Environment
Sustainable Commuting
When it comes to commuting to work, we have many options to choose from. We can drive to work, take public transit, telecommute, walk, bike, rollerblade, skateboard, fly, take a train, or ride a bus. The list goes on and on. At different points in my life I've experienced most of the aforementioned methods of commuting.
Each method has its own distinct advantages and disadvantages. For the last 4 years in Toronto, I have been commuting using the most sustainable and rewarding method of transportation I could possibly imagine: walking.
It's the most relaxing, reliable, healthy and sustainable method of transportation that exists. I live in the King West area which puts me within 40 minutes walking distance from hundreds of thousands of jobs. It's amazing how much freedom comes with walking to work.
Not only do I walk to work, I walk almost everywhere I go. As long as I can reach my destination in an hour or less, I'll be walking. The odd time I need to drive is when I play hockey, do groceries or when I'm visiting friends/family out of town.
When I walk to work, I don't need to worry about traffic, gridlock, gas prices, road rage, flat tires, accidents, break-downs, stress, transit delays, overcrowding or snowstorms. I'm free to go wherever whenever, and I always know what time I will arrive at my destination.
According to Statistics Canada, as of 2006, 72.3 percent of Canadians still drive their car to work. But even setting aside the environmental impact from cars, they still aren't a sustainable method of mass transportation in a world of 6 billion people; there simply isn't enough space. Therefore, we'll always have the need for public/shared transit and walking or biking to work will never go out of style.
Embedded above is a video of my 20-minute commute to work along King Street West, compressed into a 3-minute video, featuring Winnipeg, Manitoba band The Weakerthans with Civil Twilight.
Written by guest contributor James Schwartz.
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Cheers.
With my walk to work being a mere 20mins., I also feel really, i mean really, lucky.
Unfortunately, the majority of our society does not have this luxury. Even folks "within" the city drive to work, when the TTC is perfectly at arms reach.
I'd suggest, in a dream world perhaps, that downtown employers let their workers, the ones who live out in Barrie or whatnot, to work from home. Then the government can give these employers tax breaks for saving the environment.
Crazy idea? Probably.
That said, my landlord has decided she wants my apartment so I'm being forced to move. Still hoping I'll be able to find somewhere to live close to the office...
I walk everywhere too and hate being forced to choose grocery items not based on budget, but on what I feel like carrying (man, I miss pizza pockets).
Now I walk almost everywhere from my Financial District home. I am more fit, and I get to experience more of Toronto's hidden gems.
Sometimes your job doesn't allow you to be as green as you'd like. The company I work for requires 4 fairly large buildings to house all of their equipment (which I should add sets the standard for green-ness in this industry). As a result, most companies within the industry tend to be located in places like Markham, Missisauga, Richmond Hill, Barrie, etc. There simply isn't room for them in the city.
I'd be more than willing to move to Markham, however it isn't a region that tends to cater to walkers and public transit users. Part of my hour-long journey takes me down streets that don't have sidewalks or even shoulders. I cut through parking lots to avoid walking along roads with traffic and am sometimes forced to hop into a snowbank to avoid being hit by a truck that is too close to the curb. I could walk to work, but I would have to take transit to tackle groceries and other errands as retail stores are large and spaced far apart.
I think in the future telecommuting will become more common for people who live outside the city. But the trends are indicating that people are starting to live more urban lifestyles, so we should see a good influx of people in the city (You can see the construction all over the city right now, even with the sliding economy)
[Guest Contributor] - James
James: Your car = groceries point is valid aswell. Though, zipcar and autoshare help in that department. But i know what you meant.
But I agree that driving is fun, especially when I only drive once or twice a week.
Whoah, a 0.025km walk to your desk!
I think I aim to walk more especially when the weather gets nice.
Mainly a) metropasses are so expensive and b) I never learned to ride a bike >.>
I don't really like walking in winter because it is SO COLD!
And I love The Weakerthans!
I also use Grocery Gateway (too expensive though) and try to pick up smaller items on my way home from work.
Hopefully I'll discover some "hidden gems" for myself in the city.
- hugely uneven surfaces due to heaved or missing paving stones, large cracks or crumbling pavement
- construction barricades (whether there is active construction or not)
- window washers' barricades, ropes, equipment (and careless spills of dirty water)
- sandwich board signs placed illegally in the middle of the sidewalk
- temporary detour signs for motorists placed (legally?) in the middle of the sidewalk
- bus shelters, trash cans, bike racks, newspaper boxes and other "street furniture" narrowing the sidewalk to single file
- subway grates poorly designed with slick surfaces (never mind what they do to people wearing heels)
- cyclists who think riding on the sidewalk is a great way to speed past cars
- motorists who block crosswalks while waiting for their lights
- motorists who think that it's a good idea to park with two wheels up on the curb
- police who think that it's a good idea to park with all four wheels on the sidewalk so motorists won't see them right away
- traffic lights designed to cause accidents (anybody else notice that when they started counting down to the walk signal they shortened the yellow to 3-4 seconds?)
- crackheads in sleeping bags
...not to mention the added challenges that come with snow and rain.
I find most streets are more pedestrian-friendly than Yonge street.. Maybe try hitting a side street to find your hidden gem :)
I still have about a 10 minute walk to the subway each day where the newest obstacle I am faced with is a pedestrian crosswalk which must baffle some drivers who speed right through despite having ample break time, with the lights flashing and me pointing to cross the street. I've even seen police officers pull over drivers who have blatantly sped through the crosswalk. As a former driver, I find it ridiculous that these crosswalks are ignored.
Now maybe the flashing ambers high above work for most people, but for self-absorbed hipster douchebags more concerned with getting a Mini Cooper back in the lot so it's not an extra 6 bucks than pedestrians' right of way, it might be time to install something that gets their attention a little better.
http://designtrust.blogspot.com/search/label/Morning%20Commute
As an ex-pat, I read blogTO to get a Canadian perspective on a daily basis and just to keep up on public space issues in other cities.
http://designtrust.blogspot.com/2009/02/my-morning-commute-ii.html
One thing that gets me out here though is the amount of surprise I hears from my colleagues when they learned I didn't drive out here by choice. It was almost like I was illiterate. After six months, many still can't believe it.
You got it in one!
"I find most streets are more pedestrian-friendly than Yonge street.. Maybe try hitting a side street to find your hidden gem :)"
A good idea -- I'll try that.
When i lived in Etobicoke and had to travel to Oakville for school, it took me almost TWO hours to commute.
So, I move 5 minutes from my school the next year.
I don't care how many things one can do in a GO train, nothing beats a breathtaking 5-10min. walk to wake you up and start your day.
I stayed at my bro's place downtown, only drove to/from work (in Mississauga) but spent most of my time walking everywhere downtown. Definitely worth it. BUT... it is way too easy to spend money!
W.K. Lis: I agree with your statement. Walking seems so pedestrian to many, especially since they are often the ones driving to the gym to work out. Why not walk aimlessly for an hour and investigate just what makes a community tick and take photos of it all while doing it?
Its amazing though the attitude of folks that live outside the city, they are entirely dependent on their cars and make no effort what so ever to walk anywhere. They love their cars, their smartcentres and mcmansions and make no apologies for it.. Its quite pathetic..