When I was in high school, I lived about four blocks from the school. If you were to walk to the corner about 50 feet from my house and looked down the street, you would be able to see my school. My hometown is about two square miles. Yet for some reason, I felt the need to drive to school every day. I would drive to all of my friends’ houses. Obviously, this is completely ridiculous, but I was young and excited to have a driver’s license.
Having been without a car and in a city (Boston) for nearly two years, I find that that is one of my biggest regrets in life. I find I value riding my bike and walking a great deal more these days. In a city, walking slows life down and allows me time to think, whereas riding my bike is nearly as fast as driving and much faster than the subway. My relationship with cars is much like my relationship with cell phones: can be useful, but I kind of hate them. But how necessary are cars, at least in a city?
I ask, because it’s been one week since our last significant snow and two weeks since the one before that. Outside of my apartment alone, there are at least three cars that have yet to be dug out, with many more around the neighborhood. Some of these date back a fortnight (sorry, had to use it). Aside from showing how lazy the owners are, it also shows how unnecessary the cars are for them.
Far be it for me to tell people what to do with their money, but if these people don’t need their cars when the weather is at its worst, then why bother paying the insurance, parking, upkeep, etc (I recognize that this is a college area and many parents are probably paying that stuff, but the point remains)? The car is a mild convenience and a huge burden on whomever may be paying for it. And as far as mild convenience goes, Boston offers the Zipcar, which is a rental for however long you want it and much cheaper than the yearly costs of a personal car.
If people really thought about it, I think they would realize how little they need a car. If each of the snow-covered cars were taken off the road, there would be more parking available, less fuel consumption, and more money in the owners’ pockets. When confronted with the choice of hopping into a car a zooming off someplace or walking/waiting for the subway, many will choose the car for the perceived convenience.
Sadly, Americans love their cars. After all, what is at the core of American Graffiti? It’s all about cruising the streets. Car culture runs deep. It’s deeply ingrained and is going nowhere. What’s sad is that there are some simple solutions to some big problems in the world that take slight (apparent) sacrifices. I, for one, hope to put off owning a car for as long as possible. I may have been irresponsible in my younger days, but it’s not too late to make up for it.
Now, if someone could just help me down off of my soapbox…
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