A few stories converged in the last 24 hours that highlight the effects of the rising price of driving.
Yesterday, CNN said that according to a report released by the Federal Highway Administration (FHA), Americans drove 9.6 billion fewer miles in May compared with a year earlier (Americans Ditching the Car, July 28, 2008, CNN). The FHA says the drop was the largest ever for May, which usually sees an increase because of the start of the vacation season and the third-largest monthly drop in 66 years since data has been recorded. The local Examiner (Area Drivers Log Few Miles in May, Part of National Trend, July 29, by Taryn Luntz) and Dr. Gridlock (Driving Drops Again, July 28, 2008, WashingtonPost.com) also covered the news. Traffic Volume Trends reports.
And this morning USA Today says (Gas Prices Drive Push to Reinvent America's Suburbs, by Haya El Nasser, July 29, 2008) that the far-flung suburbs are coping with sharp drops in home prices when compared to urban centers and that this trend is causing a movement to rethink the way the nation develops as we prepare to absorb another 100 million people by 2040.
Until now, people were willing to drive increasingly far for a home they could afford. "Drive-till-you-qualify collapsed," David Goldberg President of Smart Growth America says. "It's done. It's not going to work as a housing strategy anymore."
One individual, Donna Nance (pictured here) bemoaned her 40-mile, one-way commute to work in downtown Phoenix. "Gas would now cost her $60 a week, a blow for a single mom who had moved here to get a house at a better price. She considered moving closer, at the risk of giving up her three-bedroom, single-family home and might have done it if Maricopa had not introduced Phoenix-bound commuter buses in April. Nance, 43, now drives 7 miles to the bus stop and enjoys the ride. Even if gas prices keep climbing, Nance says she has no reason to leave."
But even as individuals find ways to cope, USA Today says "the scent of change is in the air in Maricopa (35 miles outside of Phoenix), even in the way city officials talk. Words such as "bedroom community" have become dirty words. "Green," "sustainable," "walkable," "mass transit," "conservation," "open space" and "energy-efficient" punctuate the suburban dialogue."
Obviously we've got a long way to go until American's really ditch their cars, but at least people are looking at alternatives. Likewise ditching the far-flung suburbs might be a bit pre-mature but individuals and officials are beginning to rethink the old ways of developing, and that's a good thing.
Chris Hamilton is the Commuter Services Chief for Arlington County, manager of CommuterPageBlog and a Metro/biking commuter from Rosemont in Alexandria.
Some of us figured this out forty years ago. I imagine most of these people are college educated. It's nice but creepy weird how slow they are to figure this out.
Posted by: David | September 11, 2008 at 10:30 AM