Arlington's Car-Free Diet Blog

Car Free in Cleveland

My husband and I moved to Portland, Oregon in May 2006 on a whim and sold our car right before moving. We traveled around Portland during our time there (through September 2007) entirely by transit, which was very easy to do because Portland has such a great transit system.

Upon moving back to Ohio for family reasons, we thought we'd need to get a car right away, but haven't yet because we realized we had gotten so used to our public transit lifestyle, that we felt no need to buy a car. It's all a matter of re-prioritizing and time management. No, grocery shopping isn't one big trip on the weekends; it's a number of smaller trips throughout the week. Going to Cleveland's West Side Market isn't a quick five minute drive, but it's a 20 minute bus ride that takes us through a really cool neighborhood.

We do carpool from time to time with friends to get places, but for the most part, it's walking and public transit for us and we honestly wouldn't have it any other way.

Clara Sayre, Lakewood, OH

Commute from Arlington to Tysons on Bike

I bike to work in Tysons Corner four or five days a week (23 miles roundtrip), year round. I keep a list of mass transit options handy for days it snows/ices while at work so I can easliy get to a bus or Metro to get home. Walk to most places in the neighborhood for food, etc., and try to limit my big grocery/Target runs to once every couple weeks. My wife walks to work as well.

Matt Robinson, Arlington,VA

Car-Free for Exercise and the Environment

I have lived car-free in Arlington for three years and believe it creates the best exercise I could engage in while I reduce my carbon footprint significantly.

One of the best tools I use is the weeknight 7:02 4A Metrobus to Culmore. This runs right in front of my apartment and drops me two blocks from my destination, the UU Church of Arlington, where I have many meetings that all begin at 7:30 pm.

For Earth Day 2008, our Environmental Committee at church will ask every member to take alternative transportation at least once during the month of April. We have created an account with "iCarPool" service and hope to enroll at least 400 people in the next year.

Laura Dely, Arlington, VA

Biking, not driving, in Toronto

I primarily walk and use public transit already, but I am taking a bike repair course and fixing up my old bike so that I can bike places and rely less on buses and subways. As soon as the snow melts, I plan to start biking on all of my trips.

Lauren Butler, Toronto, ON, Canada