Urban Folks don't need to Drive (as much)

How to not drive.

We did not get into our local cooperative preschool. It is the one that is just one mile away, so I figured we would be able to walk most of the time. We did not get into the one that is a ten -minute drive either.

I am disappointed not to get to have the community from these cooperative preschools. However, there is a side of me that thinks I might have dodged the first step to being a “soccer mom” --driving the kids everywhere. We truly work at being an undriving family. One of the reasons that being in a big city can be ecologically better than living in a suburb or the country is because of shared resources and in particular less use of cars. However, Seattle is not New York City and here children are often hauled around in cars on a daily basis.

I had chosen cooperative preschools to apply to that were along mass transit and was willing to take this form of transportation when biking or walking was not an option. However, mass transit with twin toddlers is not the easiest. We try to do it on a weekly basis to get to our Parent Child class at the Community College and at this point the bus still involves a stroller as it takes me five blocks of walking to get to the bus stop. Then the maneuvering onto the bus can be a challenge. It is wonderful that as we become regulars the driver expects us and even holds onto the boys hands as I load the stroller. But, the flow of events requires a lot of energy and planning in order to catch a timely bus- so I appreciate that it is not a daily occurrence.

The reality is that our cities still have a ways to go in preparing our youth for an undriving future. One of my goals in the upcoming years is to continue to advocate for families without cars while also connecting our children to nature. In May another local mother and I will be starting our Family Nature Club. We will be meeting at a location right off a busline. I hope you can join us. Details coming soon!