Sans Car

A lot of my neighbors don’t understand how I can ride my bike nearly everywhere.  So I’ve made a list of available services within a five mile radius.  Now I have a lot of problems with the area I live in but accessibility isn’t one of them.

 

Within 1 mile:

1 Convenience store

7 restaurants

1 Sports Authority

2 parks

1 Circuit City

1 Office Depot

1 Toy store

1 Post Office

1 Day Care center

And soon 1 performing arts center

 

Within 2 miles:

All of the above plus:

1 Bike shop

1 Bagel Shop

1 Coffee Shop

1 Barnes and Noble

3 Sandwich shops

1 Boston Market

5 more restaurants

2 Drug Stores

1 Supermarket

3 Athletic clubs

1 Post Office

1 Multiplex

2 shopping malls

1 Bus Transfer station

Numerous office buildings

 

Within 3 miles

There’s so much within three miles I can’t even begin to list it all.

 

That being said this area is rather hilly so 3 miles is a good ride but it’s certainly doable by anyone with a modicum of fitness.  So why is that people still refuse to get out of their cars for these short trips?  Certainly there’s an environmental factor.  In the summer it’s tough to walk your dog without building up a sweat much less ride a fully loaded bike to the store.  But I think the real reason is mostly cultural.  Atlanta’s a car town, we’ve got some of the worst traffic in the nation and still people resist any kind of public transportation.  Maybe Atlanta needs 5 dollar a gallon gas to change the way we move.  Or then again maybe that wouldn’t do it either.