Get Ready Not to Drive

My wife and I took a real hard look at going carless about a couple of years ago. Getting rid of the car would have saved us a significant amount of money each month. The fact my wife doesn't drive was also a factor. For a few months, we just parked the car and only used it when we absolutely had to.

Some things were pretty easy. For getting to and from work, I took Metrolink. The service was excellent. My only quibble was my return trip options. I either left work a little early or a little late. But, it was manageable. In fact, I liked it a lot.

Getting groceries wasn't too tough. During the week, we get plenty of staples at Grand Central Market. So we're always shuttling up and down Broadway on the bus. Numero Uno at Pico & Alvarado was our primary grocery store. Getting there was no problem as there's a bus stop a block from our home. Obviously, we didn't buy huge amounts of groceries, since we'd be taking them on the bus. But, that's not really our style anyways. Trader Joe's was our only absolutely had to have a car grocery store.

For simply getting about for casual things like going to the beach or the movies, it worked out fine. Taking the Red Line to Hollywood or the Big Blue Bus to Santa Monica is very easy and convenient, if you know where you're going. We actually enjoyed the happenstance quality of travelling on public transit. It helped immensely that my wife knows the transit system like the back of her hand. I also think the fact we're both comfortable moving about the city at all hours helped, too. However, for going out to a club or somewhere fancy, a car was definitely preferred.

Still, we went back to the car. The dealbreaker for us was our daughter. I'd call it the schlep factor. I've found that being a parent involves a lot of unplanned activty which comes up on very short notice where a car is the preferred way to go. Going to grandma's. Heading to the pharmacist in the middle of the night. Hauling assorted kid stuff around. Until you're a parent, you have no idea. So we ended up going back to the car. Of course, now we have three kids (two infants and a 3-year old), it is difficult to imagine getting everyone on the bus at this time. Which is not the say the idea still doesn't hold great appeal.

Grand Avenue is Oct. 7th, which is a SATURDAY. Please come and check out the Gallery Row Art Fair which is part of the entertainment offered at Grand Ave Fest.

Participating Galleries:

Art Murmur Niche.LA BGFA Pharmaka Infusion Crewest 2nd Street IMG-81 Dangerous Curve Downtown Art Gallery Gallery Row Organization Downtown LA Neighborhood Council

See ya there! Nic

Not in downtown, but that same day is also the Eagle Rock Music Festival. (5PM to Midnight, FREE)

A busy busy day for music festivals in Los Angeles.

lol @the weekly commments. i like the weekly, but sometimes their fact-checking leaves something to be desired.

David, I enjoyed your story about going car-free. I think it is quite possible in Los Angeles, I for one live a very similar lifestyle to the one you describe. I've always thought that having children would be the dealbreaker, for the very reasons you mentioned. One thing I use, and it may help with the "kid factor" is that I've signed up for Flexcar car sharing service so in those rare times when I need a car I always have one near by, but without all the associated costs of owning and storing my own car.

The Redline subway ends at Wilshire/Western because the widespread fear was that the ground was riddled with pockets of explosive methane and noxious hydrogen sulfide gas. And at any moment they could ignite a fireball that will char or even vaporize any passersby. For some parts it's true, the corridor was once dotted by oil fields that bled the earth dry of oil and left the dangerous toxic gases intact. But new tunnel boring technology has made it much safer to drill long tunnels.

Now the complaints are over budget spending (A 5-billion dollar pricetag for the extension to Santa Monica.) diverting resources away from Public Safety and Health programs, and the potential of the subway to bring crime and undesirable elements (e.g. Homeless people) to the Westside.

Sorry, I have no children at the moment, and I probably never will because I'm too ugly and unnattractive that I will stay single for eternity.

But I can understand the dilemmas of parents and all the spontaneous travel. Some parents must drive their children to better public schools outside the city to get a better education (Though this is technically illegal, it is another example the self-sacrifices of a parent for the future of a child.)

I understand that we cannot practically leave our cars at this moment. We're too spread out and the services we need are too distant. But parents with children the world over have gotten by without automobiles: Tokyo, Hong Kong, London, and Paris. Right now Los Angeles is still in it's infancy stages of a true urban metropolis. With the right nourishment of culture, commerce, and transportation this city can mature.

Just enjoy the street festival, the organizers worked very hard to make it happen.

My family and I have been car-free for three years now. We live downtown, and have been using the Metro trains and buses to do everything we need/want to do. It was hard for me at first, as I was born and raised here, and felt that driving was some sort of birthright, but after a couple of months I actually preferred it.

I agree that there is a sort of 'schlep factor' when it comes to children, and we only have one child, so there is a big difference, but it helped us to slow down and plan errands out instead of just heading out for a day of random shopping. If we need something late at night, we take a bus to a 24hr store, thought that doesn't happen too often. We do our grocery shopping at Trader Joe's in Pasadena, and take the Gold Line. We usually take our son to the parks in South Pasadena, which is again, just a short hop on the Metro. We spend alot more time interacting on the buses and trains than we ever did in a car, and we see alot more of the city this way, too.

I admit that there are times when it seems that things would be more convenient for us if we just hopped in a car, and we've done that a few times by renting one (usually when family is in town), but it really isn't that much more convenient. When I think about it, I'm actually glad to give up a little convenience in exchange for a cleaner, car-free life.

I hope this post doesn't sound holier-than-thou. I am definately proud of this choice we've made, and hope that many many others get to the point in their lives where they're ready to give up their cars, but not so long ago, I was a stressed-out driver on the 10 freeway who scoffed at the notion of taking buses around Los Angeles. Now, I'm a stress-free (well, as far as transportation goes) rider.

I hope more people will think about making a change towards a car-free life.

For all you downtown dwellers....

After the Detour Festival, hop on over to Royal Clayton's restaurant where I'm throwing a party this Saturday Oct 7th from 10pm til 2am.

$2 drink specials on Cosmos and Apple Martinis until 11pm

Royal Claytons 1855 Industrial (in the Toy Factory Lofts)

The restaurant opened on Sept 21 and has been a hit among the locals despite the press lag. Come see for yourself!

www.myspace.com/akanoel