By Russell Sydney Santa Monica
It is definitely time to rethink how we approach the transport issues for our downtown area. The price of gasoline continues to change rapidly and there are strong indications this will continue. Why else would a conservative oil man president be talking about our oil addiction as a threat to our economy and our national security?
Relieving parking demands only makes sense when we also relieve the congestion that goes with it. That means getting more people to their desired destination without using cars. We would be better served to spend the cities resources to favor people using smaller vehicles like bicycles, motor scooters and mobility scooters. Locals can use these to get to downtown without having to use their cars. These vehicles require from one-tenth to one-fourth the parking resources and use less imported oil.
I drive an electric motor scooter and never have problems parking and it is usually less than a half a block from my destination. Not only that, but the roads are never so congested that I cannot move easily and quickly around town.
In addition, we can improve public transport so that the people who work in downtown can get there quickly and easily without needing a car. As a local busi-nessperson who has to keep workers on the job from up to 30 miles away, I see how difficult that is becoming. Entry-level workers are hard-pressed to afford the fuel for their commute and they certainly cannot afford to move to this part of town. That problem will only get more pronounced as we compete for limited oil supplies with countries like India and China.
There is a group of people in town that is working through the Sustainable Transport Club to make these kinds of solutions a reality. It will take lots of us to get this new approach to work so feel free to contact us at www.sustainabletrans-portclub.com or ride your bicycle down to see us at the Earth Day event in downtown on April 15.
In the meantime it is good to know that Councilmember (Kevin) McKeown and the Daily Press are bringing this issue out for debate. We can no longer accept gasoline-powered cars as the only, or even the best, transport solution.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on March 21, 2006. Read the original PDF.