I am too, but usually it's just so unproductive. For example, when I used to take the bus to work the ride would take about 90 minutes. Driving only took me 30 minutes. The main reason was because I had to switch buses and they only came every 45 minutes.
I'm not against cars by any means. I just think that we should design our built environment to make people happy, not cars.
I take the bus to work as a matter of habit. It's slower than the car, but I'd rather pay $10 a month for the bus than $5 a day for parking (and yes, I know some of you city dwellers are saying, "only $5?!" ).
I've been known to walk home when it's nice out. It's an hour, but it's meditative, and scenic, and the walking stirs my thoughts in interesting ways. Right now, I walk as little as possible, and I will until it stops snowing. Which it can do any day now...
I wholeheartedly agree on the idiocy of planning things around cars rather than people. Especially neighborhoods. I mean, they aren't even neighborhoods if everyone's hunkered behind their three car garage and they don't even know who lives next door.
I walk all over in my neighborhood- even though people look at me like I'm insane. I have two grocery stores and a dry cleaner within four blocks, and a twenty minute walk into the center of either BH or West Hollywood. My local mall is close enough to walk to (and since the rat ba$tards make you pay to park, I'll walk, thanks)
I usually take the bus to work, since my company will pop for half the bus pass, and gives me a month's worth of free coffee as an incentive.
People have this idea of LA as this place that's impossible to get around in without a car. Well, it can be a little less convenient for people (the transportation system is not like in New York, but it's not that bad), but it is there. And since LA is basically a series of contiguous little towns, it's for the most part possible to walk to do most of your errands. It's too bad, really, since we have nearly perfect weather; some of my fondest memories of this place are walking home from a really nice meal with friends on a balmy LA evening, smelling the jasmine and looking at the lights in the hills.
An in incentive for living in NYC: don't need a car unless you're getting away for the weekend then rent (though getting bent over wallet-wise is not fun). I walk everywhere and if time is pressed, then cabs and subways/buses.
Ah reminds me of my childhood. My dad is very much an environmentalist. I remember we used to bike to church as a family (although my mom usually ended up driving.) My dad use to get frustrated though that I wasn't wearing skirts/dresses to church. I told him he'd have to choose between me dressing "nicely" or biking. Also, I biked or walked to friends' houses, I walked to school during high school, pretty much everywhere. And now that I'm in college and have no car of my own, I continue to walk. Unfortunately, I don't really live in a college town, so everything is about a fifteen/twenty minute walk from campus...hard to carry groceries that far! But it's still good to get exercise and it can be very peaceful...especially if it's snowing.
I'm a californian, California is the land of cars and not walking to get where you want to go.
Even in the thicker urban areas(except maybe bay area)walking is inefficient.
it's a big state, and we're lazy.
However, I'm living in boston now, and Boston, as I'm told is "america's walking city"
as such, I walk everywhere now, our apartment is in a good location, nothing is TOO far(except the apple store ) And it's a nice city to walk in, much nicer than LA imo.
The weather has been getting better too, it was like -7ºC two weeks ago, now it's like 14ºC on average , so yeah, I walk a lot.
additionally I have a healthy interest in backpacking and hiking, and while I haven't been able to get a trip together in a while, I still love the outdoors.
I'm hoping to get 2 or maybe even 3 trips in this summer, I want to go back to Kings canyon and take care of some unfinished business(Mt. whitney, Mt. Brewer) One day I might want to hike one of those mammoth interstate trails like the John muir trail, but that can wait.
I bike everywhere. We have two cars, but mine hasn't been driven in at least two years, though probably longer. I like to bike in the winter. It can be quite intense sometimes.
Quote:
Originally posted by groverat
I am all about public transportation.
I was about it when I was a kid, but I've seen enough people vomiting and shitting all over themselves and the walls (yes, crap smeared on the walls and seats multiple times) that I am not about it. That said, I'm taking the El to work today. It just snowed last night so it's probably too bumpy and slippery.
i drive to work half the year, ride my bike to work the other half...
i get to work around 7am, so i don't like to bike in the winter when it is both dark and cold, but i usually bike from april to end of november...5 miles each way by streets, 7 miles each way if i go bike trails...i usually go street, but my wife yells at me when she finds out...
when i lived in the country i drove everyday (25 miles each way...too far to bike when you do 10 hour days), but i hiked the mountains alot, so country vs city living is probably a push for me physically
My wife and I walk to work most days. But tomorrow we may skate.
7.8 kms of well-maintained ice from one end to the other, and we live just a few hundred yards from it.
NOW THAT is a pretty cool means of getting to the office. Maybe the Sens can send Lalime packing so he can monitor the skating path while someone else plays goal.
I walk to the subway everyday going to work, but it's not that far. At my previous job I used to walk home from work everyday and it was much better. My wife and I are looking at places to live in the suburbs and my dream is to find a place where I can walk to the train. I can't imagine having to get in a car every day. I can sometimes go like three or four weeks without driving, which is fine by me.
I'm from DC and then Bethesda. The public transportation is pretty good, and there are sidewalks pretty much everywhere. In central jersey, there are no sidewalks and when you drive down route 1 to get to the unsightly complexes of malls, stripmalls, and big box stores ("Mallrats" is dead-on about the extreme lameness of the Jersey landscape) it's as if these places were designed to make you drive from one parking lot to another, even when the lots are very close. (No sidewalks at all)
I walk them, and people in SUV's honk at me. Of course, I think people who buy SUV's are degenerates so it doesn't really bother me.
I have three means of transportation:[list=a][*]my feet[*]my longboard[*]public transportation[/list=a]I always walk to work. Admittedly, getting there is only a 10 minute walk, but nonetheless.
Always a small exercise?
If I have to get to the mall, I use my longboard. It also gets used if I go to another city. Always great to be mobile this fast.
When I go to school, or visit my brothers or parents, I use public transportation. This is big here in Switzerland. You can get almost everywhere with the combination of train, bus and ship.
Additionally I have a GA. A GA is like a normal ticket for the bus, but I can use this in the whole of Switzerland. Yes, that's right. For $160 a month, I can use whatever train, bus or ship there is without any additional fees. It's great for people like me, who don't have a car but travel a lot.
No kidding. I biked all the way down Vermont through thunderstorms. And threw a McDonald's drive-through! I like Corvettes and Mini Coopers but as a concept I really don't like cars. At least in the way we overuse them. People in cities should bike not drive especially. And I know the complaint of smog but hey if everyone biked there would be no smog!
Comments
Originally posted by k squared
I am too, but usually it's just so unproductive. For example, when I used to take the bus to work the ride would take about 90 minutes. Driving only took me 30 minutes. The main reason was because I had to switch buses and they only came every 45 minutes.
I'm not against cars by any means. I just think that we should design our built environment to make people happy, not cars.
amen. you sound like a planner
I've been known to walk home when it's nice out. It's an hour, but it's meditative, and scenic, and the walking stirs my thoughts in interesting ways. Right now, I walk as little as possible, and I will until it stops snowing. Which it can do any day now...
I wholeheartedly agree on the idiocy of planning things around cars rather than people. Especially neighborhoods. I mean, they aren't even neighborhoods if everyone's hunkered behind their three car garage and they don't even know who lives next door.
I usually take the bus to work, since my company will pop for half the bus pass, and gives me a month's worth of free coffee as an incentive.
People have this idea of LA as this place that's impossible to get around in without a car. Well, it can be a little less convenient for people (the transportation system is not like in New York, but it's not that bad), but it is there. And since LA is basically a series of contiguous little towns, it's for the most part possible to walk to do most of your errands. It's too bad, really, since we have nearly perfect weather; some of my fondest memories of this place are walking home from a really nice meal with friends on a balmy LA evening, smelling the jasmine and looking at the lights in the hills.
That was fun.
Aqua
Even in the thicker urban areas(except maybe bay area)walking is inefficient.
it's a big state, and we're lazy.
However, I'm living in boston now, and Boston, as I'm told is "america's walking city"
as such, I walk everywhere now, our apartment is in a good location, nothing is TOO far(except the apple store
The weather has been getting better too, it was like -7ºC two weeks ago, now it's like 14ºC on average , so yeah, I walk a lot.
I'm hoping to get 2 or maybe even 3 trips in this summer, I want to go back to Kings canyon and take care of some unfinished business(Mt. whitney, Mt. Brewer) One day I might want to hike one of those mammoth interstate trails like the John muir trail, but that can wait.
Originally posted by Wrong Robot
I'm a californian, California is the land of cars and not walking to get where you want to go.
However, I'm living in Boston now, and Boston, as I'm told is "america's walking city"
Maybe that 's it- I'm from back there.
Yeah, my Apple store (at the Grove) is just a little too far for me to truck my lazy a$$.
You sound like your brave enough to go down to your local for supplies.
So Apple might be a bit further out of your reach..
How about walking as long as you can, then as evening presses on into night, climb a tree and sleep over night.
I don't think you can be arrested as a vagrant for sleeping in a tree.
But if the local police do give you some stick, pretend that your a lost British tourist.
Everyone knows how the British are all barking mad.
So as long as you can put on a believable accent, your in the clear.
Aqua
Originally posted by groverat
I am all about public transportation.
I was about it when I was a kid, but I've seen enough people vomiting and shitting all over themselves and the walls (yes, crap smeared on the walls and seats multiple times) that I am not about it. That said, I'm taking the El to work today. It just snowed last night so it's probably too bumpy and slippery.
i get to work around 7am, so i don't like to bike in the winter when it is both dark and cold, but i usually bike from april to end of november...5 miles each way by streets, 7 miles each way if i go bike trails...i usually go street, but my wife yells at me when she finds out...
when i lived in the country i drove everyday (25 miles each way...too far to bike when you do 10 hour days), but i hiked the mountains alot, so country vs city living is probably a push for me physically
g
Originally posted by Chinney
My wife and I walk to work most days. But tomorrow we may skate.
7.8 kms of well-maintained ice from one end to the other, and we live just a few hundred yards from it.
NOW THAT is a pretty cool means of getting to the office. Maybe the Sens can send Lalime packing so he can monitor the skating path while someone else plays goal.
Originally posted by Chinney
But surely the very reason you walk around campus is to be lectured....
Just teasing. Couldn't resist.
Best post EVAR!
Nick
I'm from DC and then Bethesda. The public transportation is pretty good, and there are sidewalks pretty much everywhere. In central jersey, there are no sidewalks and when you drive down route 1 to get to the unsightly complexes of malls, stripmalls, and big box stores ("Mallrats" is dead-on about the extreme lameness of the Jersey landscape) it's as if these places were designed to make you drive from one parking lot to another, even when the lots are very close. (No sidewalks at all)
I walk them, and people in SUV's honk at me. Of course, I think people who buy SUV's are degenerates so it doesn't really bother me.
Always a small exercise?
If I have to get to the mall, I use my longboard. It also gets used if I go to another city. Always great to be mobile this fast.
When I go to school, or visit my brothers or parents, I use public transportation. This is big here in Switzerland. You can get almost everywhere with the combination of train, bus and ship.
Additionally I have a GA. A GA is like a normal ticket for the bus, but I can use this in the whole of Switzerland. Yes, that's right. For $160 a month, I can use whatever train, bus or ship there is without any additional fees. It's great for people like me, who don't have a car but travel a lot.
People in cities should bike not drive especially. And I know the complaint of smog but hey if everyone biked there would be no smog!
I don't know, personally I sweat a lot when biking (it's humid where I live) but I am more comfortable walking.