KJP inspired me to visit Cleveland and partake in the car-free lifestyle he's living this month and I have to say the experience was a mixed bag. Mainly, that was because there really isn't an alternative to the auto and that made the trip harder, but at the same time, once I made it to Cleveland I didn't miss the car at all! Yay!!

 

The hardest part was getting out of Columbus. I forgot COTA would be on a holiday schedule (little service) and waited for quite some time, only to have to go back to the house and DRIVE downtown to catch the bus. Oh yes, while I was waiting, I was accosted by the only other person on the street who turned out to be a bum asking for money...jeez.

 

Then once I got downtown I had to park the car at a nearby garage ($33.00 cha-ching!) and then the buses were full and delayed as KJP said. Once I got on the bus and we left Columbus the trip was uneventful.

 

People, we have to get a WHOLE lot better. I was forcefully reminded of my second class status the entire time I was without my car. Kinda like living in a Stalinist state that only offers one state supported choice. Being car-free in Columbus is nearly impossible.

 

Still, I'd do it again. I won't let one bad experience stop me.

I think it's amazing that, when you went to catch the 3 p.m. bus back to Columbus, it was oversold to such an extent that Greyhound had to come up with two extra buses to carry everyone. That is pretty damn incredible.

 

Can you say "3-C Corridor trains" boys and girls?!?

Yeah, I lucked out and got a Lakefront bus, much nicer than a Hound. I think it ended up going thru to Cincinnati, as many more were waiting at Columbus for Cincy.

 

The line of people waiting to board at the bus terminal at Cleveland stretched the length of the building! WE need TRAINS!!!

Day Six – July 6

 

I rode downtown on the No. 55 and No. 3 buses to see Bill off to Columbus. On my return home, I skipped visiting any stores at West 117th as I couldn’t think of anything I needed.

 

In the past when I’ve thought about riding transit, I’ve always wondered if I had exact change. Often I didn’t, so I lazily got in my car. Now, with the transit pass, I don’t even think about whether I have to make a certain trip, or if I can afford to. The pass is a very liberating thing to realize I’ve already paid for my next trip, and the bus or train will run whether I’m on it or not. I’m not wasting gas or money.

Fascinating stuff, KJP.  I've been vastly cutting back on driving like everyone else but you really are the poster boy for the RTA. 

About 20 minutes later the next No. 26 showed up, which we took through some troubled neighborhoods to the corner of West 25th and Detroit. Despite the rough neighborhoods and the unfortunate stereotypes of their residents (fostered mostly by suburbanites who are pretty ignorant about city life), everyone on the bus was well behaved and kept to themselves.

 

So what makes these neighborhoods troubled and rough if not the residents?

Thanks, KHP for the series- I'm really enjoying it.

 

This photo reminds me just how crazily overbuilt this intersection is; particularly annoying because it chokes down the pedestrian promenade so much.  Four lanes to stack cars coming over the DS bridge?  Two left turn lanes?

So what makes these neighborhoods troubled and rough if not the residents?

 

The reputation does. I'll bet that 90-95 percent of the residents of this neighborhood are decent people whose only problem is that they don't make much money. But that's not newsworthy. What is newsworthy is when the 5-10 percent of the troublemakers make trouble. Since suburbanites don't venture into this neighborhood, their only experience is what they see on the news or read in the paper. It's a stilted view they get and only serves to isolate these people further, when what they need is less isolation to break the cycle of poverty.

KJP, I can't recall if you kept the car or not, but what if you ask a girl on a date.  How are you going to handle that?

So if someone doesn't have a car, they'll never go out on a date?

 

I know what you're getting at, and sure there is definitely an adjustment - but look at how many people in NYC don't own cars - do they not have dating lives? Yes, I know that NYC's transit is much more extenstive but still - here are some ways to deal with being car-free and going on dates in Cleveland:

 

1. CityWheels

2. Taxi

3. Meet somewhere mutually agreeable that's accessible via transit (pretty much anywhere from Eastern Rocky River to the Heights and points in between - that's a LOT of options).

 

All of the above are generally cheaper than the costs of owning a car - people seem to forget that when you don't own a car, you free up a lot of cash, cash that can be used for any of the above options. When I gave up my car, my dating life was MORE active because I was out and about and had more opportunities to meet people, just in normal pedestrian day-to-day activities. One or two scoffed at me not owning a car (their loss), a few were perplexed but understanding once I explained that being car-free doesn't mean being immobilized (even more understanding when I offered gas money or the first round in exchange for their driving), and luckily my partner thought it was great that I managed without.

So if someone doesn't have a car, they'll never go out on a date?

..... and luckily my partner thought it was great that I managed without.

 

Hah, that was my mother's first question to me when I told her I wasn't buying a car!  Anyway, I agree with everything that MayDay said especially about some who scoffed (their loss) and those that thought it was awesome (current).  And hell, how many other people don't have cars?  You're most likely going to find somebody who has one, so although the first date or two might be CityWheels or at a accessible location, once you get going, you pay for the gas, and they pick you up. 

Plus, I have the feeling that the right woman for KJP is going to appreciate his transit devotion and car-free experiences.  Certainly true about me.

The right girl would probably find it adventureous. 

I repeat - being car-free doesn't mean you never have access to a car, it just means you only pay for access to a car when you need it. No, you may not own the car being used, but aren't cars one of the worst "investments" as far as value/depreciation?

 

Oh, did I mention that the cash not spent on owning a car means more to spend on the object of your affection? http://www.tiffany.com/Default.aspx

 

;-)

Oh yeah, MayDay, then why are you still without a woman? ;)

Plus, I have the feeling that the right woman for KJP is going to appreciate his transit devotion and car-free experiences.  Certainly true about me.

 

Good Point.  I guess I could not see KJP with an auto dependant woman.  And MayDay, your points are good. 

^Just like any other aspect of your lifestyle that makes you more (or less) compatible with another person, and whether or not the two people involved can compromise.

I've gone out to eat more times in the past week than I have in the past few months. Part of the reason is that, rather than wait for a bus to make a short-distance connection, I often walk. While walking, I go by places I've wanted to visit but I've only seen through my car's window. And when I'm driving, I practice momentum physics --objects in motion tend to stay in motion. When I'm walking, a nice cool place to sit for a minute is often an attractive thing. Add a cool drink or a bite to eat and suddenly I don't mind missing my bus for the next one.

 

I've chatted with more more people in the last week than in a while, too. Most of these were short conversations about how crowded the buses and trains have gotten or how nice the weather is. But it's still something to get conversations started and meet new people. And if you don't ride transit, you'd be amazed at how many nice looking women there are on board the buses and trains.

 

P.S. I figure I'm saving at least $200 per month by not driving.

How much money do you figure you've saved?

So if someone doesn't have a car, they'll never go out on a date?

 

I know what you're getting at, and sure there is definitely an adjustment - but look at how many people in NYC don't own cars - do they not have dating lives? Yes, I know that NYC's transit is much more extenstive but still - here are some ways to deal with being car-free and going on dates in Cleveland:

 

1. CityWheels

2. Taxi

3. Meet somewhere mutually agreeable that's accessible via transit (pretty much anywhere from Eastern Rocky River to the Heights and points in between - that's a LOT of options).

 

All of the above are generally cheaper than the costs of owning a car - people seem to forget that when you don't own a car, you free up a lot of cash, cash that can be used for any of the above options. When I gave up my car, my dating life was MORE active because I was out and about and had more opportunities to meet people, just in normal pedestrian day-to-day activities. One or two scoffed at me not owning a car (their loss), a few were perplexed but understanding once I explained that being car-free doesn't mean being immobilized (even more understanding when I offered gas money or the first round in exchange for their driving), and luckily my partner thought it was great that I managed without.

 

During my car-free month, I had two dates. Neither called me back. (One, after hearing me talk about neither of my two dates calling me back, did call me up to say it wasn't the no-car thing that prevented date number 2. Thanks?)

 

I think car-free once you're in a relationship is a lot easier than car-free for first dates. Granted, I REALLY tried to convince both women to take the bus.

"One, after hearing me talk about neither of my two dates calling me back, did call me up to say it wasn't the no-car thing that prevented date number 2."

 

Just to clarify - you were on a date, and talked about how a *different* person never called you back?

Just to clarify - you were on a date, and talked about how a *different* person never called you back?

 

I'm sorry...that wasn't clear.

 

I was on Lanigan and Malone, and mentioned that neither of the two girls I went on date with that month called me back. Later that day, she called me up to say that she heard me on the radio and my being car-free was not the reason I received a call back.

How much money do you figure you've saved?

 

See below.......

 

Gas prices test reporter to see if he can be car-free

West Side Sun News

July 3, 2008

 

By Ken Prendergast

[email protected]

 

For the month of July, I’m trying something that some people might consider impossible in Cleveland, if not downright un-American. I’m going car-free.

 

An acquaintance wrote to me about my plan, warning that I’ll lose my “freedom to go somewhere whenever you want! (You’ll) always be at the mercy of others!”

 

“You mean like the Saudi Royal Family, ExxonMobil, the Ohio Bureau of Motor Vehicles, E-Check and others?” I replied. And, with gas prices rising past $4 per gallon, I’m already losing the freedom to go where and when I want.

 

Since this is only a month-long experiment, I am not getting rid of my car. Thus, there will have to be rules and conditions of my experiment, which I will get into later.

 

Rationale for

experiment

 

Shortly after gas prices eclipsed $4 per gallon, assistant editor Roger Vozar suggested I go car-free for a month and write about my experiences. I was as logical a candidate as anyone at Sun Newspapers to try this.

 

I’m single and have no children, not counting my two cats. I’m 40 years old and physically mobile. My health is decent. I quit smoking in January.

 

Another reason why I’m the right guy for this assignment is I have an interest in transportation. Transportation management was my major at Kent State University.

 

Lastly, I was a contributing writer to a guidebook “Car-Free in Cleveland,” published in 2000. I know my way around town without a car and have done it for short stints. But I have never gone car-free for more than four days. A month may be a challenge.

 

Setting my

benchmarks

 

Cost savings motivated me to consider this experiment. For 200,000 residents of Cuyahoga County, being car-free is a daily lifestyle, according to the U.S. Census. Perhaps others, including elected officials, will be more sensitive to their situation after reading this series.

 

At the beginning and end of this series, I will compare my financial and physical health.

 

Health-wise, I’m overweight. I can feel my 205 pounds in my knees and long-ailing back. I don’t exercise enough or walk enough. My body-mass index is 29 which puts me at an increased risk of weight-associated diseases such as diabetes.

 

I will need to get my BMI to between 18.5 and 24.9. My blood pressure is 123 over 75, with a pulse of 76, all normal.

 

Financially, in the first six months of 2008, I spent $2,250 on my car — $780 for gasoline, $590 insurance, $830 car repairs and maintenance and $50 for parking. My $150-per-month car loan was paid off in 2006; the warranty expired six months ago.

 

My average monthly car expense this year is $375.

 

Counting tools,

taking inventory

 

A big factor working in my favor of going car-free, in addition to knowing the routes of the Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority, is my location. I live by the Gold Coast at Lakewood’s east end.

 

I took an inventory of everything within a 10-minute walk from my home —three grocery stores, four banks, a post office, City Hall, four churches, two coffee houses, three drug stores (two are open 24 hours), three convenience stores (one is open 24 hours) and two dry cleaners.

 

There are also two car rental offices within that 10-minute walk with cars on-site. There are always taxi cabs going by on Clifton Boulevard. For fun, there’s 17 restaurants (two are open 24 hours) not including six fast-food/carry-out restaurants, seven live-music clubs and six “neighborhood” bars.

 

A 5-minute bicycle ride takes me to Edgewater Park or Lakewood Park. The bike also puts two more grocers, a Home Depot, Staples and Target in that 5-minute radius.

 

And within a 10-minute walk of my home are six RTA bus routes and the Red Line to the airport, downtown and the east side. The No. 75X is within three blocks of home. It takes me all the way to work near the Lorain County line without an en route transfer.

 

It’s not luck I have all these services and amenities near my home. I chose my condominium 12 years ago for that very reason. I’d like to believe I was clairvoyant enough to see high gas prices coming when I bought my condo.

 

Getting ready

for the month

 

Just as getting a car requires some preparation, so does going without one. In the weeks before July 1, I got on the Internet and asked others what kind of bicycle to buy.

 

Based on their input, I found a bicycle for $150 at the Ohio City Bicycle Co-op on Columbus Road in the industrial Flats. It’s a rebuilt, seven-speed town bike on a 1980s Schwinn steel frame that’s the right size for me.

 

But it has a narrow seat that I may need to replace. I haven’t had a narrow seat in years, if you know what I mean. And I haven’t ridden it enough to decide if I like it.

 

Later, I bought several accessories: a U-lock, helmet and a backpack, costing me $70 total.

 

While riding transit, I’ll take along my portable CD player; I may replace that with an iPod. I have many books I’ve wanted to read for years but haven’t had the time. That is one of things I’m looking forward to the most from this experiment — getting the chance to read again.

 

A monthly bus/rapid transit pass which entitles me to unlimited rides costs $63. There are other types of passes. All can be bought over the Internet (riderta.com), at many grocery stores throughout the city, or at the RTA’s customer service center in the Tower City Center rapid station.

 

Conditions

and rules

 

Since I’m not getting rid of my car, there needs to be some rules. First, I have to act as if my car doesn’t exist. It will remain in my condo building’s parking garage until Aug. 1 and cannot be moved by me unless it’s an emergency, such as the garage flooding.

 

Another emergency is if I need to rush one of my cats to the pet hospital. But I will call on neighbors, friends or relatives first in these situations. Only if there are no other options will I hop in my car.

 

Others who went car-free didn’t stop driving; they just don’t own cars. They rent them, get rides or even join a car-sharing program like CityWheels.

 

I can carpool with co-workers or rent a car for longer trips. But if I’m doing nothing but bumming rides in other people’s cars, then it defeats the point of this exercise. I’d rather be independent than a burden. I want to see if that’s possible without owning a car in Cleveland.

 

Wish me luck. I’ll report back each week in July.

First off, let me say KJP, GREAT article series it looks like you've got going there (and a nice contrast to PD's sturm und drang). I'm looking forward to seeing more.

 

I was also glad to see this thread move into the social ramifications of being car-free. I've been sans auto my entire life, and while it has been a bit stressful from time to time, I look at it as my choice, therefore my consequences. It is amazing how many supposedly progressive, "forward-thinking" people will turn off from you socially when they find out you don't have a vehicle. AMN, I feel your pain. Oh well, their loss, not mine.

 

On that note, if anyone knows a nice girl looking for a late thirties car-free fella who is otherwise gainfully employed and a homeowner, with a nice, big...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

retirement account (I don't know WHAT any of you were thinking :-) ), have her drop me a line...

Thanks Jetdog. But I'm older so I should get first crack at nice women.  :-D

 

About the series, I rarely get any e-mails from readers at my Sun e-mail account or almost never hear from neighbors in my building about articles I've written. But not with this piece. The response has been pretty remarkable. My neighbors are cheering me on and the readers are asking all kinds of questions about how I will be able to do this or that. Only one reader was critical. This was from a person who couldn't afford a car and called my experiment "cute" and said I should try it again in January, as well as when Sun wasn't paying for it. Well, Sun isn't paying for this and I would prefer to do this in October as I hate sweating. Since I hate driving in snow, taking the bus in winter sounds just fine to me.

Sorry I've gotten behind on this...

 

Day Seven -- July 7

 

My first destination on Monday mornings is to head to the Justice Center downtown to pick up police brevity reports. I need fives and singles to buy the copies, which usually cost me anywhere from $4 to $6 total. Problem is, I only have two twenties. So I walk out the door, past the closest No. 55 stop and to CVS at West 117th. There I buy a 20 oz. Diet Coke. As I head out of the store, a No. 55 bus pulls up to the stop at West 117th and Clifton. I don't run. Neither do the two people standing with me at the corner. We know there's another No. 55 coming in a few minutes, or a No. 75. Sure enough, a No. 55 shows up less than 10 minutes later. It's standing room-only.

 

I get downtown 15 minutes later, at about 8:20 a.m. But the police sergeant who normally prints out the brevities is on vacation all week and no one else knows how to do it. I'm trying to make a direct No. 75 bus to the county line which departs Public Square at 8:34 a.m. I get another cop to "volunteer" to print out the brevities and I'm back down to Ontario at 8:39 a.m. I missed it. The next No. 75 doesn't go all the way to the county line, where my office is. I get on that bus anyway.

 

As has been my experience before, the No. 75 hits its peak number of riders between Kamm's Corners and Great Northern Mall. But I'm getting off at the Giant Eagle in Fairview Park (I should've gotten off at the Kamm's big bird is designed to be more pedestrian friendly and more accessible from the bus stop). At the store I buy a 12-pack of Diet Coke, some frozen pizzas, refrigerated chicken and egg rolls for lunches for the coming week. I do this because the bus ride is twice as long as my 20-minute car commute and I don't want to take frozen food on such a long bus ride. The next No. 75 shows up, and it's going to the county line. I arrive there 15 minutes later.

 

At the end of my work day at 6 p.m. I catch the No. 75, which is heading home with no change of bus required. However, all late afternoon buses go via the North Olmsted Park-n-Ride which adds more than 10 minutes to my already long bus ride home. No one gets on or off at the park-n-ride except the driver -- he makes a pit stop inside the station.

 

The rest of the trip home is uneventful. I spend it listening to CDs and reading James Howard Kunstler's "The Long Emergency" which keeps up my fight to keep doing this despite 40- to 50-minute bus rides to/from work. I long for my neighborhood where everything it within a short walk, bike or bus ride with numerous bus routes to choose from. I'm glad there is a one-seat bus ride from my neighborhood to my workplace that's so far out, but I do curse the location of my job. This is the downside of my car-free experiment.

Day Eight -- July 8

 

My carpool buddy Julie, who lives four blocks away, drives us to work. She drives us home. I didn't go anywhere in the evening, just worked my second job from home. End of story.

>So what makes these neighborhoods troubled and rough if not the residents?

 

Well as the Sherriff's rattlesnake roundup proved in Over-the-Rhine, most of the thugs lining the streets at all hours for decades didn't actually live in the neighborhood.  And the Cincinnati Police Department was obviously not getting the job done, if not actively participating in what was going on down there.   

 

 

>1. CityWheels

2. Taxi

3. Meet somewhere mutually agreeable that's accessible via transit (pretty much anywhere from Eastern Rocky River to the Heights and points in between - that's a LOT of options).

 

I think you'll run into more trouble explaining to a girl's parents why you don't have a car than to them.  Most moms and dads aren't too happy with princess running off with someone making such a flagrant affront to The System.  Plus, I've pretty much never known a girl whose parents didn't give them a car, at the very least at an 80% discount, so girlfriends are at least useful for driving you around!   

 

As was proven by my college roommate, cars and money are virtually irrelevant factors when meeting girls, however girls are about 99% more likely to hang around and get serious if there's evidence that there's some serious earnings or at the very least earning potential and/or inheritance. 

"Girls are about 99% more likely to hang around and get serious if there's evidence that there's some serious earnings or at the very least earning potential and/or inheritance."

 

Well yeah, but who is saying that serious earnings and car-free are mutually exclusive? Girls who can't see past that belong in the same place as girls who "don't like getting flowers" - the curb.

"Girls are about 99% more likely to hang around and get serious if there's evidence that there's some serious earnings or at the very least earning potential and/or inheritance."

 

Well yeah, but who is saying that serious earnings and car-free are mutually exclusive? Girls who can't see past that belong in the same place as girls who "don't like getting flowers" - the curb.

 

Going car-free is exactly the reason why I'm in far better financial shape than damn near anyone I know. Dumping $$$ into investments rather than a car payment, gas, repairs, insurance, etc... will do that for ya...

"Girls are about 99% more likely to hang around and get serious if there's evidence that there's some serious earnings or at the very least earning potential and/or inheritance."

 

Well yeah, but who is saying that serious earnings and car-free are mutually exclusive? Girls who can't see past that belong in the same place as girls who "don't like getting flowers" - the curb.

 

Going car-free is exactly the reason why I'm in far better financial shape than damn near anyone I know. Dumping $$$ into investments rather than a car payment, gas, repairs, insurance, etc... will do that for ya...

 

AMEN JeTDoG, Amen!

If it wasn't for car repairs and that second fill-up of gas each month, my cost would be a wash between going car-free vs. driving as I usually had been doing.

 

My car has about 105,000 miles on it, so it's increasingly needing more repairs but the warranty expired at 100,000 miles. Repairs and maintenance in the first six months of this year have cost me $830.

 

Subtract most of that (except $30 for an oil change) from the $2,250 total car expenses in those same six months and you get $1,450. Divide that by six months and my monthly car expenses drop from $375 per month to $242.

 

If I keep the car but drive it much less and instead take the bus to/from work, I will incur monthly transportation of $98 for car insurance, perhaps $45 for filling up my car's gas tank once a month, and $63 for buying an RTA monthly pass. That's $206, which may be a wash with the $242 expense cited above once I take into account oil changes and occasional parking expenses.

 

All of that is assuming I won't have any more major car repairs, which is a pretty big assumption with a car that has more than 105,000 miles on it. So the comparison in monthly costs for me is probably somewhere in the $200-245 range for living "car-lite" and $375 for driving my car as much as I had been before this experiment. There is a possibility I could even get my "car-lite" monthly costs down to just under $200.

 

 

 

During my car-free month, I had two dates. Neither called me back. (One, after hearing me talk about neither of my two dates calling me back, did call me up to say it wasn't the no-car thing that prevented date number 2. Thanks?)

 

Granted, I REALLY tried to convince both women to take the bus.

 

If I were single I would date a guy w/o a car in Cleveland (assuming it was by choice and not that they had some serious financial issues) . But if it is late at night the guy should walk/bus the lady home to her door-not just throw her on the bus down detroit at midnight.

After reading all this, today, I'm seriously considering biking to work during the nice months... then take the bus in the winter.  If my car can sit in the garage all week, that'd be great.  Plus, KJP, the monthly price of a bus pass is intriguing.  Either I wasn't reading it properly, or something wasn't explained to me before but that's definitely cheaper than gas...

The RTA monthly pass will likely rise by year's end, perhaps to around $80, but so might the price of gasoline.

 

You might also be able to get your car insurance rates to drop, too, if you no longer drive to work. Car insurance rates depend on two very basic classes -- for motorists who use their car daily for work and those who use their car sparingly and only for pleasure.

I rarely use my car and as KJP states, there are insurance plans that take in account how you use your car, so folks do call your agent and see if there is any flexibility.  Also, check to see if you can get a break if your homeowners/renters insurance is held by the same agency as your car insurance.

 

In addition, my age plays into the equation as folks like KJP and I don't pay the same premiums as the whippersnappers.

 

 

 

During my car-free month, I had two dates. Neither called me back. (One, after hearing me talk about neither of my two dates calling me back, did call me up to say it wasn't the no-car thing that prevented date number 2. Thanks?)

 

Granted, I REALLY tried to convince both women to take the bus.

 

If I were single I would date a guy w/o a car in Cleveland (assuming it was by choice and not that they had some serious financial issues) . But if it is late at night the guy should walk/bus the lady home to her door-not just throw her on the bus down detroit at midnight.

 

Of course. What self-respecting gentleman would say goodnight amid the exhaust fumes of the 26?

 

 

The RTA monthly pass will likely rise by year's end, perhaps to around $80, but so might the price of gasoline.

 

You might also be able to get your car insurance rates to drop, too, if you no longer drive to work. Car insurance rates depend on two very basic classes -- for motorists who use their car daily for work and those who use their car sparingly and only for pleasure.

 

But don't forget, your employer can sign up with RTA to auto-deduct the amount from your paycheck, and then you can pay for the pass PRE-TAX.

 

Currently, my monthly pass only costs me $42ish.

The RTA monthly pass will likely rise by year's end, perhaps to around $80, but so might the price of gasoline.

 

You might also be able to get your car insurance rates to drop, too, if you no longer drive to work. Car insurance rates depend on two very basic classes -- for motorists who use their car daily for work and those who use their car sparingly and only for pleasure.

 

But don't forget, your employer can sign up with RTA to auto-deduct the amount from your paycheck, and then you can pay for the pass PRE-TAX.

 

Currently, my monthly pass only costs me $42ish.

 

Definitely going to look into that.

 

Bike first, though.  I just want to get a new one whether I use it to ride to work or not.

West Side Sun News

July 10, 2008

 

Average car-loving American learning how to go without

By Ken Prendergast

[email protected]

 

I’m the first to admit I enjoy driving my car. My sporty Tiburon is a blast most of the time. The exceptions are in traffic or in snow. On summer days, I love to head for less busy roads, crank up the stereo, open the sunroof and roll. On that score, I’m your average car-crazy American.

 

In the past week I’ve learned I’m pretty adaptable, however. This is coming from

a guy who takes the same route through the grocery store every time and buys almost the same stuff as before. I’m Mr. Routine.

 

But I think I’ve got a new routine. I discovered it during the first week of going car-

free. I sat in my car only once – to retrieve my sunglasses. I haven’t missed my car since.

 

A big reason is the month-long transit pass I purchased for $63. It allows unlimited

rides for a calendar month. In the past when I’ve considered taking transit, I usually wondered if I had exact change. To ride, you need exact change. Often I didn’t have it, so I lazily got in my car. Now, with the transit pass, I don’t even think about whether I have to make a certain trip, or if I can afford to.

 

The pass is a very liberating thing. I’ve already paid for my next trip, and the bus or train will run whether I’m on it or not. I’m not wasting gas or money.

 

I’ve had my adjustments, however. In addition to getting slightly sunburned, a callous on my right heel, plus waking up with sore legs and feet each morning, I’ve lost four pounds since I’ve gone car-free.

 

Another big adjustment is patience and finding things to do instead of waiting. They include taking walks down streets of historic homes or visiting stores or checking out restaurants I’ve driven past but either didn’t have the time to stop or simply forgot. In short, I’m rediscovering my city.

________________

 

West Side Sun News

July 10, 2008

 

Plenty of others are sharing reporter's car-free lifestyle

By Ken Prendergast

[email protected]

 

Part two of five

 

Day One

July 1

 

The day started as all Tuesdays have recently — riding to work with my carpool buddy, fellow reporter Julie Kreuz. My first day car-free was her turn to drive anyway. After returning to my Lakewood home from work, I had errands to run.

 

I rode the No. 75 bus from Clifton Boulevard at West 117th Street to downtown to buy a transit pass for $63, good for unlimited rides in July. This bus, like most, had about twice as many people on it as I’d seen in the past.

 

The Red Line took me to West 117th and to Staples to order a printer cartridge. I walked 20 minutes home. My feet hurt. I am out of shape.

 

Day Two

July 2

 

I had the next five days off from work. It let me take some time to adjust to a new mindset of being car-free.

 

Today I took it easy, walking to lunch, the bank, the grocery store and back. Over the next few days, whenever I was on my way home and approached West 117th, I tried to think if there was anything I needed from any of its stores. Not only would it save me extra walking or biking, but I could then carry things in smaller portions. I began to make lists.

 

Day Three

July 3

 

RTA’s Lakewood Circulator was my vehicle of choice today. Within two hours, I was able to attend a breakfast meeting at the Hylander Restaurant in downtown Lakewood, shop for a new book at Wings Hobby near St. James Church, and buy paper towels at CVS on West 117th Street.

 

After my breakfast meeting, I waited at Lakewood Center North for the bus. I was joined by 15 elementary school children and three adult minders.

 

The minders wanted to show the kids how to ride transit. But the boys were more interested in killing potato bugs and grossing-out the girls. We all squeezed into the 20-seat circulator bus that already had 10 people aboard. Seconds later a No. 26 big bus with 40 seats overtook us.

 

I could’ve used patience again after I got the call from Staples that my printer cartridge was in. I went to Lake Avenue to catch a circulator to the Rapid station. Problem was a Detroit Avenue circulator showed up instead.

 

I caught this bus with the plan of taking it to West 117th. There I could transfer to either the correct circulator or the No. 75 bus. The plan fell apart when the guy I got on the bus with didn’t have exact change. As he dug through his pockets and apologized, the circulator I wanted blew by.

 

With the cartridge bagged, I went to the Rapid station. At 3 p.m., two Red Line trains and buses for the Nos. 25, 75 and 50 routes all opened up like cans of people and unloaded their gas-price inflated contents on the environs of the West 117th station. It was like a scene out of a city in Europe or the U.S. East Coast.

 

Day Four

July 4

 

 

The holiday was a slow day. My friend Bill came up from Columbus for the weekend, but his experience showed some pitfalls of going car-free. Greyhound oversold his 8:30 a.m. bus by 150 percent.

 

The extra bus broke down at the Columbus station and delayed him by an hour. His return trip on Sunday was oversold at Cleveland by nearly 300 percent, requiring two extra buses.

 

I met Bill downtown after taking the No. 55 bus from Lakewood. We returned on the Red Line. Passenger loads on RTA buses and trains that morning were light. My family, friends and I went up to the seventh-floor sun deck of my condo building to watch fireworks.

 

Day Five

July 5

 

 

The day started with breakfast at My Friends Restaurant, open 24 hours on Detroit Avenue at West 117th. It ended with dinner at El Jalepeno’s on West 117th. In between, Bill and I rode the No. 26 bus on Detroit to take the Detroit-Superior Bridge subway tour. After that, we needed a rail fix, so we rode the Blue Line to Shaker Heights and back.

 

The No. 26 has automated bus stop announcements, connected to a Global Positioning System. The only glitch was at the West Boulevard Rapid station, which was announced after the fact. More routes will get the automated system.

 

Day Six

July 6

 

I rode downtown on the No. 55 and No. 3 buses to the Greyhound station see Bill off to Columbus. On my return home, I skipped visiting any stores at West 117th, as I couldn’t think of anything I needed.

 

Day Seven

July 7

 

It was the end of my five days off from work and the return to a stricter schedule.

 

The No. 55 to downtown at 8 a.m. is jammed with commuters. No one says a thing on the bus. I pick up police reports at the Justice Center and I’m on the No. 75 to my job an hour away near the Lorain County line. I stop at Giant Eagle in Fairview Park to buy Diet Coke and lunches.

 

The ride goes quickly thanks to my portable compact disc player and James Howard Kunstler’s 2005 book “The Long Emergency” — a future of increasingly scarce oil supplies. It helped psyche me up about going car-free during such a long bus ride.

Cincinnati Inventors Show Off New Monomobile Car

 

http://www.wcpo.com/news/local/story.aspx?content_id=5d87eef1-fa8e-42a7-886c-406ae795034a

Day Nine -- July 9

 

Pretty simple stuff. Walked three blocks to the corner of Clifton and West 117th. Caught an on-time No. 75X to the western edges of the suburban realm. And I listened to tunes on my Sony Discman the whole way. I think I "missed" a spirited exchange at one point between a woman in a wheelchair and a man who was trying to help her get her chair into position on the bus. But the music of VNV Nation thankfully drowned it out.

 

At one point while reading and listening to my tunage, I had a moment of panic. "Where am I?" I realized I was only passing Great Northern Mall and still had another mile to go until my stop near the Lorain County line. "Whew!"

 

That afternoon I had two things to mail. Fortunately my office is less than two blocks from the North Olmsted post office. I walked up to the mailboxes at the post office driveway, dropped 'em in, and walked away. Sometimes I feel like I'm intruding in a world made only for motorists. Afterwards I walked less than a block to a bus stop with a shelter. The No. 75 was about 10 minutes late. At least it's a direct ride home, with none of this goofy sidetripping from Lorain Road over to the North Olmsted Park-n-Ride with no one getting on or off. I get home with no drama. Just good music and a good book.

 

An hour after returning home, I finally get around to riding my new bike. Yep, I've had the thing since June 13 and never rode it anywhere. It's true what they say about never forgetting how to ride a bike, though I was bit wobbly at first. I didn't take it far, just to El Jalepeno's on West 117th. When I got there I realized there was no place to lock it up. I finally found a chain-link fence behind the restaurant. After dinner I raced my sister in her Volvo back to my condo and won. At the door to my building, I tried not to breathe hard in front of her but couldn't help it. It was a great way to work off some of those chalupas!

Day Ten -- July 10

 

OK, this is starting to get old. While being car-free at Lakewood's east end is a snap, my Sun News office isn't in Lakewood. Nor is it in downtown Cleveland, which is also easy to get to without a car. It's at the edge of the known realm -- near the Lorain County line. I'm very fortunate that I can get out that far on a single bus without having to transfer, but damn that's a long ride on city streets! From my usual place of boarding, at West 117th Street and Clifton Boulevard, to where I get off near the corner of Lorain and Stearns roads, is a 45-minute ride.

 

On the "fortunate" side, like anything else, the more often you do something, the less time it seems to take. So even though it's a 45-minute ride, it's starting to seem faster each time I travel. Reading books and listening to music also makes the time pass more quickly. Another "trip" that seems to be taking less time is the three-block walk from my home to Clifton-West 117th -- the center of my car-free universe. It used to seem so far. Now it seems just steps away.

 

On the downside, when I'm walking somewhere, I'm usually running late. So I walk FAST. Walking fast hurts my shin muscles (OK fitness freaks and medical experts, what's that muscle called?). By the time I get where I'm going on foot, my legs are wobbly. But my feet and legs don't hurt in the mornings anymore.

 

When I get home, I discover there is a note in my mailbox, as well as in all of my neighbors' boxes, too. It says that emergency repairs must be made to the building's parking garage on Friday. All cars must be out of the garage by 7 a.m. I get to drive my car!

 

But I don't make a big trip out of it. Instead, I've got things to do this evening at home and am looking forward to a nice quiet evening. I never expected road rage would get in the way of it. Yep, road rage. I drive the car out of the garage and go to park it on Beach Avenue. I pull into the exit of one-way Clifton Prado just as another car is coming out. But I can't back up right away because another car is going by on Beach. Both cars honk at me. Here's a reason for my car-freedness! I back out onto Beach and parallel park. The dimwit passenger in the car that was coming out of Clifton Prado yells "Learn how to drive!" I beep my horn at him. He gives me the finger. Now I am mad but I resist the temptation to drive after him and crash my car into his rear bumper with as much metal-crunching, air-bag deploying speed as I can. Instead I stew in anger for the rest of the evening, an evening that was supposed to be quiet. Two minutes driving a car for the first time in two weeks and I get into a road-rage incident.

 

Dear RTA: I can't wait to see you in the morning.

"Walking fast hurts my shin muscles (OK fitness freaks and medical experts, what's that muscle called?)."

 

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shin_splints

 

 

Thanks!

^^the muscle alongside the back and side is the gastrocnemius.  the front muscle is the tibialis (sits on the tibia), the anterior tibialis is probably what's causing you pain.  The fix?  Good shoes, STRETCH the muscles at beginning and end of day, and ibuprofen for swelling.

KJP, I echo others in saying that this is a fantastic experiment.

 

Based on your experiences, are you considering keeping this a permanent thing, or do you long for your car?

Yes, I am definitely considering keeping this going. The high-mileage car and the prospect of more and costly repairs is what's motivating that thought. What's counteracting it is the long-ass bus ride out to near the Lorain County line. The last two days I've been the only person on the bus west of Great Northern. Pretty lonely feel.......

I trained for and ran a half-marathon last year.  Shin splints nearly derailed that.  Nothing you can do except light stretching, ice, and rest.

 

 

Yes, I am definitely considering keeping this going. The high-mileage car and the prospect of more and costly repairs is what's motivating that thought. What's counteracting it is the long-ass bus ride out to near the Lorain County line. The last two days I've been the only person on the bus west of Great Northern. Pretty lonely feel.......

 

I have to say I'm getting more and more inspired by your experiment, too.  And I don't have to go out to the edge of existence for work, either, so I don't have that excuse. :)