So I am one of “those” people.

Who am I you may ask. I am a completely car-free urban planner. No, I am not crazy and I am not a “tree hugger.” I do, however, believe in smart growth, walkable communities and mixed uses. In my line of work I am not alone in these beliefs but often when you dig a little deeper you find urban planners with these beliefs living the car dominated suburban “dream.” I like to practice what I preach so for the last three years I have been totally car-free living in northwest Washington, DC while working in Baltimore – approximately 40 miles from my home.

Cabi Station, 21st and Penn NW

CaBi Share Station

Hi Ho, Hi Ho!

My typical work day starts at 6:15 AM.  I leave my home and walk 150 feet down the block to my local Capital Bikeshare (CaBi) station.  CaBi is a public-private partnership operating in Washington, DC and Arlington County, VA which provides bike sharing services to members and one-time renters. This partnership involves the District Department of Transportation,

15th Street Cycletrack

Arlington County government, and Alta Bicycle Share Inc.  As a yearly member, I insert my key into the CaBi station to take out a bike near my home in the Adams Morgan neighborhood.  From there I use the 15th Street Cycletrack to intersect with Massachusetts Avenue toward Union Station. I check my bike in at another CaBi station located at North Capital Street and F Street NW to walk into Union Station. This ride takes about 20 minutes. The beauty of Capital Bikeshare is when I get to where I need to go and check the bike into a station, my responsibility for the bike ends. I don’t worry about carrying a bike lock or my bike getting stolen.  I get to use a bike as I need it with none of the maintenance costs or headaches.

Next, I switch to my second mode of transportation. Every morning the MARC operates an express train on the Penn Line at 7:20 AM going from Union Station to Penn Station in Baltimore, MD with no stops along the 35 minute route.  It is by far the fastest way to get to Baltimore. Once I have exited the train, I switch to my third mode of transportation: walking.  My walk from Penn Station to my office at the State Center takes about 10 minutes.  In the evening, I reverse this commute with minor adjustments for train scheduling and bike route.

Is this all really worth it?

MARC Train

I know what you’re thinking, “that sounds like a real pain.” But let me ask you this, have you driven a car lately between Washington, DC and Baltimore at rush hour? I have – once. Don’t do it. It takes much longer, costs more than my commute, and inspires frustration at every level.  Plus, there are advantages and efficiencies to my commute.

First, there is the cost. I don’t have to make a car payment nor do I pay for insurance, maintenance or (most importantly) gas. The cost of the monthly MARC ticket is a drop in a bucket compared to a car. Second of all, and certainly the biggest benefit, between the two bike commute legs per day I get almost one hour of exercise per day. Thus, check off the daily dose of needed exercise, the cost of that gym membership, and the time devoted to running on a boring treadmill like a hamster on a wheel trying to reach it’s food. Finally, this commute helps keep me connected to my community. When I am in a car I am unable to truly interact with my environment. In a car, I am unable to notice the new bakery or restaurant that opened in my neighborhood. The discovery of new places to come back to later makes the bike commute part of my day well worth it.  Since Washington is a micro-neighborhood from street to street and block to block, I use different routes just to see what’s happening in other communities. In my opinion, the car has become another way for us to isolate ourselves from the rest of the world especially for short trips around the neighborhood.

As a personal choice, I have purposely elected to own property in a highly walkable community with every necessity of daily life.  I walk to the grocery store, restaurant and coffee shop.  I have easy access to 5 different modes of transportation for longer trips around the city.  On average, I drive a car 5 or 6 times a year – and that includes those times I use my employer’s vehicle for work requirements.  For those times when I want to go somewhere a bike or mass transit can’t take me, a weekend car rental is relatively inexpensive for making such getaways.  There are also multiple car sharing options should I decide to pursue them.

If you love your car, that’s your right. I come from a gear head/car collector family so I understand it. But remember, living the car dominated suburban lifestyle has it’s own hidden costs and trade-offs  Maybe you owe it to yourself to peer over the hill and check out something a little different. It may be hard at first but it gets easier.  Soon you almost can’t imagine going back. So feel free to creep along in traffic within your own little tin can. It’s only going to get worse from here on out. Meanwhile, I will continue to happily pursue my lower cost, more connected healthy lifestyle and the sense of freedom it provides. In order to assist those interested in a turn toward the car-free or “car-lite” lifestyle, I will be writing a multi-part series for this blog over the next few months geared toward people interested making such a change. The only requirement is a little motivation.

Here are a few of my own pictures along the 15th Street Cycletrack

15 Streetcycle Track, 15th and O Street NW15th Street Cycletrack, 15th and Q15th Street Cycletrack, 15th and U Street NW

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