Low-Car Diet
When the cabbage is boiled down, most folk’s basic daily transportation needs fall into one of four categories: Work, Education, Shopping, and Medical. Of course there are others, but I’d say these four account for 80-90% of all trip generations. In Christiansburg, we are in a geographic epicenter/crossroads of most, if not all, of these mobility needs for the
If we as a Town are to maintain our quality of life and sustainability as a community, we must carefully consider the foregoing realities and look into our future to see what we can do better and/or differently to achieve these goals. And I’d say that a huge step in the right direction is to be thinking more about a “Low-Car Diet.”
Like the USDA Food Pyramid that we are all familiar with from our childhood, I’ll propose for this discussion that a Low-Car Diet is comprised of four major ‘food groups’, or alternative transportation options: Walking (the base of the pyramid), followed by Biking, Public Transit, and Carpool/Ridesharing (the pinnacle). I’ve seen different variations of this concept, but I like this one the best.
Walking and Bicycling are both topics I’ve talked about at length in previous discussions. Bottom Line: We can and must prioritize all forms of pedestrian and bicycle facilities, and the Town should lead by example.
Public Transportation: So what’s been done, what’s being done, and what should we do in the future as a Town to ensure that our resident’s transportation needs are met in an efficient, cost-effective, and environmentally responsible nature? Here are some highlights:
1) The Town of
2) The Smart Way Bus(www.smartway.org) started several years ago as a subsidiary of Valley Metro in
Carpool/Ridesharing: The following are present and future programs that the Town of
1 )Ride Solutions – A joint program of the Roanoke and New River Valley Planning District Commissions, this program allows any resident of Christiansburg, and the Region, to call and register for a carpool match in the area. This is an excellent program, funded mostly by the Virginia Department of Rails and Public Transportation, which has had significant positive impacts with carpooling, job retention, etc. For example, at the large Echostar facility in Christiansburg’s
2) Mobility Manager - The NRV Planning District Commission (NRVPDC) was recently awarded funds by the Department of Rail and Public Transit (DRPT) to embark on a Mobility Manager Pilot Project. The initial scope of the project is to identify barriers between human service transportation providers and determining methods to address efficiency in the delivery of their services to multiple clients. The project will kick-off in October/November and the goals are to increase coordination and ridership among the various agencies that already provide transportation services to sectors of our population.
And so, there's been notable progress and cooperation in some areas, and we must not be complacent when it comes to these objectives . We need to stay focused on providing more and better alternative transportation choices for our citizens.
Brad Stipes
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Reader Comments (11)
Thanks for the comments about RIDE Solutions, Brad. You might be interested to know that commuters making the journey between the Roanoke and New River Valleys - particularly those traveling between the Exit 140 Park and Ride in Salem and the Falling Branch Park and Ride in Christiansburg - make up the single largest percentage of any commute path. The SmartWay replaces some of these, but there's still an awful lot of driving.
I would also add that Christiansburg is also the residential hub since many folks move out to Cburg who work in BBurg.
I don't know what the solution would be for this, but I know that for me, taking the TTT is not an option since I have to drop my children off at daycare and the TTT does not stop near that center.
A buddy of mine who happens to live in C'burg just started working in Roanoke and rides the SmartWay four days a week. He's a computer professional and the SmartWay now offers Wi-fi on the bus. Those two hours he spends on the bus every day are now productive!! How cool is that?
this is very...........cool
Thanks for the input so far. Lisa describes a common shortcoming of public transit ... and a solution to this isn't coming to me easily. I'd like to hear from more folks on where you think we should head as a community wrt these and other initiatives.
Doesn't the TTT only run after 12:30pm each day? I would ride that to Bburg from Cburg and back every single day.... if i could get to work by 8AM!!
Mark - You are correct about the TTT schedule. It's not very practical for full-day commuters, is it? That's something to look into, and I will try to find out more. Thanks for the suggestion.
Your post is informative, however, I have few questions that perhaps you could answer.
1. What do the residents of say, Pulaski, Radford, Giles, Floyd who work in C-burg or B-Burg do when there are no nearby neighbors or colleagues who work in the same location? Obviously the transit is not an option for them. And carpooling could cause more infliction than solution for those who must be readily mobile during the day (i.e. real estate agents, delivery persons, etc.)
2. I find time and time again what is being lost in this so called "green movement" of reduced transportation, is the construction industry. Not only new and existing construction, but repairmen, delivery vehicles, emergency vehicles and the like. I cannot see how mass transit, biking, walking or the like can get a quarter of a ton, of say, roofing materials to a job site. Or how a "green car,” bicycle, or TTT can get building materials to a new development.
We are but a small cog in the greatness that is America, but if we are to continue to build our country and our future, while maintaining our way of life, "in the pursuit of life, liberty, and happiness," we must realize most of the residents of this community, unfortunately, are not open to your pyramid. Most residents are not willing to sacrifice the one true freedom we all have in this government, and that is to transport ourselves freely and quickly based on our terms.
The need of so many Mont. Co. residents to see the problem as a social cause to bring us together on the bus or in the car or on the street, is not a mindset shared by the majority. Frankly most hardworking NRV’ers see the drive time they possess as a time to unwind and clear their thoughts. Both of which would be hindered by the situations you have presented here.
We must work on alternative ways that benefit all citizens. Until there is a solution regarding fossil fuels, I feel the localities of the NRV should provide a subsidy and/or tax breaks on the cost of fossil fuels. Others may chose to bike or bus to work. For the majority of us though, we need to continue to utilize our already invested in infrastructure of the auto-mobile. Perhaps hydrogen or electric or solar powered cars will alleviate our dependence in the future, but the thought that gasoline consumption is equated to a cigarette addiction is false. For our economy, our culture, society, and future success, gasoline is not so much an addiction as it is a necessity. It is to the economy what breathing is to the body. It has been clearly defined that way over the last year.
Austin,
You make some good points that I will try to address, though I'm not sure I have good answers!
1. Rural areas face a particularly tough challenge when it comes to managing transportation demand. The easy answer is, of course, "Move closer to the city," though this is neither practical nor reasonable for most people. That said, we are beginning to see some general contraction in living patterns as people begin to move back into the urban area - residential space in Downtown Roanoke, for example, is booming and filling up fast. Trips being reduced there can help offset the trips that can't be reduced elsewhere.
The New River Valley Planning District Commission is also studying the park-and-ride network in the rural area. Park-and-rides, whether formal or informal, can help reduce at least some of the mileage people drive each day by providing a halfway point to meet. It seems that this is probably the best option for Pulaksi, Giles, Radford, Floyd, etc. to provide a carpool option.
There is also the possibility for some kind of regional commuter bus, though to operate such a thing would require the cooperation (and likely funding) of local businesses as well as governments; cooperation primarily in the form of regularizing shift schedules and allowing for some flexibility for workers coming and going, and then providing some operating subsidy. This is also something the NRV PDC is looking at.
2.Absolutely there are certain jobs that require the use of a car during the day, making transit or carpooling not an option. The easy answer to this is, "OK, let's concentrate on those jobs that CAN do without a car to offset those who can't." It's also important to recognize that changing transportation behavior doesn't have to be an all-or-nothing change; that is, if a commuter decided to make one or two days a week "bus day" or "carpool day," it would be easy enough to schedule meetings on other days and use the carpool day to concentrate on in-office work.
Some communities have also instituted carsharing programs, such as that offered by Zipcar, which can provide an affordable transportation option for folks needing a car during the day. Generally, the cost of a monthly bus pass combined with a Zipcar membership is still less than a car payment, insurance, etc., and still keeps many miles off the road.
Finally, its important to note that commute miles are only a small percentage of the miles people drive. It might be more lucrative to look at the miles spent doing errands, shopping, for recreation, etc. and see if through trip-chaining, bicycling, transit, etc. those vehicle miles can be replaced. It's easy to get stuck on commute miles because they're often long and regular, but all the short trips we can can easily add up to more than our work commute.
I'm not sure that subsidizing gasoline is the way to go now, as it is only now that alternative energy forms are becoming cost-competitive and are receiving the influx of investment they need to grow and reduce their costs. Doing anything to take that pressure away will mean simply postponing the day that fossil fuels become prohibitively expensive, while meanwhile continuing the environmental and air quality degradation we're already burdened with
Thank you for such a thoughtful and much needed conversation starter. Our children deserve better than we have now in terms of air quality and life quality. So many of the transportation ideas you present not only address energy issues, but provide opportunities to get to know our neighbors and build communities into close-knit havens for future generations to enjoy! Thank you for keeping important issues in the forefront!
Gretchen, thanks for your comments. It's nice to hear community support for these initiatives.