The price of life... and fuel.

I’ve been thinking a bit about people and their cars. I’ve decided that, chances are, if you have and use a car I might hate you. Last weekend when I filled up the gas tank on the way out to the suburbs I was startled to notice that gas was $1.50 per litre. Folks tend to be very self-centred about their car use. Many are unwilling to curtail driving in the face of skyrocketing gas costs, even if it means cutting back on life’s little pleasures like food and shelter. That may be too bad for you, but that’s not really going to be a problem for me. I don't drive much, you see.

Get ready because I’m gonna be all smug here. My wife and I made some choices over ten years ago that many folks are talking about these days. What is trendy and green now was just common sense to us back then. When we were house hunting, we looked around out in Surrey and considered some massive places that we could likely have afforded. They were usually about twice the square footage of similarly-priced homes in East Vancouver (where we were renting at the time). Every time we drove out to the 'burbs to look at places, we were caught in the soul-sapping, psyche-crushing, resource-slurping, time-gobbling vortex known as the "commute up the Fraser Valley". Holy snapping assholes, what a grind! Wifey and I tallied up the financial cost in fuel and vehicle maintenance, along with the lifestyle cost of three hours per day on the road. We decided a bigger house in the 'burbs was way too expensive, even though it was supposedly cheaper. We dismissed buying a mega-home far away from our real lives (ie. employment, friends and social activities) and "settled" for a smaller home, in an inner city neighbourhood, from which commuting was unnecessary. My wife walks to work. I use my bicycle. Our Volvo is used for shopping trips, visits to family (in the 'burbs), and kid and dog wrangling. The poor Volvo can go for days of sexual frustration where the key never slides into the ignition. It can go weeks without the lovely penetration of the gas nozzle into the receptive, eager and thirsty tank.

What's that, you say? "Oh Tim, don't be so self-centred. You have no idea what I'm up against. I can't afford a home in the city". I call bullshit. What you can’t afford is the same home in the city that you can in the suburbs... Or you are unwilling to move your work and social life to the suburbs where you want to have your house. I know it’s a cliché but sometimes you can’t have it both ways.

It's all about choices, and my wife and I made a decision 12 years ago that provided us with adequate living space, a tenant downstairs, a massive mortgage, and a positive, sustainable lifestyle. For many, especially today, the cost of a detached home in Vancouver is way too high to consider. But... there are still condos and townhomes and apartments that, while smaller, can accommodate modern, thoughtful families. Forgive me if I get all twitchy because it's this sprawling, consumer-driven desire for "more" that tosses folks Hell out and beyond, into what used to be agricultural land. (You know… where we used to grow food before we started trucking it in.) That would be okay with me if you were satisfied with the fact that you will be forced to deal with the isolation and traffic that is part of that decision. Your big new house in Surrey/Langley/Abbotsford has inadequate infrastructure and transit to support the burgeoning community. The developers are very happy to make money on new housing but the municipalities don’t seem to clue into the fact that people are going to actually live there. You'll have to get into the car and drive 5 klicks on the 6-lane highway just to go buy groceries "downtown" (which is really a massive, strip-mall built around runway-style road systems).

When you realize that you don't like the long, crowded commute from your sweet acre of home, you lobby the pinheads in Victoria. The right-wing, car oriented Government likes the colour of your vote, so they decide to double the highways and bridges from your ‘hood into mine. Now, because you believe that you couldn’t “afford” to live near your work, I get to enjoy increased highway-style commuter traffic blazing through my little historic Vancouver community. There are merry mountains of taxpayer dollars being spent to widen a road (mostly for the use of single-occupant vehicles) that will only fill up in no time anyway. Because you want a bigger home in the burbs, because you won't "settle" for something smaller, affordable, and kinder to the planet, we all pay for your private chariot ride through my community. The enabling of your car culture hurts the planet, the urban landscape, and your lifestyle, yet for some reason we allow it. Of course, if you moved to the suburbs to live and work there, I have no beef with you. That’s what people should be doing.

So, now you say… “Ow, the price of gas is killing me. I can’t afford to drive!!” My response can only be… What the Hell did you think would happen? In all your life have you ever seen the price of gas go down? Did your long-term plan of suburban life and daily commuting take into account the fact that UP was the only direction your costs could ever go?

The best bit is that now some of you are actually forced to look at transit as an option because otherwise you won’t be able to pay the mortgage on your big home in the country. Surprise! Now you’re finding out that transit sucks because the “Powers That Be” have only ever funded it to be acceptable to the bottom of the barrel. Up until now only the poor, the elderly, the immigrants, and the students were expected to take transit. You know... the folks with no money or political clout. The right kind of voters were always expected to supply their own ride. Transit in the GVRD is designed to keep people moving only to the point of avoiding unrest and anarchy… no more. I am very grateful for how badly the bus sucks in Vancouver because it turned me into the avid cyclist that I am today. I have good cardio and strong legs because you can’t pay me enough to take the bus.

Wait, wait... before you go getting all zappy with me, I will admit that I am in no way beyond reproach when it comes to my cars. Chances are you’ll find fault with me, too. Oh yeah… I need the Volvo station wagon and I see no reason to stop using it even though the price for fuel is, well... pretty freaking noticeable. Sometimes I feel guilty for the quick jaunts I make in the car, knowing I should just walk or bike. It’s that decadent, car-oriented lifestyle and I’m certainly a part of it. I even own a gas guzzling classic car that is currently parked because I can’t afford to put it on the road. See… choices.

People say that only the wealthy can afford to live in Vancouver these days. I disagree. I see young families in smaller apartments with no cars here. Comparatively, some of the lifestyles I see in the outlying areas look very opulent and excessive to me. There’s a certain kind of greed that fuels people to make strange choices so that they can have more house, more stuff, and more stress while they live in the ‘burbs and make the trek every freaking single day. I’ve had friends who did it for years. When one of them got off the treadmill he was absolutely amazed at the positive change in his life. I encourage you to do the same. It’ll leave more money in your bank account and more time to spend with friends and family. It’ll also be better for the planet.

Oh, and for any of you who think I'm all "Mr. Green", I will confess, for your pleasure, that I do not even compost.... yet.