One day, I stopped to talk to a woman I had seen for years,
walking her children to school or pulling them in a wagon... After
talking, I learned that she and her husband do not own a car, and never
have...! I asked Edith if she would mind sharing her experiences on
this blog, because so many people feel that they simply must have a car
once they have children (if not before!), and because it's just so
interesting to hear about peoples' perceptions of transportation needs.
Here is her story:
Hi Janie,
I am Edith McCrea, and my husband is Larry McCrea. Our two kids are David (8) and Judith (5), who attend Peabody Elementary in Cambridge. You asked me this morning to e-mail you about not having a car. I will try to give you a brief overview of our experiences.
When I was in high school, I did not enjoy Driver's Ed, and let two learner's permits lapse without getting a license. My husband was also later in getting his license than most people; he was 20 when I met him and still did not have one.
In college (Cornell University), we walked all over the Ithaca, NY area, or rode the bus (especially when carrying heavy groceries). Ithaca is a town of steep hills, and we were in really good shape. It is also a beautiful place to walk -- as is Cambridge.
Larry moved to Chicago after he graduated from Cornell, and I joined him a year later when I graduated. We lived there together for 12 years, with one year away in Madras, India. We have never owned a car, and although Larry has his license, he almost never drives. Our motives for remaining carless include our distaste for driving and a desire to save money and avoid the other hassles associated with car-ownership. Preserving the environment and getting a lot of exercise are added bonuses. (We generally do not feel any particular need for other forms of exercise, and prefer actually going somewhere to, for example, using a treadmill.)
Chicago is a good city for public transportation. You can get pretty much anywhere on the bus and "L" combined with walking, although you sometimes have to be patient, as the buses tend to run behind schedule. It is also easy to find your way around, as it is mapped out on a grid (unlike the Boston area)!
I walked home from the hospital (which was in our neighborhood) after giving birth to both of our children, carrying my son in a Snuggli and my daughter in a cloth sling.
Our kids are used to walking everywhere. We used baby bjorns, backpack-carriers and strollers, in combination with public transit. We decided to put our son's stroller away before our second child was born rather than opt for one of those big double-strollers. Taking a small child on foot requires a lot of patience; allow yourself a LOT of extra time to "stop and smell the roses," and rest!
In Cambridge, when we felt both kids were too big for a stroller, we sometimes traveled the mile from our apartment to our kids' preschool using a "little red wagon." We have become somewhat famous in the neighborhood for our use of this wagon (to which I hitched myself with a luggage strap, horse-and-wagon-style, to save wear and tear on my arms) and for walking everywhere. People often stop us, as you did this morning, to say that they have seen us walking with our kids everywhere, and that they think it's great.
When we first moved here in 2003, there was a huge snow-storm in November, and we pulled our kids from our building on Walden St. to the Kaya restaurant on Mass Ave. in a sled. Most people were house-bound that night because the streets and driveways were totally covered with snow. It was a fun adventure.
I hope this gives your readers some idea of what it is like to exist without a car. Our kids have never had one and are used to walking or taking public transit everywhere. We will be moving back to Ithaca, NY in the summer, and are hoping that our family will still be able to manage without a car.
-- Edith McCrea
