Friday May 16th, 2008
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The Car Free Tuesday Experiment
Posted by Belinda Miller on May 23, 2007 - 6:38am.
I know there’s been a lot of walk talk here on LIME, and that, along with gas at $3.51 a gallon, motivated me to try Car Free Tuesdays. I knew I was going to have to get Georgia on board or have an agonizing weekly discussion with my pre-school contrarian about why we were walking or taking the bus.Momster: Hey G, I’m thinking we shouldn’t use the car so much.
Georgia: Why?
M: Well, remember how we were talking about how driving cars pollutes the air? I was thinking if we walk or take the bus sometimes our car wouldn’t be polluting the air so much.
G: Great! And when you take your magic classes you can do magic to make me Tinker Bell and I will sprinkle magic dust on you so you can fly too and we’ll fly everywhere.
(Sidenote: Georgia’s “I wish I may I wish I might” wish on the first star every night is that I take real magic classes so I can make herbivore dinosaurs come back and she can fly.)
M: Hmm, I didn’t see any magic classes offered in the paper today, but that will be great. But in the meantime, let’s decide on a day when it will be fun to walk and take the bus.
G: I think… Tuesday!
That’s one of those freaky moments, because Tuesday is the day I was thinking would be easiest, when we have the least to do. And she barely knows the days of the week. I swear she can read my mind.
So for the last month we have not used the car on Tuesdays, and it’s been pretty easy. When she wakes up I say, “Hey! It’s Car Free Tuesday!” to remind her as if it’s a nice treat. And in lots of ways it is: we get to take things slow, dedicate the day to getting there instead of being there. Last week I borrowed my friend Jenny’s bike with the attached child seat, and that was amazing! I was afraid I’d never be able to ride it, or ride with Georgia on it, but we had the best time. Now I want a safe bike of my own. (I have a lovely old brakeless Dutch Union Oxford bike with a Trenton bike license plate, but it’s more of an art piece at this point.) I feel like that one ride on Jenny’s bike changed my life, I can imagine being much less dependent on the car as G and I zip over the Hawthorne Bridge—wait, the image flashing through my head tells me I’m not brave enough for that yet. Back to walking…
On Car Free Tuesdays I do have to plan out the course of the day more carefully, if there are things that must get done. I have to build a lot more time into travel, and pack extra treats. Of course we haven’t tried to do a major grocery shopping trip, or had any far away appointments to get to. It’s mostly been going to the library, play dates, and the park, but we have run errands we would normally take the car for. I like not having to do the car seat struggle, and I don’t have to explain to Georgia why I am cursing under my breath when someone with a Create Peace bumper sticker aggressively cuts me off. Again. And I can avoid billboards and fast food joints!
Which is great even if we do have to stop the stroller to examine every smashed slug or interesting rock on the way. And often we manage to walk by the Ben and Jerry’s, for which Georgia has a keen brand awareness and I have a handful of two-for-one coupons. Lucky for me I’m walking—I can justify a once-a-week treat that I can burn off (well, a fraction of it anyway), and it costs less than a gallon of gas!
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Leaving the car parked is the most difficult and important thing to do, and it's something I haven't attempted yet. Designating a car-free day is a good way to begin.
I think this is a great way for you to spend Tuesdays with your daughter. I have adopted a similar program for my family in Austin, Texas. It's our Green Day, a day of the week that we do not start the vehicles. I chose a floating day rather than one day a week to allow for Dr. Appts etc. In doing so I've found that I'm free to have two Green Day's a week if the schedule allows. It helps get the body in better shape and does something for the environment!
One can also feel more connected to the peoples around the world. While walking home on my second Green Day last week, I was listening to Miriam Makeba (Lion King). As I walked I could feel connected with someone walking home from his work in Africa. In his world there are not many cars and walking is his main mode of transportation. I looked up at the sun, knowing it was the same sun. I felt connected to the good of the earth for what I was doing.
I'm so encouraged to read your article. Many people tell me nothing but excuses of why they 'can't' do it. I applaud your courage and strength! Now let's go get that Ben and Jerry's!!!
I agree with what was said and the idea is sound. But lets get two birds with one stone.
Pick one day or two each month when the majority of the US population can restrict the use of any oil based fuels.
I think not only would it help the air but also send a message to the oil companies and the oil producing areas of the world that we, the people purchasing the products, have a say in the quality of the air we breathe and price.
It does mean...alot! One day a week...I'm in small town Montana, and I walk to work, walk to the post office, walk to the grocery store, everyday. I have not driven a car in 15 months, and I will not drive again if I can help it. I work too hard for my money to let it slip out of my hands and into the fat pockets of oil companies. More and more people here are driving scooters and quads, but I'll stick to my bicycle and my feet. I enjoy the art of getting to where I'm going, enjoying the sights and sounds I had forgotten.
Gosspod ss Toboju
I'm already having meatless mondays, I can go for carless tuesdays, for sure.
This is a fantastic idea, especially now that gas prices are so high, so if people don't do it for the environment, at least for themselves. It's just too expensive.
When I do drive, it's in a compact, four-cylinder car. I do not see the necessity for an "urban assault vehicle" for a family of four - ref. my previous posting about four of us managing for a decade in a Hyundai Excel.
The latest "explanation" (although "carefully fabricated pile of poo") from the oil companies about the astronomically high price of gasoline is a "reduced supply" along with the ongoing problem - apparently - of refineries not working to capacity. As Rosanne Rosanna Danna (Gilda Radner, Saturday Night Live) would say, "If it's not one thing, it's another". I wonder, though, often, if the increase in gasoline prices, which happened so suddenly, isn't in response to a warmer winter and therefore lowered furnace oil sales. But what of it?
Well, I think that it's time we sent a message to the oil companies that enough is *enough* already, and perhaps one way to make that statement unequivocally is to have the supply go way up by having the damand go way down. I know that the "boycott the gas stations as a nation on such and such a date" emails have made the rounds with no effect in the past, but we're paying $3.50 or so a gallon right now and in Canada, it translates to more like $5.20 because it's $1.25/litre.
Here's my challenge - to build on what is already a great idea. How many days in a row do you think you could manage to do without your car if you made advance preparations? I have lived without a car and I know it's entirely possible. I know that most people on this planet live without a car so it must be entirely possible. If the food had been purchased, the errands run and the necessities of life had been stocked, would a car be necessary every other day? Think blizzard. If you couldn't go anywhere in your car because the road was under 6 feet of snow, would you survive for 72 hours? Probably.
Let's see how many Green Days we can have! Let's see how much "supply and demand" can truly influence prices because, from what I understand, it is a cornerstone of this society. What if the demand for high priced gasoline were to drop? Wouldn't that increase supply and lower price?
One can only hope...
Blessings.
I wish I had Mr. Natural's ambition and dedication. I do try to use my bike as often as I can, and use my car less often. But summer is approaching and this will probably discourage many to go carless more than once a week. Currently I go carless at least two days out of the week.
I'll still continue to two days out of the week but I don't think I could handle more than that.
Good luck to everyone on this.