Carless and Carefree in the CityA [person] on foot, on horseback or on a bicycle will see more, feel more, enjoy more in one mile than the motorized tourist can in a hundred miles. - Edward Abbey
By Ian MacLeanLast May, I competed in an international car race in Pontiac, Michigan. Sponsored by the Society of Automotive Engineers, it was a fast and furious chase through the outskirts of Motor City itself. The cherry red "rocket" my team of fellow University of Manitoba engineering students had built and drove was powered by a 600 cc Honda Hurricane bike engine. "El Diablo" was its name.
Thousands of enthusiastic spectators braved Michigan's freeways and overpasses to soak up the smell of gasoline fumes, the stench of burnt rubber, and the gurgle of finely tuned engines. That day, amidst the chaos and bravado of the raceway, I tasted what it means to truly drive. And I knew it was nothing I could ever experience again on any city street - not even illegally. That day, in the shadow of the Big Three automakers, I vowed to give up my own car back in Winnipeg.
There is no single reason for my sudden decision to cash in the sporty 1980 Cougar XR-7 I shared with my twin brother for $400. My disillusionment with society's favourite means of transport had been building for years. The "independence" of owning and driving my own car had proved largely illusory. More real was the toll of too many independent drivers on the road. I was tired of hearing of car accidents, injuries, and fatalities, sick of seeing dead animals littering the side of the road. I simply was ready to do something for my own greater good and the good of those around me.
One year and four Winnipeg seasons later, I'm holding fast and feeling more rewarded than deprived. It helps that I accept the occasional ride and even borrow someone's wheels when nothing else will do. But mostly I'm carlessly content.
How do I do it?
To travel to work in East kildonan from my home in Riverview, I take the bus. Winnipeg's buses are a safe place to read, listen to music, or just think, while someone else does the driving. Riding the bus also provides some much-needed interaction, whether it's simple things like a good morning and a smile, or more demanding things, like overhearing the occasional missing persons report.
When I bike or walk to my girlfriend's in St. Vital, I usually follow the Red River and cut across the Canoe Club golf course. Bad weather is rarely a problem when I'm decked out in the right gear. I grab a bus when I must. Along the way, I'm often graced by the smells of people's suppers, of steaks on the barbecue or fresh baked lasagna. Sometimes at night, the smell of burning wood guides me. Along the way, I've stopped to watch a cat catch a bird and a kid on rollerblades jump a 360 off the steps of the Museum of Man and Nature. I once accompanied a stranger from Logan Avenue to the Centennial library. I helped him get his first card -- and some very interesting reading.
By the time I'm halfway to my girlfriend's, any stress I started with is long gone. The home stretch is spent in peaceful meditation, and anticipation.
To Drive or Not to Drive
There are so many good reasons to go carless.
Leaving the car at home (or on the dealer's lot) is the single best thing most of us can do to reduce pollution. Contrary to popular opinion, today's cleaner burning cars have done nothing to alleviate the problem. Huge emission reductions have been offset by the steadily growing number of cars on the road and miles driven - three percent more miles per year, on average.
Even the electric car is no solution to pollution. It merely transfers the smog from tailpipes to the smokestacks of electric power plants, fuelled (usually) by natural gas. Adding social insult to environmental injury, the plants tend to be located in poor areas where fewer people can afford to drive any kind of car.
In 1992, at the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro, Canada committed itself to stabilize its greenhouse gas emissions to 1990 levels. Those emissions have since risen by about 10 percent, one of the worst records among developed nations. Industrialized countries like ours generate 85 percent of the human-made CO2 in the atmosphere today. And transportation -- including the cherished family car -- is responsible for close to one third of that burden.
Our government may not be doing its part to cut greenhouse gases, but we can. Not that we all have to go carless. Car-less is good too.
If you're game, start by exploring the options available for travelling in your neighborhood and to other parts of the city you frequently visit. What would you do this weekend, next week -- next season -- if you no longer had your wheels? Would you be willing to move closer to work -- within walking or biking distance -- and drive to visit your friends and family? Would you continue biking or walking through the winter?
Try your options out while you still own a vehicle, while it is still your choice. Make the means of travel -- and the journey -- your focus. Be patient and enjoy the experience. Take a whole day this summer or fall to walk, bike, or paddle somewhere you would normally drive. Canoeing down the Assiniboine or the Red River to the Forks or hiking along an abandoned rail line into the city centre can be an amazing, eye-opening journey.
True, our cities can be less than accommodating to carless travellers. There are few bike paths, and even buses get stuck in rush hour. Fortunately, the human mind and body thrive on challenge. And choosing to get about through diversified means is certainly that: a daily, interactive challenge. For me, learning to get off the bus a few stops early to breeze across a congested bridge during rush hour sure beats the "reward" of hunting down a parking spot downtown.
Once you've broken the car habit, it'll be your choice from now on whether "to drive or not to drive."
Aside from the obvious environmental benefits of going carless (less traffic congestion, better air quality, quieter streets), expect social and personal benefits too. Communities come to life when residents travel the streets on foot or bike. Stopping to chat with neighbours builds trust, and it's a way to make friends, or even find a babysitter or someone to mow your lawn. Commuting to work by bus or car-pool will buy you your daily news from the people you travel with -- the news and opinion that comes from the 'hood itself, not the car radio. You'll find time for reflection, without the stress of stop-and-start gridlock traffic, time to explore your mind, your surroundings. You may even find the hidden treasure that lies just beyond that row of trees or buildings that lines the roadway.
Ian Maclean has a B.Sc. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Manitoba. He may not own a car, but he still keeps up with the student chapter of the Society of Automotive Engineers.
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