Digging a Deeper Hole

"If you find yourself in a hole, the first thing you need to do is stop diggin'".
                                                                           -Old Cowboy Wisdom

   Sometimes we just don't notice how programmed we are to just accept certain things in life as
the "way they are", and don't stop to question "why" more. Today's headline news in Atlanta is an example of this:

FIRST RUSH HOUR FOR HOT LANES

 "On Monday, for the first time, Atlanta commuters can choose to dodge congestion by using toll lanes. Optional toll lanes opened over the weekend on I-85's HOV lanes in Gwinnett County, and their first big test is Monday morning rush hour. From Old Peachtree Road in Gwinnett to Chamblee Tucker Road in DeKalb, commuters, even solo drivers, can enter the lanes to leave the traffic jam on the rest of the highway. But they will have to pay a fee, which will rise and fall with congestion."

What they aren't telling you in the news article is that the toll, one way, would be an average of $6.00 if you go the entire distance. Which means $12.00 per day. Assume 5 days a week, 4 weeks per month, and now it's a fairly hefty $240.00 a month. Depending on congestion, the costs may be even higher.

If you have ever tried to deal with traffic in the Greater Atlanta area, you know what a mess it is here. Too many people, in too many cars, and most of them are one car to a person. Mass transportation is limited, and the attitude of the Georgia DOT is that bicycling is a "leisure" activity and not a true legitimate transportation alternative.

I have seen letters to the editor comparing bicycling to traveling to work by hang-gliding, and other reports suggesting it takes the "skill of a stuntman" to ride a bicycle in city traffic. Small wonder that all transportation solutions focus on automobile initiatives. Our public transportation system, MARTA, had many bus lines eliminated last year. And fares for the subway have just been increased by 25%.

It's not just here. The Milwaukee County Transportation budget is being slashed 45% by one of the new Governors elected in the tidal wave backlash against "excess spending". Right idea, but the wrong way to fix it. But, that's another subject, for another day.

So all this does, collectively, is just dig the hole deeper.  100 years of cultural conditioning in the US, and particularly the Southeast, have brought us to this situation - you need to have an automobile, and you need to drive it everywhere. Run out of room on the highways? No problem - build more highways. No room for more highways - no problem - start excluding people if they can't pay a toll. Can't afford to keep supporting the system? No problem - slash mass transportation spending. Just keep the cars running.

This is all sad, and seems like one more step down the road to creating an ever-greater divide in the US between the so-called "haves" and the "have-nots". This sort of solution completely ignores the fact that growth is what created this problem - growth in automobile ownership, and consequentially growth in highways. Trying to solve the problem by doing more of what created the problem, is just not the solution.

As a society, we need to get away from this model. However, changing the mindset of an entire culture is difficult, and time-consuming. And politics are involved.  As individuals, we can make the change far easier. Cutting back to one car - and even better - no car families - is a change we can individually choose to make.

The first step for anyone interested in eliminating their automobile use is overcoming the "cultural momentum" of  automobile ownership. We have all been indoctrinated - intentionally so - that we all need to own our own personal cars, and drive everywhere. The structures of most of our cities and suburbs have been designed - or redesigned - to this ideal. Mass transportation funds are cut, or eliminated. Bicycle riding is marginalized as just a sport, or only a leisure time activity.

The first step is to realize this situation is going on, and then resolve to make the change. Just like in the movie "The Matrix" -  you have a choice. You can take the Blue Pill, and keep driving you car everywhere, spending more money every year, contributing to a System that is on overload and ready to fall apart under it's own weight. Or you can take the Red Pill, ride a bicycle, learn to live more locally, spend money smarter, reconnect with the world, and  - just maybe  - insulate yourself against a collapse of things.

It's your choice. What will you do?