MetroRiderLA

It’s not uncommon to see expressions of bewilderment on the faces of others when you tell them you live a Transit Oriented Life, especially in Los Angeles. People will assume you have run into a major financial crisis, lost your vehicle to accident or crime, got caught driving under the influence, or that you’ve just gone batshit crazy. After reassuring them that everything’s okay and that you indeed came to the decision through personal choice and reasoned logic, not faulty wiring or Acts of God, your auto-addicted friend is likely to wonder what possible logical reasons there could be for you to make such a choice. Ben W. over at the Seattle Transit Blog faced this very question, and decided to put an end to the confusion by listing five benchmarks that set him on his way from car-dependent to car-free.

Here’s what did it for him:

1. Using transit to get to work
2. The ease that Google Transit provides when planning transit trips
3. Taking part in Seattle’s One Less Car Challenge.
4. Finding out about Flexcar (now Zipcar) and becoming a member.
5. Taking transit to someplace new.

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Inspired by a comment by Dan W. on the One Year Without A Car post, I present MetroRider readers with this question:

Poll closes March 5, 2008 at 12:00PM.

What is the main reason you have chosen what is clearly an alternative lifestyle in Los Angeles? Sure, there are many reasons that go into the equation, but for me, the main reason I decided to go car-free was the fact that driving (and car ownership) in Los Angeles just sucks! Everything about it was dehumanizing to me: it was stressful, boring, scary, and annoying. Environment and economics are pluses, but they weren’t really a consideration to me when I decided to get rid of my car. What’s your story?

This Earth Day, April 22nd, the Wilshire Center Business Improvement Corporation(WCBIC)in collaboration with The City of Los Angeles will close off four blocks of Wilshire Boulevard, from Western to Harvard, to show off the possibilities of “green urbanism” that Wilshire Center and other parts of Los Angeles offer. Although so far only Wilshire Center will be closed off the car, the Car-Free Day is a city-wide motion [PDF].

Starting at 10 AM and going until 5 PM on Tuesday, April 22 2008, Wilshire Center’s Earth Day Celebration will include:

• Live music performance (with acoustic set by Michael Franti)
• Bike raffle
• Reusable grocery bag give-away
• Tours of Metro Rapid Bus
• Organic food vendors
• Screening of “An Inconvenient Truth”

The WCBIC really seems committed to the eco-goals that led them to this event, with a whole section of their website dedicated to addressing ecological sustainability. They have a vision of Wilshire Center as a transit oriented urban village, where people can live work and play in a densely populated area without the need for a car. I hope more neighborhoods in Los Angeles follow Wilshire Center’s example and close of their streets on Earth Day… and if the message gets out, permanently.

As of today I’ve now lived a full year without a car. Now that might not seem like a big deal to an eleven year old but for some reason Zach Braff 20-somethings all over are blown away; not to mention the 30 and up crowd.

Yep, the last Friday of February exactly one year ago I exchanged a red metal burden for $1900, which I was able to use to pay off one other burden, which was caused by the first burden. Now I’ve still got burdens, we all do, but one of the biggest ones is now in the hands of a 21, 22 now year old (they grow up so fast) in Burbank.

So what comes of a year without an automobile anyway? Have I gone out less? Have I been trapped by the shackles of inaccessibility? Have my girlfriend and friends abandoned me for a new guy that can drive when they need to go to the grocery store four blocks away? Well—No, I can now go out and not ever have to worry about a designated driver. No, I can get anywhere I want/need to go by way of public transit and my feet and every once in a long while, zip-car (grrr). No, my girlfriend is now pretty much car free and I just meet my friends near the deli after they finally finish parking. Simply put, things have only improved. (more…)

• Metroblogging wants to get L.A. transit on the fast track. Do you?
• StreetHeatLA goes the to Valley Service Cuts Hearings and comes back with a report. People want their buses!
• After 34 years of car addiction, one man finally kicks the habit.
• Fix Expo release its statement on the Expo Line Farmdale Vote, which is happening today.