[Carfreeliving] "Car-free living"

[Jason Henderson]

Emily I got called "you people" all the time in
Georgia. No problem. 

I am weary of an email exhange that can be misread or
misinterpreted, I sense this has happened already
today. But here goes. 
Let me explain what I mean by blunt by using one of
your statements. "We need to keep doing all of the
great work we've been doing to create REAL options for
people so that they will make a decision to give up
their cars."

I don't see, given the plethora of excellent examples
from around the world and the built environment of San
Francisco, how we can create "real options" until we
start seriously reducing car space. Taking away
on-street parking more widely but selectively, taking
away car travel lanes - again widely and selectively.
Changing zoning to restict parking in developments and
allowing large-scale carfree developments to go in.
Creating more greenspace out of current car space. Not
allowing the Mid Market Plan to get all that parking,
not allowing the Market Octavia Plan to get tanked by
people worried about their precious on-street parking
from densification and reduced parking regs.  

BRT is stuck because of car space. Bike lanes stink
because of car space. The ramp is coming in next month
because of car space. Pedestrians and cyclists fight
because they are fighting over the leftovers of car
space. Broadly speaking, the people in DPT like Mike
are not in a position to decide how carpsace is
allocated. 

In order to provide all these good people in San
Francisco with the choices so they can decide to get
rid of their cars - dignified bike lanes, dignified
transit, dignified pedestrian spaces and gathering
spaces - we need to take away car space - the car
space of the motorists who now feel entitled to it.
And that, I am afraid, is where the bluntness comes
in. 

I know it is complicated at the presonal level, I know
class comes in. So much to say and do.  

-jh


--- Emily Drennen <bicyclesf at yahoo.com> wrote:

> Tom-
> 
> I loved your comments. They got at the heart of what
> I
> am feeling these days ~ why is it so HARD to do this
> work? Why does it feel like climbing mountains all
> of
> the time? Where is the sense of hope, creativity,
> and
> joy?  
> 
> And Jason, I disagree with your statement:
> "We should be a little less sympathetic and more
> direct
> with progressives who drive. Be blunt but
> diplomatic."
> 
> I don't believe that arguing with people, shaming
> their behavior, calling them out into public, or
> anything like that will change whether people own
> cars
> or not. (I also don't think it is right to use the
> same tactics to get people to walk/lose weight/stop
> smoking/etc., but that is a different topic.)
> 
> We need to keep doing all of the great work we've
> been
> doing to create REAL options for people so that they
> will make a decision to give up their cars. If it
> takes someone from my neighborhood (15th and
> Mission)
> one and a half hours to bus it to the beach, and
> only
> takes 15 minutes to drive, what REAL choice have we
> given them? (I know, I know. Don't bite my head
> off.)
> My point is that we can't succeed in creating change
> just by telling folks that what they are doing is
> wrong (or that living car-free is good for public
> health or the environment). 
> 
> I also want to point out that there are serious
> class
> issues with this whole debate. On the one hand,
> urging
> people who are low-income to live car-free is a bit
> of
> a slapdown since they can't afford a car anyway (and
> are forced to use transit, etc.) They are car-free
> not
> out of any "do gooder" ethos, but out of necessity.
> In
> fact, living a "car-free" existence is really only a
> debate/issue for people with a certain amount of
> privledge ~ that they could afford a car, but decide
> not to. 
> 
> And lastly, no one can know WHY someone has a car.
> Assuming that you do can be hurtful. At the risk of
> putting myself out there to be "blunty talked to"
> about this issue, I own a car. For many years, I
> didn't. We even were members of City CarShare for a
> year (we won a BART raffle). However, we decided to
> get a car for 2 reasons: we wanted to become foster
> parents (yes, I know that there are plenty of
> parents
> who are "car-free"), and because I have physical
> disabilities. City CarShare was wonderful, but it
> was
> too expensive for us. I can't bike without
> discomfort.
> Simply put: you can't know these reasons about why I
> own a car unless you press me on it.  
> 
> Also, please don't assume that every single person
> in
> the City *should* or even *could* give up their
> cars.
> And don't assume that those of us progressives that
> own cars are to blame for the city's ills. Am I less
> of a good ped/bike/transit advocate because I
> occasionally drive? Do the 10-15 hours I have
> volunteered on these issues for the past 4+ years
> evaporate into the ether because I am one of "them"?
> 
> Us/them politics aren't the kind I want to be
> involved
> in. If you've had ***success*** getting people to
> change their behavior through "being less
> sympathetic"
> and by "being blunt", carry on. But I suspect you've
> alienated a hell of a lot more people from our
> ultimate goal than you've converted into a car-free
> lifestyle. Prosthelitizing rarely works, and makes
> people feel talked down to and "less than".
> 
> I assume I will get flamed for my comments, although
> I
> hope not to. (and I beg you not to lecture me about
> how one can live "car-free"!).
> 
> Best,
> Emily 
> 
> Emily Drennen 
> Executive Director, Walk San Francisco
>  
> 415-431-9255 office/fax 
> www.walksf.org
> 1095 Market Street #502, SF, CA 94103  
> 
> Advisory Council Member, Bay Area Air Quality
> Management District
> Citizen's Advisory Committee Member, Metropolitian
> Transportation Agency
> Past Chair, SF Bicycle Advisory Committee
> 
> 
> 		
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Jason Henderson
San Francisco CA
(415)-255-8136