Moving forward
Photo courtesy of PeopleforBikes.
I spent most of my first 21 years in Houston, Texas. Here’s what’s to love about Texas: food, friends, family, boots, open skies (although not in Houston) and big personalities. Here’s what I was really happy to leave: a tangled, congested, completely dependent on cars transportation culture. From 16-lane highways that are still jam-packed at 5 p.m. to an underfunded bus system (now with a couple of miles of rail) to bike lanes that start and end within a mile of each other and are often filled with glass and road debris, the culture of Texas is a culture of cars.
And in addition to feeling trapped by always having to drive, I also struggled with being ... a terrible driver. I drive too fast, I get distracted (even before there were smartphones) and I even totaled a car in a one-car crash for balancing my checkbook while I was driving!!! And, I find the whole process ... boring. I biked a lot in Texas, especially in college, but the feeling of being alone out there was a strong one.
When I moved to the east coast just after college, and for the 17 years I lived there, I loved it. I loved the transportation options. I loved the subways, and the light rails, and the buses, and the trains and the bike lanes. It is so much easier (and safer!) letting someone else drive, or riding my bike.
The Transportation Levy to Move Seattle, funding $930 million in transportation investments over the next nine years, is a fundamental choice point for Seattle voters. I am so strongly in favor of this levy because I want to build a city where people can get around how THEY choose. If you want to drive, you will find it much easier if everyone who wants to bike has a safe space to do it in. If you want to take a bus, rapid transit lanes are going to make that faster and easier. And if you want to walk, the investments in sidewalks and curb cuts are vital to your ability to navigate our lovely city.
At one meeting, someone in opposition to the proposition said, “well, there isn’t ONE THING in the bill that will boldly solve our problems, like a new bridge.” And I replied, and feel strongly, that there isn’t ONE THING possible that will fix our transportation issues as a city. The only way to move forward is to do so on several fronts, to try and test and experiment and to prioritize all modes having corridors in which to move easily.
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