Living Car Free - I was interviewed about Car-Lite/Car Free living

They’re fitter. They’re happier. They’re more productive.

While the rest of you suckers can’t stop hitting refresh on columbusgasprices.com, cyclists arrive at work at least financially and emotionally richer, if not a bit dampened by a deserved sense of accomplishment.

Yes, two-wheeled types are clearly far superior to the rest of car-happy Columbus, but you can’t exactly go around saying that without getting yourself run over. So how does the two-wheeled solution speak to the petroleum problem? With lots and lots of consideration. And the strategy is working.

Mock all ye want from your climate-controlled autos, Columbus, but bikers are steadily reclaiming the streets.


Read More (http://www.theotherpaper.com/articles/2008/08/07/cover_story/doc4899e859cdc11203948130.txt)


I come in after the Williamson quote. Not a bad article. This is one of our weekly alternatives and it has a reputation for being pretty snarky and twisting the article.

http://www.theotherpaper.com/articles/2008/08/07/cover_story/doc4899e859cdc11203948130.txt

This URL might work better...

http://www.theotherpaper.com/articles/2008/08/07/cover_story/doc4899e859cdc11203948130.txt

This URL might work better...

Fixed...

So were you the guy who was going to ditch his car when he moved downtown?

Or the guy who was quoted?

“The mindset of city leadership and those in the transportation department has changed dramatically in the last year or two since we worked to put this together,” Stephens said. “Getting cars from here to there used to be the focus, but there has been a dramatic mind shift.”

So were you the guy who was going to ditch his car when he moved downtown?

Or the guy who was quoted?


That’s welcome news to Andrew Hulvey, a member of Columbus’s CarFree living movement. A recent OSU grad, Hulvey is looking forward to ditching his auto when he moves Downtown this fall.


His motives are largely financial. It costs between $10,000 and $12,000 annually to operate a car, Hulvey said. And since he’s scaled down to a CarLite lifestyle, he’s shed pounds, saved money and developed a “more intimate relationship” with his commute.


“It’s more stressful driving a car now,” he said. Cycling doesn’t lend itself to multi-tasking that often takes place in a car, whether its cell phone use or eating a meal, he said. Plus, it’s a mode of transportation with a rich cultural history.


“Bikes have always been a catalyst for social change,” Hulvey said, citing an article that credits the machine for the early independence it provided women as they launched the suffrage movement.

and



“We’ll always have to deal with cars,” said Hulvey. “We’ll never get rid of them completely, but we can give people options.”

and
It's fantastic that more and more media outlets are focusing on the downside of care ownership. Hopefully, there are enough folks out there like yourself who are willing to give it a go.

Stephens, who once lived in Detroit, attributes that city’s current hellhole circumstance to the “fast, mean streets” that connect its sprawling suburbs, and warns that Columbus could follow if they continue in an unsustainable pattern.

Amen to that.

Nice article!

Good points well made Andrew.