wagon/Car -- Oregon State Archives image, Folder 9, Box 14, Defense Council; Ride with Hitler – EV World (original source unknown)]

Going My Way?

Well, it’s official. Average prices of regular self-serve hit an all-time high today (even adjusted for inflation). Like you, I cringe every time I pull up to the pump. But I’ve found a simple way to help soften the blow of high gas prices: Carpooling.

Now, before you start to dwell on images of smelly cars filled with less-than-stellar co-workers, dull-as-driftwood conversation, and total inflexibility, let me head you off at the pass. Though movies and TV might have you think otherwise, carpooling is not really that bad. Really! Especially if you’re putting on serious mileage each week.

I’ll use myself as an example: I drive a VW Jetta and travel about 120 miles roundtrip daily to work and back. Translated into gallons, that’s about two to two-and-a-half fill-ups per week. At $3.15 a gallon, that’s about $70-80/week in gas. Now granted, everyone is not traveling as far for their work, but the concept still applies.

Enter carpooling. I’ve been tag-teaming the drive for about a year with a colleague from Portsmouth. We meet at the Park & Ride on Fish Road and truck on up from there, switching off who drives each week. Sure, there have been instances when we’ve had to compromise on leave times, or just up and leave in the middle of the day because of something unforeseen, but for the most part, it’s been smooth sailing.

The benefits are obvious: More cash in your pocket, less wear and tear on your car, less traffic on the road (can you imagine how many fewer cars there would be if even 25 percent of commuters found a carpool partner!), less greenhouse gas emissions, less demand for gas (which could hypothetically lead to lower prices at current supply levels), and so on… you get the point. And through casual observation, I think more people are getting on the carpooling bandwagon – the Park & Ride seems to have more and more cars in it each month.

Here are a few carpooling resources if you’re interested. I haven’t used any so I can’t vouch for them.

• RIPTA Carpools
• MassRIDES
• iCarpool


Anybody have a carpooling story they’d like to share? Or other ways you're beating the pump wars?