From the age of 5 to 13 bicycles were my sole means of independent travel outside of walking and the occasional bus ride. My friends and I would cruise the neighborhood, making obligatory stops at Becker's for Coke slurpies and Big League Chew, then onwards to the local ravine where we'd scavenge for discarded porno magazines. Times were good. The bike was cool, an accessory no respectable boy would be without.
Then I became a teenager.
As I edged closer to legal driving age, the bicycle's role in my life became increasingly fuzzy. By the age of 19, I hadn't owned—let alone sat on—a bike for 3 years. Although I wouldn't admit it at the time, I had come to regard the bicycle as a embarrassment; something only DUI cases and "poor people" used. Twisted thinking, I know, but not entirely unexpected considering I was knee deep in suburbia attending one of the wealthiest high schools in the municipality. Try not driving when 1 out of 3 peers has a car. To my insecure, malformed teenage brain, the automobile seemed the only choice. Goodbye bike!
It wasn't until I moved out of the burbs did I rediscover my love of two-wheeled travel. First it was simply a cheap way to get from a-to-b. Soon, my utilitarian interest developed into a full blown obsession. Riding was always the first choice. Groceries? Take the bike. School? Take the bike. Work? Take the bike. Transit was there for stormy days or the unforgiving cold of Toronto winters; otherwise, it was the bike every time. Riding in Toronto restored my faith in the bicycle, and thankfully, opened my eyes to a life without complete car-dependency. Over the years I've come to believe that more and more Canadians living in high-density areas have made the same transition, and that the car-centric lifestyle is slowly eroding.
That's why I find this new report from StatsCan so disturbing. Despite growing concern over GHG emissions and fuel costs, Canadians on average drive more now than we did 10 years ago. I fully realize that the automobile is a necessity for many Canadians. That being said, there are too many people in urbanized areas, even on the fringes of cities, with viable alternatives that still insist on driving everywhere. Fine, you need it to get to work or to hockey practice. But is it absolutely necessary you drive that half kilometer to Blockbuster? I live in Burnaby, and though technically a suburb, it has a fully functional transit system and bicycle network. Even with these options, I see very few people walking in my neighbourhood, and even fewer cyclists. Granted, the buses get heavy use, but when you look at the age make-up of the riders it's often the young and the elderly.
Not surprisingly, Edmonton and Calgary are rated the most car-dependent cities in Canada; with Montrealer's being the least likely to hop behind the wheel. To add insult to injury, the report notes that while car dependency has risen, people are walking and cycling less than before.
Put on your Ray Bans, the future is looking bright.
2 comments:
As another car-less, bike-dependent Canadian, I also find this disturbing. However, I think blame needs to be shared between those people who make decisions to be car-dependent, and local and Provincial governments who have always, and continue, to plan cities around the car. Canada is designed to need cars. Even Vancouver is designed for cars. No matter how much I believe in environmentally friendly transport, I can't say how many times I've been ready to snap in Vancouver and buy a car (assuming i had any money to buy one that is). I've spend mornings trying to get to school for a 9am class where 5 express buses have just driven by my bus stop because they were full - leaving literally 2 hundred angry and late transit riders standing on the sidewalk. same deal trying to get downtown for work, but worse.
Try riding a bike over the Granville bridge - you get to choose the 3 foot wide sidewalk where you have to stop and get off your bike to carry around a pedestrian every 10 feet, or the street where tired morning commuters are passing you going 120km/h 4 inches from your handlebars. its fucking brutal.
So yeah.... i agree it stupid that people make such bad environmental decisions as being exclusively car-dependent in urban areas.... but there is plenty of blame to place on city and provincial leaders who have given people so few viable choices as alternatives.
I totally agree with you. There's an obvious lack of government will power when it comes to developing public transit, and to an even greater extent, bicycle infrastructure. This is plainly obvious in Toronto where year after year the TTC announces yet another colossal budget shortfall; resulting in fare hikes or service cuts.
I can't help but wonder, even if the government stepped up their support for public transit, would that be enough to get people out of their cars? My father certainly wouldn't, and I'm sure there are many Canadians just like him that are addicted to the freedom and comfort of driving. Why get on a "stinky" bus or subway when you can drive in your shiny Nissan?
Perhaps once traffic gets so bad that transit becomes reliably faster than driving, and fuel prices hit unreachable heights, the majority of people will (reluctantly) abandon the automobile.
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