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From Betsy Christensen, MPH Candidate, University of Minnesota School of Public Health and TLC intern
Improving public transit and creating more walkable neighborhoods can be one of the most cost effective ways to achieve public health objectives.
Before we get into details, there are a few things you should know about me. I live in Saint Paul yet do venture across the river into Minneapolis quite regularly and I do not have a car. Saint Paul is a great place to live; 95% of my friends, however, haven’t been enlightened, which means I head across the river to enter my social network. Since I have no vehicle and have a streak of stubborn independence (read: I will never ask for a ride, ever.), I have become a regular transit rider and city biking enthusiast.
Marshall Avenue, near Mississippi River bridge
Take a moment to think about all of the places you travel to in a day – go the gym for a morning workout, take your kids and/or yourself to school, work across the city, visit that favorite café for lunch to catch up with friends, stop at the grocery store, etc. Now, think about how you travel to all of your daily destinations – do you have the option of walking, biking, driving, riding the bus, riding the light rail? Do you choose your mode of transportation or does our current transportation system frequently make it seem like a car is your only option?
Transportation is a major part of our lives. Not everyone drives, not everyone bikes, and not everyone rides the bus. A balanced transportation system that accommodates all modes, all users, and all abilities benefits everybody.Forty percent of Minnesotans do not drive for various reasons – age, disability, or financial costs (source: MN Complete Streets Toolkit). Nationwide, 60% of Americans would rather drive less and walk more, yet 73% reported they feel they currently have no choice but drive to destinations (source: Surface Transportation Policy Partnership).
 Grand Avenue, Saint Paul
Quality public transit and transit-oriented development reduce traffic crashes, improve air quality, increase daily physical activity, boost social well being, and improve access to healthcare services and healthy food options. These public health benefits are increasingly recognized as central to economically-vibrant metropolitan regions. A shift towards less driving and more transit use improves our health, but in order to make this shift we need to support policies and systems that promote the design and development of healthy, more livable communities.
Quality public transit reduces traffic crashes and improves safety
Much has been done to improve the safety of automobiles and highways, yet the desire for speed continues to have implications for our safety and health care costs. Approximately 2.5 million people are injured on our roads every year (source: NHTSA). Communities with high-quality transit experience 75% less per capita traffic fatality rates than those experienced by sprawling, auto-oriented communities (source: Victoria Transport Policy Institute).
 Stillwater Boulevard, Maplewood
Quality public transit improves air quality
Breathing clean air should be a right and not a privilege based on where on lives. Thirty-five million people live within 300 feet of a major roadway, increasing their risk for respiratory illnesses, lung cancer, heart disease, and death related to air pollution from traffic (source: APHA). In Minneapolis-Saint Paul, these air pollution health impacts are disproportionately located in low-income neighborhoods.
 Cartoon by Andy Singer
Quality public transit increases physical activity
Most transit trips begin with a walk or bike ride. Public transit users walk about 19 minutes per day compared to only 6 minutes per day for non-transit users (source: Werner & Evans, 2007). Community design is key – walkable, mixed use communities support healthier residents and visitors. People with safe places to walk near home are twice as likely to meet physical activity targets (source: Victoria Transport Policy Institute). It’s much easier to be active and reach the goal of 22 minutes each day (or 150 minutes each week), when it fits easily into your daily schedule. I look forward to my commute every single day – I love hopping on my bike or walking to the bus stop.
 Walking to shop and reach other destinations
Quality public transit improves mental and social well being
More than half of all trips nationwide are less than 3 miles in distance, yet 72% of these trips are made by car (source: Federal Highway Administration). Biking to the café, taking a 15 minute stroll, or riding transit all result in more time in one’s neighborhood, increasing interactions between neighbors and building community cohesion (source: APHA). Increased walkability is also associated with reduced symptoms of depression (source: Berke, Gottlieb & Larson, 2007). A high-quality public transit system increases access to basic needs including healthcare services, employment, educational opportunities, and healthy food options.
 Festival of Fathers, North Minneapolis, summer 2011
Conclusion
As a public health student and a regular bicyclist, walker and bus rider, I am aware of both the societal benefits and the personal benefits of not being wedded to a car. As an intern at Transit for Livable Communities, I have learned about the importance of advocating for a transportation system that gets everyone where they need to go in a convenient, sustainable and healthy fashion. I hope you will join the growing movement of Twin Cities residents who feel the same.
During September and October, new bicycle routes funded through Bike Walk Twin Cities will open in Minneapolis. These projects, and others that opened last year as well as some due for 2012, are expanding the network for cycling, especially on-street cycling. The new projects include three bicycle boulevards, advisory bike lanes, and the state's first bicycle stop light. Some of the project openings will be celebrated as part of October Bike Walk Week October 3-9.
Please mark your calendars for these openings. More details will be shared as plans become complete.
Bryant Avenue Bicycle Boulevard- Grand Opening Thursday, September 22
This is the longest of the new bike routes in Minneapolis, providing a north-south route from West 58th Street to downtown Minneapolis, via the bicycle/pedestrian bridge over Lyndale Avenue and the bike path to Loring Park. The route includes new medians at Franklin Avenue to make crossing easier for bicycles and people walking. There also will be easier access for bicycles to the Minnehaha Parkway bicycle trail. The route runs roughly parallel to Lyndale Avenue.
University of Minnesota Bike Center-Grand Opening week of September 27
The new bike center in the Oak Street ramp will include retail sales and repair from the Hub Bicycle Coop, and (with membership) 24-7 key-card access to showers, changing rooms, and secure bike parking. The Center also offers classes and meeting space. With 70,000 students and faculty at the Twin Cities campus, there is great opportunity to get around more smoothly by riding bicycles (including Nice Ride bicycle-sharing), walking, and using transit.The University Bike Center will also offer the option to sign up for RFID (radio frequency identification) tags to track bicycle usage and be eligible for prizes.
New routes in Downtown Minneapolis-Grand Opening Wednesday, October 5 (tentative)
Getting into downtown Minneapolis on bicycle is now easier due to two new projects. Cyclists have long waited for a better connection into from the Hiawatha LRT trail (which ends at 11th Avenue South). A new bike path now exists adjacent to the Valspar parking lot, connecting to westbound bicycle lanes on 3rd Street South and eastbound lanes on 4th Street South. Another new project, on East 14th, 15th, and 16th Streets, brings "Advisory Bike Lanes" to the United States for the first time (though Portland, Ore., also has plans for them: http://bikeportland.org/2009/10/21/bikeway-design-focus-advisory-bike-lanes-24880) Advisory bike lane streets are low-traffic narrow streets with bike lanes in each direction and one center lane for autos. If no bikes are present, cars can drive on top of the bike lanes (this is not legal for other bike lanes). If cyclists are present, cars use the center lane (wide enough for cars) to pass.
New routes in Northeast Minneapolis-Grand Opening Thursday, October 6 (tentative)
Northeast Minneapolis has had few routes for a growing population, but that is about to change with three new routes (and a fourth in 2012). The new 5th Street Bicycle Boulevard, featuring the state's first bicycle stop light and bicycle signal detection, runs from Dinkytown through the Nordeast shopping area and up to 26th Avenue North. (Much of the route runs parallel to University Avenue.) Two new east-west bike ways intersect it-the 22nd Avenue bike way and a new off-road bike path on 18th Avenue (not funded by BWTC). In 2012, the Presidents Bicycle Boulevard will provide another north-south route on Fillmore and 6th Avenues.
New Bike Lanes in North Minneapolis-Grand Opening, Saturday, October 8-A Bike Walk Week October Event
The new bike lanes on Emerson & Fremont Avenues provide a great north-south route, connecting many great destinations, from North Regional Library (at the intersection of Lowry and Fremont) to the businesses along West Broadway (The Cookie Cart and Avenue Eatery are just down the block from Emerson) to Plymouth Avenue not far from UROC and the Urban League. The Emerson/Fremont lanes connect to bike lanes along 7th Street North and 10th Avenue North , making it easier to connect to downtown and Northeast Minneapolis.
1st and Blaisdell Bike Lanes-Grand Opening, Sunday October 9-A Bike Walk Week October Event
These new bike lanes connect downtown Minneapolis (via LaSalle heading southbound and Marquette heading north) to the RiverLake Greenway at 40th Street in South Minneapolis. The route features buffered bike lanes along 1st Avenue (between 40th and 33rd) and bike lanes on Blaisdell, with green paint at the high-traffic intersection at Lake Street to make bicyclists and motorists aware of each other.
The National Center for Safe Routes to School is now accepting applications for 25 mini-grants of $1,000 each. These mini-grants support the goal of Safe Routes to School (SRTS) programs, which is to enable and encourage children to safely walk and bicycle to school. Mini-grants may fund activities ranging from the nuts and bolts that help start or sustain a safe walking and bicycling program to new ideas that explore the range of benefits of safe walking and bicycling.
For more information, please email info@saferoutesinfo.org or visit www.saferoutesinfo.org/funding-portal/mini-grants/call-for-applications.
Applications are due Wednesday, October 19, 2011.
From Andrea Kiepe, Transportation for America
Crossing the street in Greater Minnesota can be more deadly than on the busier streets of the Twin Cities. Transportation for America’s new report, Dangerous By Design says the pedestrian death rate was above the national average in Cass, Becker and Itasca counties between 2000-2009. The report also includes an interactive map that allows you to find where pedestrian deaths are occurring near any town in the US.
Pam Kramer, Executive Director Duluth Local Initiative Support Corporation (LISC) points out that for more than 50 years, roads have been engineered for optimum motor vehicle safety, while safety for others using the roads has been overlooked.
“The things we need to do to make our streets safer are so basic -- crosswalks, sidewalks and bike lanes -- that they are always a good idea. But now that more and more people are getting active and as gas prices rise, this becomes critically important,” says Kramer.
A number of state and federal transportation programs are working to make streets safer for all users: Transportation Enhancements, Safe Routes to School, and Complete Streets.
Over the last decade, 415 Minnesotan pedestrians have died in traffic crashes. But as the national transportation bill is being written in Washington, federal funding for pedestrian facilities is under attack. Nationwide, state departments of transportation allocate only 1.5 percent of available federal funds to projects that retrofit dangerous roads or create safe alternatives.
“We’re spending the tiniest sliver of federal transportation funding on pedestrian safety, even though they account for 12 percent of all traffic deaths,” said Andrea Kiepe, Field Organizer for Transportation for America. “Our tax money should be used to build streets, roads and highways that are safe for all users.”
Meghan Bown, Get Fit Itasca Community Health Coordinator, is working at the local level on this issue. Her rural county has a pedestrian death rate above the national average.
“Although we have strived to make improvements for pedestrians and will continue to do so, the City of Grand Rapids is not immune to these type of crashes. Last year on US Highway 169, a pedestrian was killed by a truck. Currently the US Highway has a speed limit of 30 mph, set-back businesses, and four lanes. The accident happened approximately four blocks from the nearest controlled crossing,” says Bown.
Especially when combined with unsafe street and road design, vehicle speed presents a deadly threat to pedestrians. Nationwide, nearly 60 percent of pedestrian fatalities from 2000 to 2009 occurred on roads with speed limits of 40 mph or greater. Pedestrians have only a 15 percent chance of surviving a collision with a car traveling 40 mph.
“Roadway design factors affect traffic speeds. Drivers slow down where the road feels ‘hemmed-in’ or there is noticeable street activity, and they speed up where the road feels ‘wide open’ or street activity is less noticeable,” says Bown.
Ethan Fawley, Transportation Policy Director for Fresh Energy, says more funding is needed to make roads safer for everyone, by adding sidewalks, crosswalks and trails. On the national level, the Safe and Complete Streets bill is being considered; it would make money available to states for these types of projects. Minnesota already has a Complete Streets policy at the state level, though it is less than a year old.
“Mn/DOT and seventeen local Minnesota communities have already stepped up with Complete Streets policies to make their roads safer for everyone, including pedestrians. But there is still much work to be done to improve safety for people walking and we need the federal government as a strong leader and partner for that effort. This report drives home that need and offers concrete steps that deserve action,” says Fawley.
Another federally funded approach is seen with the Safe Routes to Schools program. It encourages kids to walk, bicycle, skateboard, or ride scooters to class for exercise.
Rochester Mayor Ardell F. Brede, says there is public support for improving pedestrian safety. “Safe and complete streets make sense at any time, but when gas prices rise we seem to pay more attention to our mobility choices. Streets that are complete and safer allow and encourage walking and cycling –important factors to a society that is focusing more on healthy living.”
“Human health is a major contributor to all aspects of life including job performance, productivity, and personnel costs. Big business has long since realized that healthy employees do more for their companies. As a country we need to follow the lead of the business community. This includes improving transportation infrastructure. We need to continue to put money into making our communities more accessible for walking and biking. This will decrease our oil consumption, decrease our health care costs, increase our productivity, and boost our economy, says Bown.
The full report, "Dangerous By Design," is at http://t4america.org/resources/dangerousbydesign2011/
The Safe and Complete Streets bill is H.R. 1780.
From Dave Van Hattum, Policy & Advocacy Program Manger
City Trek 2011 Participants
Many credit young people for changing attitudes and habits around recycling and re-use. As we collectively try to create communities where people have real transportation choices, perhaps young people can once again lead the way.
City Trek 2011, a partnership of TLC and EcoEducation, was a day-long exploration of the environmental and equity impacts of the Twin Cities current (and future) transportation system. On May 3rd, 25 teachers and youth leaders spent the day experiencing and discussing our regional transportation system. Recognizing the value of learning by doing, participants walked, biked (thanks to Nice Ride), rode the Hiawatha light rail, and local and express buses (thanks to Metro Transit).
The diversity of the group, including Minneapolis and Saint Paul teachers who teach a range of subjects and students of varying ages, led to stimulating dialogue. Participants were encouraged to arrive at our downtown Minneapolis base without driving and the vast majority took the challenge.
The morning discussion focused on three strategies for reducing the environmental impacts of transportation: 1) public transit, 2) biking, and 3) more compact communities. The topic of equity came up in all the discussions, exploring ways to expand convenient and affordable transportation choices for those with low-incomes and from diverse communities.
The morning session included an overview of the Twin Cities transportation system and breakout sessions with experts on bicycling, walking, and transit. The afternoon session highlighted the equity issues of building new light rail lines, in particular the Central Corridor. Presenters Carol Swenson (District Council Collaborative), Metric Giles (Community Revitalization Project) and Christina Morrison (Saint Paul planner) got the conversation going with unique perspectives on planning for the light rail line and planning for changes to neighborhoods adjacent to the rail.
For many decades, mainstream assessments of our urban transportation systems assumed they were equitable because they were primarily financed by a user fee – the gas tax. Yet, this assessment completely ignored those unable to afford cars and fill-ups. TLC believes that building out a robust transit system will generally lead to greater equity. But, as participants in City Trek 2011 learned, more transit is a necessary, but insufficient, step to a more equitable transportation system. Where we locate transit stops, who builds the trains and highways, and how communities retain existing residents and businesses when new housing and commercial development cluster around light rail stops are key equity concerns going forward.
One critical step to more equitable outcomes is to make sure more community, and non-traditional, voices are heard in the planning (rail and development) process. I can’t say exactly how the teachers and youth who made City Trek 2011 such an inspiring and thought-providing day will carry forward the dialogue and ideas into lesson plans. But I trust that most of them will engage their students in pondering and imagining how best to get people where they need to go --an intellectual trek worth taking!
From Dave Van Hattum, Policy and Advocacy Program Manager
TLC's Bill Neuendorf (left) and Dave Van Hattum (right) at the U of M's Center for Transportation Studies conference with Joe Cortright (center). 2011.
Mn/DOT frequently proclaims that the metro area “needs” $40 billion in funding to expand our highways over the next 20 years. Joe Cortright, an economist and advisor to CEO’s for Cities challenged the audience at the U of M’s Center for Transportation Studies conference this week,stating “How we build our cities is the most important thing we can do to affect the performance of our transportation system.” At TLC, we think Cortright is right; before getting out our collective checkbooks for bigger interchanges, bigger bridges and extra lanes, we should take a close look at the layout of our Twin Cities region and gauge how future growth patterns can be guided to minimize the need for higher taxes.
It’s the nature of cities to experience traffic congestion; whether the traffic is people, horses, or cars. Cities are places where lots of people congregate; this inevitably leads to slow-downs in how people get around. A major goal of urban transportation planning is to figure out how to get people to their jobs in a reasonable amount of time. All too often that has meant focusing on the symptom (traffic congestion) and not the underlying problem of how our cities are built. While all urbanized areas will experience congestion, those that are more compact typically allow people to get where they want to go in less time. A more compact city also makes transit more cost-effective and biking and walking more convenient.
Unfortunately, due to the inclination to look at transportation primarily from a personal rather than a holistic, city-wide point of view (i.e. from the vantage of private cars rather than public transit and walkable communities), most transportation planning discussion gravitates to how to reduce traffic delays. For nearly 20 years, policy makers have relied on a national study from the Texas Transportation Institute (TTI) that calculates a congestion index as the main indicator of transportation performance among cities. The TTI study measures car mobility rather than access by people. By focusing on how many minutes a commuter is delayed, the TTI study misses what is most important to commuters: how long does it take to get to my job?
So why all the fuss about the TTI congestion report? Because the media has been splashing the findings of this report on front pages of newspapers for more than a decade. The media loves the report’s nifty city-to-city comparisons and estimated financial costs of traffic congestion (i.e. $1.7 billion in the Twin Cities in 2009). Each year, the report concludes by endorsing major road expansion as the way to relieve congestion and make commutes faster. To its credit, the report also includes a host of other recommendations, including transit and land use. Media coverage, along with Mn/DOT and most policymakers, however, continue to focus nearly exclusively on highway expansion and overlook the opportunity to shift to more compact development and more investment in public transit to provide real options for commuters—and shorter commutes.
Cortright’s message is a challenging and urgent one. As I’ve worked in the transportation field in the Twin Cities for nearly 20 years, I’ve repeatedly heard the importance of making the land use and transportation connection. But talking about it is very different than real on-the-ground change. By nearly all indicators, our metro region has been a leader in sprawl (see TLC’s report, Planning to Succeed?) and has been guilty of overemphasizing congestion trends and underemphasizing transit-supportive land use. With new rail lines open and more coming soon there is renewed attention to transit-supportive land use and walkable neighborhoods, but our region still lacks a goal for development along these rail lines and there are very few specific land use (or city design) strategies to point to.
With land use decided by 187 municipalities, and road design decided primarily by two large agencies – Mn/DOT and the Metropolitan Council/Transportation Advisory Board--it will always be easier to focus on road-building rather than city-building. But if we’re serious about improving transportation performance and seeing our tax dollars go farther, we need to forge a regional consensus on strategies that encourage more compact communities and discourage sprawl.
Cortright (and his “Driven Apart” report) challenges us to ask the right questions. When Mn/DOT and others broadcast an estimated $40 billion in road expansion “needs” over the next 20 years, we need to ask if land use strategies that reduce the demand for car travel have been explored. We need to ask if their cost projections consider the possible (likely?) impact of $5.00 to $6.00 gas in the not too distant future? Do they factor in a graying population and new housing and transportation preferences of younger generations?
When Mn/DOT defines congestion as speed of 44 mph or slower and calls for more roads, we need to counter by asking why the bigger priority isn’t addressing the region’s abysmal record of access to buses and trains and walkable destinations. When the Met Council appropriately notes that we can’t afford to build our way out of traffic congestion, we need to ask what plans they have to guide communities across the region to embrace greater density and more in-fill development? And, finally when a plan for more housing or commercial density comes to our neighborhood, we need to ask ourselves if we are part of the problem or part of the solution?
From Barb Thoman, Executive Director
The City of Chaska put the finishing touches on a retrofit of a section of Trunk Highway 41 in downtown Chaska. The changes include a new stoplight at Second Street, restricted left turn lanes, and a center pedestrian median on this four lane stretch of arterial road that also doubles as a community main street.
In December 2008, Jerome Meuwissen was hit by a vehicle and killed in a crosswalk trying to cross TH 41 on his daily walk to church. The death of Mr. Meuwissen and another non-fatal crash earlier the same year led the city of Chaska to apply for $540,000 in stimulus dollars to make the roadway improvements.
Mark Webb, the owner of the Dunn Bros coffee shop at the corner of TH41 and Second Street witnessed the crash, according to a recent article in the Chaska Herald. “That morning, while putting away patio furniture, Webb witnessed the accident that killed pedestrian Jerome Meuwissen. He rushed to the scene to aid the 86-year-old Chaska man and dialed 911. It’s a memory that still makes Webb shudder,” the Herald reported.
This tragedy in Chaska was the subject of a case study used as a call to action by the Minnesota Complete Streets Coalition during its successful push for state legislation this past session. TLC wrote a case study highlighting this “incomplete street” and several other good and bad examples. Here is a link to that document: (should be in resource section of TLC web site).
Complete Streets, now the policy of the State of Minnesota, has shifted to the local level for implementation. We encourage everyone to work with their elected representatives to make our streets safe for all users.
For more on the Chaska construction and the community reaction, click here.
Top: Before Bottom: After
 
TLC’s Hilary Reeves sat down with Emily Seru, a working mom in St. Paul’s Frogtown neighborhood who has just started commuting by bicycle to daycare with her son, August, and then on to her own work. Hilary: When did you start “getting around” with August on your bike? How old was he? Emily: I took August on his first bike ride when he was fourteen months old. Hilary: Did you scout around a lot for the right equipment? What options did you see and what did you end up choosing? Emily: I looked at a lot of kid bike seats and liked the idea of having him sit in front of me between my arms. That way, I could keep an eye on him while we rode, interact and talk with him, and he could have a view of something other than my butt! I ordered the WeeRide online, which is a seat that secures to the frame of the bike, positioned just behind the handlebars. This was a great introduction for him to the bike; he loved it and immediately yelled “wheeeee!” as we went down the street the first time. But it was only good for short trips (1-3 miles) as my legs had to pedal out to the side a bit to fit around the seat. He also outgrew the thing in a few months. I traded the WeeRide for a Burley Bee with a neighbor down the street and am loving being able to actually commute with him to school and work with all his school stuff and my work bag in tow for longer trips. I also found that when I called the helmet a “hat” and showed him how I put on mine, he took to it right away. Now when he sees his “hat” he runs over to put it on and wants to get in the Burley to go for a ride.
Hilary: What kinds of trips have you been able to make with August on the bike? Emily: The WeeRide was great because when I did not have the car on the weekends and wanted to get out of the house with him, I could ride to the Como Zoo which is out of walking distance, but the perfect short bike ride. With the Burley I find he is less interactive and seems to go to sleep a lot, so it is a different experience. On Monday as I was biking with him back from day care up the huge Saint Clair Street hill from West 7th to Victoria I had a guy yell “go baby go!” It is empowering to know I can really take him anywhere, no matter the distance or topography, without a car. Before, I would feel limited or would have to drive just because I needed to take him to day care in the mornings. It is also hard as a working mom to find the time to get exercise, and this has reintroduced the possibility of a regular bike ride to the day to day routine. Hilary: I know you care about the food you and your family eats. Are you looking at transportation in any of the same terms? What motivates you to figure out your choices?Emily: I anticipate Americans will not have the luxury of driving cars as the sole means of getting around in the very near future. I enjoy biking and the closeness I feel to my surroundings and neighborhood when I bike vs. drive. Biking makes me feel more self sufficient, more healthy; it makes me slow down and live in the moment even in the midst of the busiest days. Plus biking is free!
Hilary: What tips or recommendations would you make to a new mom or dad hoping to go multi-modal in their child-rearing? Emily: Commit to owning only one car and resist the pressures to think that a kid necessitates getting a second car. It really does not. Think about living close to where you work when you have the opportunity, and seek day care options close enough to bike to. Find others to swap kid bike gear with as they outgrow things before things wear out.
From Rachel Bents, Blogger and BicyclistRachel, a St. Paul resident and consultant, gave up her car four months ago. At the beginning of her journey, TLC featured her in this interview. Rachel has been blogging about her experiences at Car Free MN.I have learned a great deal since giving up my car in April. It is interesting to look at my early blog posts and see how far I have come. Some days are a struggle, but I’ve never thought about going back. It is a continual journey forward! Here are some things that I have learned along the way and a few things that I still need to learn or experience:
- Riding in the rain is very possible --but be careful when going around corners at high speeds and make sure that you have the right gear. Make sure that your bag is waterproof or the "dry clothes" you bring along will not be very dry!
- Panniers are a great option if you don’t want a heavy pack on your back or shoulders. I’m looking forward to getting mine!
- You can successfully lock up a bike anywhere --and there are some fantastic bike racks in the area. But there is room for improved bike parking in the Twin Cities as well.
- The most direct bike route is not necessarily the best bike route.
- Sometimes the sidewalk does end, you will ride in the street, and it’s your right to take the full lane.
- Taking the bus is a viable, lovely option when it is raining or WAY too hot outside to do anything but stand in the shade.
- Accepting offers from friends to pick you up or drop you off is wonderful! I never expected it, and it is nice to have a support system.
- It is possible to bike in high heels and a skirt! I bike in a skirt often and I have biked in high heels. Another option is to wear flats and pack your heels to change into later.
- Even cute bike helmets look silly, but they are IMPORTANT, so I do wear mine.
- Arriving to a casual date on my bike is perfectly acceptable.
- Arriving to a more "fancy" date by bus is perfectly acceptable.
- Having a date drop me off near my house is also perfectly acceptable!
- Reminding myself that I am the one that chose to be car-free helps keep me motivated. I made this choice intentionally and can’t get cranky because I end up biking in the rain sometimes!
- There are a lot of people who live without cars --and not always by choice. We need to do a better job of making our communities accessible to everyone!
- Being car free is more and more do-able every day.
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