[B’ Spokes: Lots of good stuff here, try to read the full article (link is at the end.)]
from Streetsblog Capitol Hill by Tanya Snyder
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Yeah, we’re still not buying this Nissan Leaf ad.
Least favorite panacea: There are a few magic pills out there that are supposed to cure all our ills, and we’re wary of them all. First and foremost, though, we’re just not buying all the hype around the electric car. The Obama administration has pledged billions for R&D, the auto industry is marketing them as polar-bear-friendly, and eco-minded folks everywhere are getting ready to trade in their hybrids for a plug-in.
But the negative consequences of driving aren’t exclusively measured in carbon molecules. When we advocate for transportation options, we’re also trying to keep our cities from being choked with traffic congestion. We’re finding a more efficient way to move people around than keeping each in her own two-ton bubble. We’re getting more exercise. We’re reducing automobile-related crashes. We’re finding better uses for our public spaces than making them parking lots. We’re designing human-scale cities.
The electric car might reduce carbon emissions by 30 percent over a standard car, but it doesn’t solve any of these other problems. Besides, we think we can do better than 30 percent. We’ll stick with our zero-emissions bicycles and our own two feet.
New Year’s Resolution for 2011: Let’s do this one in two parts: the personal and the political. (I know, I know, the personal is political.)
First, the political. There’s a lot we can resolve to do this year. Robert Puentes at Brookings has laid out a pretty good to-do list including everything from starting the shift to a VMT fee to reducing construction delays, from expanding public-private partnerships to cutting wasteful spending. We’re in favor of all of those.
But our 2011 resolution is to keep bike-ped spending in whatever version of a transportation reauthorization comes down the pike. As fiscally conservative Republicans look to cut spending, bike-ped programs are extremely vulnerable. We need to ramp up our efforts to reach across the aisle to make it clear that active transportation isn’t just for hippie liberals. There are serious conservative arguments to be made for keeping federal support for these programs. Let’s resolve to make them.
Now, the personal. I, myself, have two transportation-related resolutions. First, in service to the previous resolution, I’m going to revoke my AAA membership until they reverse their position on federal funding for bike-ped programs. (I don’t have a car, so it’s out of an overabundance of caution that I have a membership anyway.)
Second, I’m going to use my Zipcar membership more. It may sounds strange that I want to drive more in the new year. But it’s important to me that being car-free shouldn’t feel like a sacrifice. I want to make sure I can do everything I want without limitation.
Sometimes it’s psychologically hard to justify the cost per Zip-trip, even though I’m savings thousands a year by not having a car. I resolve to integrate car-sharing more fully into my repertoire of transportation options, to make sure I never feel like I’m missing out on anything by not having a car.
What’s your New Year’s resolution?
https://dc.streetsblog.org/2011/01/05/the-good-the-bad-the-ugly-the-last-of-the-streetsies-2010/oldId.20110114052135398