Daniel Quinn

Perhaps, but we shouldn’t subsidise burning the planet.

Seems to me that the answer here should be a substantial tax on petrol.

That’s a very low bar.

You know, I read that book as a kid 'cause my grandmother came to visit annoyed that I’d published a book and not told her. I think was 17 at the time.

It was one of those books that really got to me though. It changed my entire worldview and I still think of it from time to time. I’m now 46.

You have to be deliberate about where you live. If you don’t want to be car dependent, you have to move somewhere that isn’t car dependent or you’re gonna have a Bad Time™.

I grew up in a car-dependent suburban shithole called Langley, and moved to Vancouver at the earliest opportunity where I could commute via transit, scooter, or bike. Every time I moved after that (7 different cities so far) it’s been to places where I can safely walk, cycle, and/or take transit because not being car-dependent was a high priority for me.

I should also point out that this decision, while resulting in higher rent & mortgages than if I’d chosen suburban life, has meant I’ve not spent the roughly $10k annually to maintain a car, which meant that I could afford a to buy a good-sized home in a bike-friendly city. We expect to pay off the mortgage this year.

Car-free really is what it says on the tin: freedom.

Relevant.

Absolute hero.

As much as I love a good Ten Minutes Hate directed at some carbrain too lazy to walk 4km, it seems I’m going to have to be the one to point out that it’s entirely possible that this person’s route to work is far too dangerous to walk, let alone cycle.

Just look at that strip of paint some of you are calling a bike lane. Maybe you would be willing to risk your life squeezing amongst the monster trucks on a bike, but I certainly wouldn’t. And walk? Breathing all those tailpipe fumes for 30-60min? Hell no. This person may well be looking at 4km of car-exclusive road to get to work.

So instead of ripping into this poor soul for being lazy, maybe we should be considering the very real possibility that their options are limited by poor infrastructure/planning/politics.