I didn't miss my car all that much, surprisingly

Piccadilly amazingly devoid of heavy vehicular traffic.

For more than a month while I was in Europe I didn’t once get behind the wheel of a car. It wasn’t until I got home and took my own car out that I realized I had undergone a protracted bout of driver interruptus. So, obviously, having not driven didn’t bother me at all.

A while ago London’s commie-inspired mayor, Ken Livingstone, came upon the idea of banning private vehicles from the core of his city – one of the biggest and most congested in the world. That is, unless you wanted to pay a really hefty toll, you might as well leave your car at home. The initial response was outrage. But then, when folks saw the effect of a city core largely devoid of private cars, attitudes changed in a positive direction.

A week or so ago I was standing at Piccadilly Circus -- London’s Times Square – and I was amazed at how quiet it was. In times past there was such a traffic flow that the thought of crossing one of the many streets coming into the circus was a cause for trepidation, and one that drove many pedestrians to slog down to the Underground station and come up the other side just to avoid being run down. This time virtually the only conveyances passing through the place were buses, delivery vans and taxis. I was amazed. I was equally amazed and delighted to see that the street between Trafalgar Square and the National Gallery had been turned into a pedestrians-only area, because the demand for the use of the street had diminished so greatly. Mayor Ken, I may detest your political leanings, but I do doff my hat to you in the matter of traffic control. You were right; if the bastards want to bring their cars into central London, then make the bastards pay.

Generally speaking I was hugely impressed with the quantity and quality of public transit in Europe. I didn’t miss having a car because I didn’t need a car. We were able to get to where we wanted to go, in good time, by using what was at hand. In Grenoble there is a brilliant streetcar system in which the trolleys run mere moments apart. In Brussels there is an underground metro system and, London’s extensive underground is the oldest and in many respects the most efficient subway system in the world. Meanwhile, there are commuter trains, and intercity trains, and international trains. They are fast and comfortable and, if you choose your times well, not overcrowded.

Back on North American turf, we are not so successful. We’re not successful with public transit because the will to change isn’t there. We are told North Americans are in love with their cars, and would be loath to leave them sitting in the garage so that they might take a bus, train, or subway. I disagree. I like my car as much as the next guy. Indeed, I have quite a sentimental affection for my car. Yet, if you were to provide me with a viable alternative to taking the thing out on a daily basis, I would welcome it. It would save wear on the aging Nissan, and would save stress on me. Added to which, it would be just a little friendlier to that old planet I call home.

While I’m not obsessed about hydrocarbon emissions to the degree that they make me lie awake at nights (maybe they should), I would be a fool to believe that the gazillions of private vehicles that ply our highways and byways aren’t having a negative impact. Not only a negative impact environmentally, but a negative impact esthetically in which so much infrastructure cost must be directed towards accommodating your and my hydrocarbon-spewing bucket-of-bolts.

But, I’ll go back to the lack of will to change. I read a letter to the paper yesterday in which a guy was complaining of the new and higher rates to park his car at the ‘Skytrain’ station in Vancouver. For those unfamiliar, ‘Skytrain’ is Vancouver’s EL, and a sleek and sexy system it is. But, the point is, as the writer attested, that if it is going to cost him as much to park at the station, as it will for him to park downtown, he might as well take his car to work. He’s right, and the parking gouging is wrong, and shows that lack of will. He, and those like him, should be rewarded for using public transit, not penalized. If they can’t afford the space for parking without gouging, then establish rapid and efficient buses to take commuters to and from the Skytrain, enabling them to leave their cars at home.

Back to the beginning. I didn’t miss not having my car. I can only imagine there are millions more like me. Provide a realistic alternative and I think we would be amazed at how obliging people might be.