More pedestrians, less cars

A spontaneous crowd of pedestrians often generates excitement.  A spontaneous crowd of automobiles often generates road rage.

CoolTowns are about creating destinations for pedestrians, planned and unplanned.  However, how is that possible in such an auto-dominated landscape?  The primary solution is best stated by the CEO of Ford Motor Company, in yesterday’s blog - live in the city.

The next best thing is to share.  Car sharing, which Ford also sees as the

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“If you live in a city, you don’t need to own a car.“

“If you live in a city, you don’t need to own a car.“ William Clay Ford Jr., CEO, Ford Motor Company Ltd. October 2000

The following excerpt from the UK Observer provides the context for Bill Ford’s statement that puts a so-called auto-dependent nation in perspective:

[The company is also repositioning itself as a purveyor of mobility. “The day will come when the notion of car ownership becomes antiquated. If you live in a city, you

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The Washington Post is having quite the CoolTown run lately…

Out of the Driver’s Seat : Arlington Residents Increasingly Choose to Shift Into a Carless Lifestyle (Washington Post)
By Chris L. Jenkins, November 17, 2003 (link expires Dec. 1)

More and more people in Arlington County, VA are going carless - and guess what?  According to the article, they’re very happy.  I can vouch for that since I know a few of them myself.

Percentages of carless

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What are CoolTown-oriented shoes?

What’s a typical week in a health-oriented town?There really is such a thing, in my opinion.  Once I got ‘urban dress/walking shoes’, I found myself getting twice as much exercise.

Go to Nike and look up “prestos”.  My shoe expert of a friend recommended I get these when I asked him if there was such a thing as shoes I could go to a meeting with, and run in.  Well, for my sake, these shoes are just that!  Not only do I wear these to business meetings, but I

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Yes, CoolTown transportation is very affordable

Since the price of shoes today is typically over $100, maybe not (unless you know someone who works at Footlocker like I do).  There’s even CoolTown shoes for walking commuters, which I’ll cover down the road.

For regular readers of the blog or those familiar with the concept, you’re probably more than aware of the walkable theme.  Cars in CoolTowns are often actually more hindrance than help, and when they’re truly needed, ownership can be

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The average person avoids waiting more than 5 minutes for transit.  That’s a study that renowned traffic consultant Nick Poulos of Poulos & Chung (no web site) of Toronto, Canada presented, and is the reason why Toronto’s streetcar is so successful.  The subway in Washington DC has about a 5-minute wait during rush hour, and I can’t tell you how great it is not to wait more than 5 minutes.  San Jose’s fairly new light rail system has a 10-minute wait (common for light rail) and isn’t overly

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Cool mobility: Convertible skates

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Cool mobility: I want a car… sometimes

In a pedestrian-oriented town, it’d be nice if you had a car to do the occasional big errand, picking up friends at the airport or going out on a date.  However, the frustration of finding parking and getting parking tickets is usually too much to bear.

So I tried Zipcar.  I made a quick online reservation, walked a few blocks, waved a ‘smartcard’ at the windshield and opened the keyless door.  Away I went, and back I came, right to the Zipcar’s

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If you don’t want to get yelled at, don’t ride it on the sidewalks in the city.

If you want to look cool riding a Segway, you’ll have to ride it in the streets.  That way, the public perception will be that you’re someone who’s triumphed over traffic congestion, saved thousands by not buying a car and is starting a trend for pedestrian-oriented streets.  However, if you ride it on sidewalks, people will give you looks like you’re lazy, have way too much money for your own good and simply

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People and parking: Like being stuck in a bad relationship

Just ask anyone who recently got a parking ticket. To quote Mark Frauenfelder, “It works on some level, and so you don’t want to make that jump and take the effort to do it, but then once you do it, you realize you should have done it a long time ago.“  Unfortunately, for many of us there aren’t any better prospects.

People who live in the coolest towns (Manhattan, Chicago, Seattle, Paris, Singapore, Prague) rarely own (or need) a

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