Not surprised.
Commuting to high school was a pain in the butt. It was worth it, but I dreaded the commute. To this day, I cannot stand commuting. However, my current commute, in living not only out of the area but out of the region, is fortunately a bike commute. I will not forget the toils of commuting back and forth to school, to ice hockey practices, to work, and even to ice hockey practices as a coach once I graduated college. The commute in Washington, DC is horrendous. It is so horrendous that I would take a cold New England winter over a very long commute.
Yes, all 110 inches of snow.
I do not want to commute in 60 minutes of traffic during any point of the commuting day. What's your opinion?
What can long commuters do to combat the conundrum of commuting? You have heard of getting in exercise during the day. Yea, but there is still the commute. You have heard of adjusting your seat, buying those seat beads that kind of massage your back as you sit and listen to the morning or evening radio show or to your iPod. You have even heard of the suggestions to leave work early in the evening or detouring in the morning. Yea, but the commute is still there; and the detours are backed up too! Well, may be it is time to consider some cost-saving extremes such as walking, bicycling, and water taxi.
Perhaps?
May be it is time to stretch your non-driving boundary. Ask yourself how far would you live away from your job that would prevent you from bicycling in? Is it 10 miles out? 15 miles? 5 miles out? Remember: you have to double your distance for the return trip home. Does it cost more for you to bike 10 miles, then it does to drive 10 miles? Is it safe enough to bike to work?
It is time for local governments to tackle commuting obstacles. It is time for multiple bicycling and walking trails that reach, if possible, ten to 20 miles outside of the metropolis. Picture the city as a clock. Have trails at 12 o'clock, 3 o'clock, 6, and 9 from the center of the city, for example. If an area cannot stretch its trails to 10 miles, then have little trails connecting to the next safest routes. Health is promoted. Fitness is promoted. Paying more attention to a cities' resources is promoted. Usage of these resources is promoted.
Why certain major U.S. cities do not use waterways as access to public transportation boggles my mind.
Bicycling or walking to work would cut down on costs, emissions, traffic, frustration, 'case of the Mondays', and more.
With heart,
Derek
Derek Arledge, MS, CSCS www.teempt.com TEEM Performance Training
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