DCist: Car Free Day Seeks to Showcase Urban Life

Virginia is for Losers

Tue, 23 Sep 2008 12:59:38 -0500

Anyone else thing Mary Cheh will be a one-termer?

Guy LaDouche

Tue, 23 Sep 2008 12:28:54 -0500

I recently moved to the evil burbs. I have kids. I am thinking about buying a SECOND car! I rule.

monkeyrotica

Tue, 23 Sep 2008 11:59:25 -0500

They also need to provide disincentives to use a car downtown, like bringing back the squeegee men at all the intersections sloshing buckets of HIV water all over your windshield. Morbidly obese transvestite hoookers work wonders at keeping streets clear. And whatever happened to those teenagers who went around slashing tires all the white folks cars around Shaw? Why aren't we recruiting the next generation of hooligans to discourage urban automobile ownership? Nothing says "take the bus" quite like four slashed tires, a smashed windshield, and human feces in the backseat.

Krisa

Tue, 23 Sep 2008 11:40:25 -0500

Movements like this miss the point. You can't modify people's behavior just because you tell them they should. You need to encourage it other ways, by increasing the number of bike lanes through the city, building higher density residential and commercial (especially grocery stores) near metro stations, improve intra-city public transit (there are people that live and work here, ya know), and generally support urban development where a car becomes less and less necessary. Nobody wants to be preached at, but if the right financial and convenience incentives are there, people will make the right choice on their own.

ledroitist

Tue, 23 Sep 2008 11:24:15 -0500

So, Wells and Cheh engage in a little snotty and gratuitous suburb-bashing. Great way to endear people to DC! To me it's all about choice. I chose to live in a pedestrian neighborhood and stay car-free. I cheat a little--I have a motorcycle and a Zipcar membership. (It's still a bit of a schlep to the new Safeway, though.) I'm single and don't have kids, and that makes being car-free immeasurably easier. I can celebrate my choices--in many parts of my life--without bashing others, including my friends and family who live the "suburban dream."

Fluxgirl

Tue, 23 Sep 2008 10:35:14 -0500

Hillman got it right: "DC will not be NYC any time soon. Many are going to need vehicles, even if they don't use them every day." He's not bashing DC, but NYC is like a hive of smaller self contained neighborhoods that have the grocery, dry cleaner, etc. just down the block from the living spaces, maybe in the same building. DC is more like huge sections labeled "Offices" "Semi-Hip Nightclub Zone" "Monument Valley", etc.

cminus

Tue, 23 Sep 2008 09:39:35 -0500

Many areas are simply too spread out to be car-free. A lot of people are 20 blocks from a decent supermarket, for instance. 20 blocks? Pshaw! When I was a kid we had to walk 30 blocks just to get to or from school! In the snow! Barefoot! Uphill, both ways! (I don't know why we did this. We had plenty of shoes, of course, and the school bus stopped just a couple of blocks away. But my dad said what was good enough for him, and his father, and his father's father, was good enough for us as well, by gum. But it was really annoying in the summer, when my mom would drive the pickup truck along the route we took to school, and my dad would stand in the back, throwing shovelfuls of shaved ice on to the sidewalk as we went by.)

Virginia is for Losers

Tue, 23 Sep 2008 08:46:57 -0500

"What do you do when you don't use a parking space? It's not like you could house someone there," said Tregoning. "How much cheaper would that housing be without the parking?" If you don't use a parking space, you rent it out. I really don't see the justification for doing away with the minimum parking requirements for new developments. I would guess that most apartment buildings in D.C. don't come with off-street parking. I think there's a pretty good balance between motorists and the carless here. Not having a car works out great for some people, and I applaud those who are able to make it work. But this city doesn't have the density of a Manhattan, and while public transportation is plentiful, it isn't nearly reliable enough to work for everybody, and unfortunately, things don't seem to be improving. The District's streets don't seem to be in 24/7 gridlock.

IMGoph

Mon, 22 Sep 2008 23:35:33 -0500

hillvada: you're missing the point. we're going to fill the city with people who don't need/want cars. then all the people who can't afford to live here anymore will be pushed out to places like reston/tysons/PG and everywhere else where job growth "is". that's the "plan". maybe!

outsideliquid

Mon, 22 Sep 2008 19:07:38 -0500

where the was the free tuneups? they looked at my bike and just told me i should consider getting some new brake cables soon. I think some people in DC need a car, but not a lot. I thought I needed a car, but once in the situation without one, I discovered it was not a need at all. You just have to make adjustments. If you're use to going to a certain grocery store, get a ride/go less frequent or go to a new one. Most people do not realize how much it truly cost to own a car. It's about $5-8K a year if you include depreciation.

erahk0

Mon, 22 Sep 2008 18:04:48 -0500

Car-less just like the paper-less office is a myth for many adults. But that doesn't mean you need to jump in the car to go everywhere.

monkeyrotica

Mon, 22 Sep 2008 17:38:15 -0500

I don't know about you people, but whenever I have to haul around a new refrigerator, take a corpse rolled up in a carpet to the bulk trash station, or get fellated, mass transit is my preferred medium of travel.

yonas

Mon, 22 Sep 2008 17:36:35 -0500

It's clear that hillvada is trolling and would probably be banned if I had any control. Either that or a reality-deprived Republican.

nowisthetime

Mon, 22 Sep 2008 17:25:53 -0500

.. or if not care free as far as ownership, car free for most transit needs.

nowisthetime

Mon, 22 Sep 2008 17:25:00 -0500

True, a lot of people do need a car, but the point is a lot of people can and are car free and that a lot more people (not everyone) are in positions of being car free ... they just can't make the jump (even though they never use their car). A few minor enhancements (more bike racks, showers, etc.) in offices would do a lot for those who can, but don't, bike or take alternative transit to work. And I happen to know a lot of people who paid $500K+ for their home and do just fine without a car and have zero intention of getting one. Zipcar, bus, bike, foot, metro does just fine in many neighborhoods.

TheCounter

Mon, 22 Sep 2008 17:23:05 -0500

Re: Disco_Stu Are you the dingbat who stole my car???

Hillman

Mon, 22 Sep 2008 17:15:24 -0500

Yes, a lucky few can be car free in DC. But that's simply not possible for all. Many areas are simply too spread out to be car-free. A lot of people are 20 blocks from a decent supermarket, for instance. Many can use public transit for the daily commute to work, but our neighborhoods simply don't always have the amenities that you need within walking distance. Or within safe walking distance. And people paying $500,000 for a place to live are not going to be keen on taking the bus to grocery shopping. I applaud any effort to make DC more walkable, but a bit of honesty is needed here. DC will not be NYC any time soon. Many are going to need vehicles, even if they don't use them every day.

Disco Stu

Mon, 22 Sep 2008 17:15:16 -0500

I drove someone ELSE's car to work today... does that count?

SirCoop

Mon, 22 Sep 2008 16:51:25 -0500

@Hillvada I am not really sure what city you've been living in for the past six months but gas prices were over $4 a gallon here and in the suburbs for quite some time, and are on the way back up again.

brixton

Mon, 22 Sep 2008 16:44:43 -0500

You know what would have made this event really awesome? If Metro had put some effort into making sure the trains were all running on schedule - or, wait, just RUNNING would have been nice. Instead I stayed car-free by getting off at Arlington Cemetary (where everyone else in my car disembarked) and walking the rest of the way to Foggy Bottom. I hear it took the poor saps on the train another 45 minutes to get in.

erahk0

Mon, 22 Sep 2008 16:38:02 -0500

"Part of my urban lifestyle is walking to the Metro and having my commute paid for by my employer so that I can spend all day in an office and not be able to attend events like this one" Yep, everyday is a care-free day for me too.

OldPosterKnownAsCranky

Mon, 22 Sep 2008 16:35:16 -0500

So...people are gonna ditch their cars for Metro and bikes. Yet Metro says it needs gazillions of dollars to keep its trains and buses running, and bikes remain a small percentage of all commuters' transportation method. Dudes....pass the bong! I need another hit of the green shizzle.

hillvada

Mon, 22 Sep 2008 15:38:45 -0500

I live in the city, even moved here from the dreaded suburbs and guess what? I own a car and drive it everywhere in DC. Driving in DC is acutally pretty easy and usually faster then Metro. Parking in DC is a breeze compared to other cities and guess what folks, gas prices never did hit $4 a gallon. So maybe instead of hosting events that nobody wants to go to, DC should take some of that money and set up a grant program for low income families to buy and maintain a car. A car is THE TICKET to economic freedom, especially in a city like DC that is very small and where much of the job growth is out in places like Reston or Tysons. DC needs to encourage more car ownership, not less, if want to really serve its citizens and not just make empty statements at empty community events.

TheCounter

Mon, 22 Sep 2008 15:30:37 -0500

Part of my urban lifestyle is walking to the Metro and having my commute paid for by my employer so that I can spend all day in an office and not be able to attend events like this one.

indiecognition

Mon, 22 Sep 2008 15:23:32 -0500

Metro needs to run 24-7 for PR events like this to be compelling

lukfarang

Mon, 22 Sep 2008 15:14:39 -0500

I don't care if suburbanites understand my urban lifestyle, I just want them to pay for the damage they do the city. Charge toll on 395 and we'll call it even.

Jaynuze

Mon, 22 Sep 2008 15:06:55 -0500

http://www.yehudamoon.com/index.php?date=2008-06-06 The festival was held on a Monday from 11 - 3. How the heck is anyone supposed to get there during work? Wish that they had had this in the early AM like Bike to Work Day. Oh well ... at least they're trying!

RJ

Mon, 22 Sep 2008 15:02:25 -0500

Sorry I was using my AIG calculator...$40/person

RJ

Mon, 22 Sep 2008 14:53:46 -0500

Spent $200,000 for 5000 people, which work out to $38 per person. That’s some Lehman Brothers leadership there. Why not blow the money on something that actually improves car free living...like a painting a bike lane or something.

yonas

Mon, 22 Sep 2008 14:53:35 -0500

I'm kind of pissed off because it was advertised that there would be free bike tuneups. To the contrary - I showed up with my bike and they're only doing tire inflation and very minor brake tweaking. The new Metrobus on display was pretty neat, though.

erahk0

Mon, 22 Sep 2008 14:47:38 -0500

Can we get the council to "break patterns, break habits" first?!