
I couldn't have even if I wanted to. Even if it was the weather was perfect, I'd have had to amble down a four lane highway with no sidewalk, dodging oncoming traffic and loose gravel spit in my face.
Then I'd have to walk on the freeway overpass.
After that lovely stretch of road, I'd have to navigate a 3-lane exit ramp with no pedestrian pathway to speak of. No, thank you. Especially not in the dead of summer. Or winter. Or in the rain.
Unfortunately, without a car, this is the option for most people. The sad fact is that most areas in the United States are not friendly to people who wish to walk. Sidewalks are scarce, especially the more rural the area. Most towns in this country are car-dependent communities that all but require a vehicle. Often more than one per family.
Cars, often times, are not optional, and they certainly aren't cheap. The cost of gas, insurance, repairs, maintenance, tolls and more add up fast, especially for low-income families, who now more than ever live in increasingly rural regions that require a car.
A large number of Modest Needs applications come from people who are driving cars in dangerous disrepair or who can't get to work due to a break down or who can't afford a new truck after an accident, but they have no choice. They have to get to and from work, and without a car, that can be nearly impossible. Taking the bus can take hours, if it comes at all. Even in big cities like Los Angeles, citizens must sit in grueling traffic due to a lack of public transit options.
We are going to talk more about transportion, poverty, and car-dependency in future post, but first I'd like to take a poll to get an idea of how the Modest Needs community gets around:
Thanks for your participation, friends!
[Photo by Geof Wilson]
I work from home, which makes my commute super easy. My husband, however, works as a tutor and works all over town. We have one car, so when he's working, I'm without a car. Luckily, we work opposite shifts so it works for us.
Posted by: Laurie | July 28, 2010 at 01:32 PM
I lived without a car for over fifteen years while paying off loans from college, and supporting myself. I have no family that I'm in contact with (abuse history), and have supported myself the whole way. The only way I was able to survive the carless years was that I was single and childless, and at that point not disabled. It was horrendous. Most mass transit companies have cut back service to the point where no buses run after 7:00 PM, so if you work late and miss the last bus, you're out of luck. Service for the disabled is frequently horrible, i.e. in Sacramento, people who require seats or who are in wheelchairs can be denied service at any time if the bus or train is "too crowded" (read: with "normal" people); anyone disabled who works full time has to drive in order to be able to be sure to get to work. (And folks wonder why so much parking downtown is taken up by handicapped plaquards -- downtown parking is over $2K a year, otherwise.) Etc. Etc. Etc. Even though I got around exclusively on a bike for well over a decade (all of it as a fat person, BTW -- so much for the fat = lazy theories), every time I hear some self-serving 19-year-old nanny stater go on about how people who drive should feel guilty, I just want to pull a John Adams and bang heads together... Don't get me started (too late!)
Posted by: Kell Brigan | July 28, 2010 at 04:27 PM
I live in the northern VA/metro DC area where public transportation is very good; however, in order to afford to purchase a house, I have to drive to work, just at an hour each way for the commute with no traffic involved. If my car broke down, I would be in serious trouble.
Posted by: JN | July 29, 2010 at 04:37 AM