The title of this post references the old adage, “When all you have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail.” This saying is especially true when it comes to transportation in suburban Ottawa.
If all you have is a car, everything looks like a drive.
I have come to reject this car-dependent framing, not because I think cars should play no role in the suburban transportation network. Instead, I believe that more viable transportation options—walking, public transit, cycling—will give residents more tools to make sustainable choices when getting around their communities. Coupled with relaxing zoning restrictions to allow small businesses like cafes or convenience stores to exist near where most people live, this creates a recipe for making it possible for some people to go about their daily routines without needing a car.
I often use the following line when discussing transportation in my suburb with friends and acquaintances: “If you’re sitting in stop-and-go traffic on the highway, do you want more car, less car, or the same amount of car?” Even if begrudgingly, everyone ultimately tells me they want fewer cars. Despite the fact that many suburban residents aren’t ready to personally use their own vehicles less (or get rid of one if they have multiple), hopefully, most people can get behind the idea that someone else should theoretically drive less, even selfishly.
Building on the Metaphor
I’d like to revisit the hammer/nail metaphor from earlier. Imagine you have been given a hammer and are now wandering around a construction site hitting things with it. From your perspective, this is perfectly reasonable, and to be honest, it’s literally all you can do. You have no other options. It doesn’t necessarily make sense to hit a screw or try to cut drywall with a hammer, but you’re making the best of what you have.
Now, imagine the foreman comes along and shows you a workbench with a screwdriver set, some wrenches, a saw, a belt sander—a whole shop full of different tools with different purposes. Suddenly, you don’t have to use a hammer for everything. You can use a variety of tools to get the job done better. I’ll also point out that even though you have a whole workshop of tools laid out in front of you, sometimes you still actually need a hammer.
Transportation Options
Now we can bring this metaphor back into the real world and apply it to our transportation network. In a suburban environment where walking, cycling, public transportation, and more are all supported, made safer, and encouraged where appropriate, there is less car traffic to get stuck in. You might be able to sell or not buy/finance that second or third family car. You might actually appreciate having a network of sidewalks and paths, bus or bike lanes, real transportation options that meet a variety of needs.
Of course, the final lesson of the metaphor is the most important to keep in mind. Even in an environment with many transportation options, sometimes, for some people, a car/van/truck may be the most sensible option for a particular trip. When my family of five goes to a restaurant five kilometers away in a minivan, or I am helping a friend move and letting them use my truck, these are the most sensible transportation options for those trips. However, the same can’t be said for a solo grocery trip 1.5 km away for a few items, visiting a friend a few blocks over, or taking the kids to swim lessons across the highway. Another huge example would be taking your personal vehicle alone 10-20+ km to work and back each day on a route literally thousands of other people are already taking at the exact same time as you.
A Multi-Modal Network
The transportation systems that underpin the vehicle network already have lots of room for modularity (rear/roof racks, trailers, fold-down seats, taxis/rideshare, rental cars/vans, car seats, etc.) because not every driving situation requires the same tools. The same can be true for a multi-modal transportation network. You can complement the long list of motor vehicle modularity above with accessible public transit, city or cargo bikes with baskets or panniers, bike trailers, bikeshare, wide, well-maintained and connected sidewalks and paths—the list goes on. By focusing on and primarily funding (and subsidizing) only the car network in the suburbs, we are missing an opportunity to make use of a whole toolbox full of different options to get around.
The next time you see someone advocating for more transportation options in the suburbs, keep in mind that since the dawn of the automobile, nobody in their right mind has ever suggested that personal or professional vehicles should not be allowed anywhere or for any reason. The staunchest active and public transportation advocates all understand and acknowledge that options are a good thing and cars, vans, and trucks of all sizes in moderation are a vital part of a healthy and accessible modern city when necessary. However, the dose makes the poison, and if these are your ONLY transportation options, you’re going to experience the downsides (traffic, cost, pollution, crashes) as well as the advantages (comfort, flexibility, convenience, at least by certain measures) of car dependency. Life is a process of balancing tradeoffs, and we as a community can choose resiliency and sustainability over instant convenience and perceived independence from one another (boy do I have thoughts on this) if we so choose.
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