CommuterPageBlog

Early Returns: Car-Free Diet Expo a Success

                                                                                                                                                                                                         

Pictures to share from Arlington's Car-Free Diet Expo (media alert) on Tuesday morning January 29 at the Hotel Palomar in Rosslyn. Nearly 100 people representing Arlington businesses and commercial and residential apartment and condo properties attended the early session. Residents and employees took part in the second session of the morning.

Picture at top from left to right: 1. Arlington Transportation Partners (ATP) staff talk to potential business clients; 2. Author of the book How To Live Well Without Owning a Car, Chris Balish signs an Expo participant's book; 3. Arlington County Board Member Jay Fisette addresses those assembled at the second session; 4. Arlington County Board Chair J. Walter Tejada talks with Arlington property managers and businesses at the early morning session.

Additioinal pictures at bottom include 1. Arlington's AIRE staff; 2. a speed learning session and 3. Mr. Balish signing more books.

Also some thoughts (Quote of the Day, January 29, 2007) on the Car-Free Diet Expo from Richard Layman of Rebuilding Place in the Urban Space blog.

Perhaps a few more stories and pictures to come...

Guaranteed Ride Home: A Real-Life Experience!

Not everyone who reads this blog may be familiar with the Commuter Connections' Guaranteed Ride Home (GRH) Program.  I had occasion to use it on Friday, and no one else in my office was aware of it--even though they all bus or Metrorail to work (except one driver).  I was happy to pass along the info (which you can get here).

Unfortunately, it was an unhappy situation that created my need for it.  I was biking to work on my usual bike commute from Arlington to Silver Spring.  About 1/2 of my commute is along the Capital Crescent Trail (CCT).  The CCT is a well used bike commuting route, but after the latest snowstorm, it received no attention whatsoever.  There are still sections--particularly east of Bethesda--that are dangerously icy.  I went down on an icy patch and injured my thumb.  I continued to my office.   At first my thumb didn't hurt too much, but it continued to swell and the pain increased, so I decided it would be best to get it x-rayed (10 years ago I broke my thumb in a bike wreck, and this seemed very similar).  Since it wasn't life threatening, I decided to go home first and see my local doctor rather than go to a Silver Spring-area emergency room. I called GRH, and they ordered a minivan cab for me (to carry me and my bike both).  It was there in less than 10 minutes and took me all the way home to Arlington for free.

Thankfully, the thumb isn't broken--just sprained.  Now what can we do to get local jurisdictions to do something about ice and snow on the multi-use trails?  It's been well more than a week since the snow, and there are still unpassable sections on the CCT.
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Steve Offutt, Arlington

January 29 Car-Free Diet Expo Features "How To Live Well Without Owning A Car" Author Chris Balish

Co-host of the TV show The CW Now and author of How To Live Well Without Owning A Car, Chris Balish, will be visiting the area from Los Angeles as he attends Arlington's Car-Free Diet Expo on Tuesday morning, January 29. This is your chance to meet the author and get an autographed and free copy of the Special Arlington, Virginia Edition of his book, which can be your practical guide for going on the Car-Free Diet.

Says Google about the book:

"The first practical, accessible, and sensible guide to living in North America without owning a car. It exposes the true costs of car ownership and shows how getting rid of your car can simplify your life and put you on the road to financial freedom. The book is packed with realistic, economical alternatives to owning a car, including chapters on carsharing, carpooling, and even car-free dating. It includes more than 100 real-world tips, strategies, and success stories from people who are happily car-free or "car-lite," from cities to suburbs. According to a 2004 American Automobile Association study, the average American spends $8,410 per year (roughly $700 per month) to own a vehicle."

The Expo, held at the hotel Palomar in Rosslyn, has two sessions. The first from 8:00 - 10:00 am is designed for the business community and property managers to help them help their employees and tenants go car-free or car-lite. The second session from 10:30 until 12:00 noon is designed to give anyone practical tips on going car-free or car-lite. All attendees will receive a free autographed copy of Mr. Balish's book and be eligible for many prizes being given away by the dozen vendors there to provide you with information. RSVP today!  Send us an email or call 703.247.9299.

And here's a fun YouTube video of a report from a L.A. TV station report about Chris' story about the book. Hope to see you at the Expo!

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Chris Hamilton is the Commuter Services Chief for Arlington County, manager of CommuterPageBlog and a biking/Metro commuter from Rosemont in Alexandria.

Go Car-Free and Feel Zenned Out, Relaxed and Lighter

Last month we found found inspiration for going car-free in a story from Los Angeles (Inspiration for Going Car-Free from L.A. Yes, That's Los Angeles, December 16, 2007) about Simon Pastucha, city planner and father of two, who went car-free. So now comes another inspirational car-free story from the city everyone associates with the automobile. This time, L.A. Times blogger Seil - who writes the environmental blog Emerald City: Siel Follows The Road To Green Living Los Angeles - shares the story of "L.A. girl Kathryn Pope" (Car-Free in L.A.: Girl Meets Motorboard, January 17) who is going car-free by using a combination of an electric motorboard scooter, public transit and carsharing. Says Kathryn:

"Then once this October, while the car was in the shop, I decided not to let my car interfere with my life anymore, and I took the bus. I read while I traveled. I watched people around me. I looked out the window. And when I got where I was going, I was downright zenned out."

The zen-like experience led Kathryn to make the decision to eventually go car-free. And now she says:

"The thing I'm enjoying most about being car-free is how relaxed I've become. It actually feels like a luxury to let someone else drive me from place to place. I feel more a part of the community, because I'm not isolated from it, and I feel considerably lighter."

Now that's very nicely said, isn't it?

You can follow Kathryn's story in Siel's "De-car-ing" series.

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Chris Hamilton is the Commuter Services Chief for Arlington County, manager of CommuterPageBlog and a biking/Metro commuter from Rosemont in Alexandria.

HOT Lanes won't siphon off riders

I noticed an article in the Fredericksburg Free Lance-Star reporting on a VDOT report about future commuting behavior along I-95 when HOT lanes are completed.  I was unable to find the report results on VDOT's site, so I have to depend on the Free Lance-Star for what details I could glean.

The gist of the survey results is that the vast majority of vanpoolers, carpoolers, sluggers and train riders will continue to use their same mode to commute along the I-95/I-395 corridor after HOT lanes are built and implemented.  In fact, the type of commuter most likely to change their behavior is the SOV driver, presumably to another, more congestion- and environment-friendly mode.  For people who are concerned that the construction of HOT lanes would siphon a lot of riders out of HOV modes into their SOV vehicles, this is a heartening result.

The survey polled 3,289 commuters.  Here's how many said they would will stick with their current method of commuting:

    95 percent of vanpoolers
    91 percent of bus riders
    86 percent of train riders
    82 percent slugs
    81 percent of carpoolers
    53 percent of solo drivers
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Steve Offutt, Arlington

The Car-Free Diet Entourage Coming to an Urban Village Near You!

The Car-Free Diet Entourage will be on Arlington streets, promoting the Car-Free Diet Expo and handing out FREE t-shirts and other goodies.  Look out for the Orange jackets Thursday in Clarendon and Courthouse and Tuesday the 22nd in Crystal City and Pentagon City.  Start your new year off right and challenge yourself to lose 2,000 pounds- if not for a week, just try a day.  You'll see results!

If you aren't sure how to start your car-free or car-lite diet or if you want to find out more, join us at the Car-Free Diet expo on January 29th.  In addition to informative presentations, there will be raffle prizes and breakfast.  A great way to start your day!

Jump start your new year and car-free diet- RSVP today!  Send us an email or call 703.247.9299.  We look forward to seeing you on the 29th!

Carly Nider, Arlington Transportation Partners

Employers, Property Managers, Everybody Should Attend Arlington's Car-Free Diet Expo

The first must-attend event of the 2008 season is Arlington's Car-Free Diet Expo. The event, to be held at the brand spanking new and gleaming Hotel Palomar in Rosslyn (2 blocks from the Metro) on the morning of January 29, has something for everyone. Breakfast will be provided. Attendees can register to win many door prizes and everyone will get a chance to meet Chris Balish and receive a free autographed copy of the "Special Arlington Virginia" edition of his book "How To Live Well Without Owning A Car."

Employers and property managers will get to learn about the services of Arlington Transportation Partners. Everyone will get to attend speed learning sessions with national experts covering information on transportation services and programs as well as other green services available in Arlington. Exhibitors include Zipcar, TeleworkVA!, GoLoco, Whole Foods, Bike and Walk Arlington, Arlington Recycles and many more (for a full list visit the Expo web page). Each of these vendors will be providing great prizes including energy audits and more. These will be listed on the web site shortly.

Visit Arlington's Car-Free Diet Expo web page for more information and don't forget to RSVP.

Another Good Idea from Portland: Bike Boxes

One of our favorite writers, Erica Barnett from the very good WorldChanging blog, shares with us a story about "Bike Boxes" from one of the most bike friendly cities in the Country, Portland Oregon (Bike Boxes: A Simple Idea That Could Save Lives, January 7, 2008). A bike box is just a large, brightly-painted area adjacent to an intersection where cyclists are allowed to rest during red lights and where cars are not allowed to go. The picture makes it pretty self-explanatory.

They are installing 14 of these at busy intersections in Portland where crashes involving a "right hook" in which a right-turning driver fails to yield to a cyclist riding on the right side of the road and hits the cyclist, are the most common type of cycling accident. Erica tells us that bike boxes are popular in Canada, Netherlands and U.K where according to a report by the UK Department For Transport, bike boxes can "significantly improve safety for cyclists at signal controlled junctions." Lets hope we start seeing these around here soon.

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Chris Hamilton is the Commuter Services Chief for Arlington County, manager of CommuterPageBlog and a biking/Metro commuter from Rosemont in Alexandria.

A new price to pay

I'll admit it- I wasn't happy about the recent metro price increase- and my employer even offers a direct transit benefit. Tax-free transit benefits allow employers to provide employees up to $115 per month to cover commuting costs on Metrorail, VRE, MARC, local and commuter buses, and vanpools. Plus, employers do not have to pay their share of federal payroll taxes on tax-free transit benefits.  Money is saved- sounds good for all involved.

Anyway, then I started thinking about gas prices. I'm sure that gas prices have increased more than 30 or so cents just this year alone and if not, it's pretty close. 

I can remember a time when I would put about $3 of gas in my little red mercury capri (which got over 30 miles a gallon even back then!).  Three dollars would get me roughly 3 gallons. That was about 10 years ago. Gas prices have increased steadily from approximately 99 cents then to well over $3 a gallon now and figure that in with increasing vehicle maintenance costs and insurance...  Metro's increase doesn't seem too bad.

To most, price increases are more painful when we're not the ones gripping the wheel.  I think most people are willing to pay more for control (although with traffic how much control do you really have?) and less for service, which gives you time to read, unwind, ect...  We pay for service in restaurants, salons, ect.  Prices increase on basically everything from milk to rent.  Without metro I wouldn't even want to deal with living and commuting in this area- what a nightmare it would be!

What are your thoughts?  How has metro's increase effected your commute?

Carly Nider, Arlington Transportation Partners 

Car-Free in Milwaukee!?

A couple of weeks ago I was riding the Metro and overheard an interesting interaction.  A newbie rider got on, and a conversation ensued between her and a couple of other riders, who seemed to be regulars.  She mentioned that she was from Milwaukee, and one of her interlocutors mentioned that he had gone to college there a decade or so ago.  So, as people will, they chatted about various places they knew in common and were having quite a pleasant little talk.  Then out of nowhere the gentleman who had gone to college there said, ". . .and it's easy to live there without a car."
What a surprise!--for a couple of reasons.

First, the whole idea of relating to a stranger that living without a car is an advantage in our car-culture society was quite unusual.  And second, Milwaukee is not a city that immediately comes to mind when one thinks of places to live without owning cars.

So if they can do it in Milwaukee, then the Car-Free diet in Arlington should be even easier.  Those of you who read Chris Balish's How to Live Well Without a Car may recall that the author started out in St. Louis, which is probably not that dissimilar from Milwaukee for living car-free.
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Steve Offutt is an Arlington resident who lives car-lite, but yearns for the day he can be car-free again.