Living Car Free - You know you live in a car-centric world when....

... the label on the spiced rum says "May inhibit your ability to drive a car"
I should write and tell them it doesn't help with keeping a smooth cadence on the bike either :rolleyes:
feel free to contribute
:D

Well, there's no such thing as M.A.D.R.! probably because drinking and driving is a far bigger issue (and more likely to get everyone involved killed)

No one even notices the blue haze from idling cars in the Tim Horton's drive thru.
I went to ride in for a small coffee and bagel, and the stink just turned my stomach, so I pedalled on past.

... the traffic signs say "Drive Friendly". riiiiight!
though we do have some "share the Road" signs with biker & ped pictured. semi-enlightened ;)

Oh and one of the best: our $10 Bicycling magazine subscritions are supported by
(drum roll)
car advertising!

No one even notices the blue haze from idling cars in the Tim Horton's drive thru.
I went to ride in for a small coffee and bagel, and the stink just turned my stomach, so I pedalled on past.

Here in Toronto, that Blue Haze covers the whole province:eek: , it's that time of year when 3C ( C-C-Cold) turns into 3H (Hot Hazy Humid)...... Okay, it's bad enough when there is a smog advistory for Toronto, or even the GTA but the entire provinces of Ontario and Quebec are under a smog advisory.

The issue is fine particulate, which mostly comes from diesel exhaust and coal fired power plants. Both are regulated here in the province, our own coal plants are mandated to have scrubbers and other pollution controls, and diesel trucks must pass a drive clean test every year, which regulates the amount of soot they can release into the air. Most of this smog actually comes from the US, so while people in states like Ohio, enjoy cheap power (coal plants there are not regulated), we are paying for it here, with the smog. Worst for Toronto, it's essentially a valley, so the hot and humid polluted air gets trapped by the coolr air on top. A Cold front is supposed to move through today, and clear it all out, but, it's capped, cloud towers are only going up to 10,000m or so, so it may end up just a little rain, makng things worse for the humidity.:rolleyes: You need towers up to 15000m to get serious Thunderstorms......

Here in Toronto, that Blue Haze covers the whole province:eek: , it's that time of year when 3C ( C-C-Cold) turns into 3H (Hot Hazy Humid)...... Okay, it's bad enough when there is a smog advistory for Toronto, or even the GTA but the entire provinces of Ontario and Quebec are under a smog advisory.

The issue is fine particulate, which mostly comes from diesel exhaust and coal fired power plants. Both are regulated here in the province, our own coal plants are mandated to have scrubbers and other pollution controls, and diesel trucks must pass a drive clean test every year, which regulates the amount of soot they can release into the air. Most of this smog actually comes from the US, so while people in states like Ohio, enjoy cheap power (coal plants there are not regulated), we are paying for it here, with the smog. Worst for Toronto, it's essentially a valley, so the hot and humid polluted air gets trapped by the coolr air on top. A Cold front is supposed to move through today, and clear it all out, but, it's capped, cloud towers are only going up to 10,000m or so, so it may end up just a little rain, makng things worse for the humidity.:rolleyes: You need towers up to 15000m to get serious Thunderstorms......
The power plant that's less than a mile from me barely pollutes my city, but it sure messes up Ontario! :o

Anybody remember the old Sim City computer game? You coon learned to build your power plants right on the border so your neighbors would get half of your pollution.

Anothe carcentric sign: opinion polls show that people are reducing their food budgets so that they can continue to buy gas! They don't know that it's a lot more fun to lose weight by exercising more instead of eating less.

You work in a business park and there is no way to get to the deli restaurant in the next building except walking between the plants of several planted gardens or driving.

The power plant that's less than a mile from me barely pollutes my city, but it sure messes up Ontario! :o

Anybody remember the old Sim City computer game? You coon learned to build your power plants right on the border so your neighbors would get half of your pollution.

There was a program, that would allow you to set your money to anything you wanted, like $50,000,000, you do that, then build like 25 nuke plants at the far end of the board, and run about 4 power lines down to the city, you could also cheat and turn off disasters..... Made the game far more interesting....

Anothe carcentric sign: opinion polls show that people are reducing their food budgets so that they can continue to buy gas! They don't know that it's a lot more fun to lose weight by exercising more instead of eating less.

Tell me you have a source for this, I'm not being a jerk, I'd just love to see this.

doesn't have nugget-like aphoristic qualities, but how 'bout just the fact that in most US municipalities, it is a punishable offense to build anything without off-street parking, generally in such proportions as to accommodate >100% of the residents, shoppers, workers etc. using ~3,500lb motorcages for all mobility beyond a couple hundred feet. that's building code. or how about "free" parking anyplace where land is worth serious money? then there's zoning. since 1928 i think in the US, it's generally illegal, requiring some exceptional review process etc. to conduct business in human proximity to where people live. wtf? exceptions are for development pre-dating 1928, which is why i have always and ever chosen to live in such areas. we're 41 with a kid, car-free our whole lives, and prosperous. clue: just say no to living or working in places that were wilderness in 1928. wilderness is for hunter-gatherers and subsistence farmers, and wilderness is what i think will become of most places built to depend on high-energy personal transport, before they're re-built at least. in our lifetimes.

doesn't have nugget-like aphoristic qualities, but how 'bout just the fact that in most US municipalities, it is a punishable offense to build anything without off-street parking, generally in such proportions as to accommodate >100% of the residents, shoppers, workers etc. using ~3,500lb motorcages for all mobility beyond a couple hundred feet. that's building code. or how about "free" parking anyplace where land is worth serious money. then there's zoning. since 1928 i think in the US, it's generally illegal, requiring some exceptional review process etc. to conduct business in human proximity to where people live. exceptions are for development pre-dating 1928, which is why i have always and ever chosen to live in such areas. we're 41 with a kid, car-free our whole lives, and prosperous. clue: just say no to living or working in places that were wilderness in 1928.

That's a very interesting point. Wouldn't it mean that a 1928 map of the U.S. would essentially define the optimum areas for carfree living?

Describing a professional cycling event as "high octane" (http://wral.com/news/local/story/1446714/) :p


Aaron:)

That's a very interesting point. Wouldn't it mean that a 1928 map of the U.S. would essentially define the optimum areas for carfree living?

I would say yes, but I think that date may vary by area. I know the biggest building boom involving the development of the suburbs didn't really get off the the ground until after World War II with the development of Levitowns and the automotive boom. I am with tfahrner that the older neighborhoods are the place to live it they haven't gone so far down hill that they are full of empty condemned houses. For the most part that is where I have chosen to live when I have had the choice. And my parents chose those neighborhoods when we were growing up because at the time they were the most affordable and had decent sized houses for the money.

Aaron:)

Hmm... 1928 housing... I like it. I'll have to keep that in mind when the time comes.

... the label on the spiced rum says "May inhibit your ability to drive a car"
I should write and tell them it doesn't help with keeping a smooth cadence on the bike either :rolleyes:
feel free to contribute
:D
It seems to be move indicative of a lawyer centric society (the US is not the world).

Anothe carcentric sign: opinion polls show that people are reducing their food budgets so that they can continue to buy gas! They don't know that it's a lot more fun to lose weight by exercising more instead of eating less.

That's creepy..

I don't know the transition dates, but around here the older residential areas have sidewalks on both sides of every street. The areas built soon after WWII tend to have fewer if any sidewalks and the newer areas are back to having sidewalks again. We also have a lot of infill with sidewalks that don't connect to the larger grid, but that is steadily changing for the better. We recently downsized from a disconnected suburban area to a "mid-town" condo and our transportation options are much more comprehensive.

Anothe carcentric sign: opinion polls show that people are reducing their food budgets so that they can continue to buy gas! They don't know that it's a lot more fun to lose weight by exercising more instead of eating less.

It's healthier to exercise-- humans spent countless millenia adapting to heavy physical activity, and we certainly haven't evolved to be able to sit still all the time (safely) in a couple of generations.

You work in a business park and there is no way to get to the deli restaurant in the next building except walking between the plants of several planted gardens or driving.

ah-men.

they throw up strip malls and business parks with no sidewalks, no bike lanes - you gotta have a car or go offroading!

Tell me you have a source for this, I'm not being a jerk, I'd just love to see this.
Sorry, I don't remember. I saw it on the TV news and also on either AP or Reuters online. It was based on a poll.

That's a very interesting point. Wouldn't it mean that a 1928 map of the U.S. would essentially define the optimum areas for carfree living?
Check out carfree.com (http://www.carfree.com/).

There are thousands of photos (http://www.carfree.com/design/index.html) of pre-car cities to give you an idea.

Sorry, I don't remember. I saw it on the TV news and also on either AP or Reuters online. It was based on a poll.
An example from the front lines:

"The Catholic Charities food pantry was running low last week as food requests rose from the usual three or four a week to three or four a day."

"Laura Wateski, of Catholic Charities, said the jump “definitely” is related to the higher gas prices."

“We’re getting hit for food like we’ve never been hit before,” Wateski said. “People have to choose between gas money and food money.”

Link (http://www.lacrossetribune.com/articles/2007/05/29/news/02gas.txt)