From Bob Ransford:
Today marks one year auto-liberated for me. I feel good, despite the fact that I haven’t had a car since April 18th last year. I’ve spent about $800 over that year using share cars, and taxis once in awhile (mainly some intense use while I was moving my residence last summer), including during one of our worst winters ever.
I’ve relied mainly on transit and have really walked a lot more. I bought a more comfortable bike in the summer and used it quite a bit for short trips, mainly in my neighbourhood. I feel healthier and life actually seems quite a bit simpler.
I live in the suburbs and I commute daily to my office across the region, on an unusual commuting axis (Steveston to Surrey City Centre), so it is a little more difficult commuting than it is if I worked in downtown Vancouver. Accessing both rapid transit and share cars is also more difficult when one lives deep in the suburbs. But, I also live in the heart of Steveston– historically a compact, walkable, mixed-use neighbourhood, so getting around locally to meet my daily needs is easy.
Life without a car is not the end of the world. In fact, it’s a better life.
BOB RANSFORD
Vice President, Acquisitions & Investments
Century Group
How much additional time do you think you’ve spent commuting though?
With respect to you feeling you now have a “better” life… you know the old saying: “Reality is what you perceive it to be”…
@ freeway, that applies equally to you. Oh, the irony.
While I don’t always agree with Bob Ransford, especially when he blames city hall for self-inflicted delays and processing costs imposed on developers (he’s obviously never worked the other side of the counter), I do agree and encourage him to continue to write about the benefits of sustainable urbanism.