Letters to the Editor
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From the other side: Small towns and driving
All the discussion here is centered on big-city/suburb life. One of the many beautiful things about living in a smaller town (say 4,000 to 10,000) is that you simply don't need to drive. There is nowhere I need to be, in town, that is more than a 15-minute bike ride or half-hour walk.
In some ways, living the small-town life is easier than ever. Online work, online shopping, and online communities.
Unfortunately, everyone here drives every day, even though they very rarely get more than two miles from home. We have the same parking hell as the rest. Urban jealousy? Automotive addiction? Nuts is what I call it.
The other sadness is that one is basically stuck in my town without a car. Until WWII, there were eight railroad departures a day (several of them "doodlebugs", solo self-propelled railcars... brilliant). Through the 70s, there were several busses a day. Finally, as of two years back, even Greyhound breezes by on the interstate, and you have to go 40 miles to get on it.