 I
Hate Cars!
It's not just the pollution, although that is bad enough. They also,
to me, represent the selfish lifestyle of North Americans. All that
metal, fabric, and plastic... all the energy required to make the things
and maintain them... the living space they take over for parking and
driving... all that tied up 24/7/365 for the personal use of one or two
people?
If I had my way, we would work to reduce car use overall, and
eventually ban personal cars from urban centres. We no longer have
the oil, metal, plastics, space, or air to allow people the selfish
luxury of having one (or more!) cars per household. Yes, reduced
emission vehicles are an improvement in terms of air pollution, but that
is not the only issue here. Would you rather see pavement or
trees? How much are you willing to pay to light wide streets and
highways? What about the maintenance costs for those roads?
What happens when the road needs to be widened - will you be willing to
give up your front yard, perhaps you entire home, for the highway
expansion?
It is possible to live car-free in urban Canadian cities.
By "car-free" I don't mean you never make use of a
motor-vehicle, that isn't possible, I mean living without a
car. Buses, cabs, and even motorcycles are all motor-vehicles that
are many times more efficient (in overall resource use) than a
car. You can live car-free in an urban centre if you want to, all
it takes is a willingness to do so and the ability to let go of the
excuses. Walking and cycling are both much healthier than any other
means of transportation. They are also very resource
efficient. Public transit is affordable, and beats shovelling a
snow-covered driveway in winter. Most stores now offer delivery
for a nominal charge, if you buy more than you can easily carry.
The AAA estimates the cost of car ownership at $7000USD-$8000USD per
year, and the price of gas is rising. What could you do with an
extra $8000 per year? According to the city of Ottawa, each kilometre of road built in the city costs
between $900,000 and $2,000,000. It also costs the taxpayer
40%-45% more to fund a trip by car than a trip by public transit, due to
the need to maintain all those roads. As you can tell I feel strongly about
this. My "company car" is my bike, along with a trailer
(125lbs cargo capacity). I get to work sites relaxed, I enjoy
running errands, and I can go to bed with a clear conscience at the end
of the day. 
Here are a few links on being car-free. This is just
a short list, if you know of other resources please
let me know.
City
of Ottawa TravelWise Site* Car-Fee
forum on Bikeforums.net* World
Car-Free Network* WikiPedia
enty on Car-Free Day* Canada's
Car-Free Day, September 22*
(*links marked with an asterisk are
to an external site, and open in a new window) |
