I've been reading all the posts on transportation, and decided,
acknowledging I will incur derision for what some may perceive as our
"privileged" lifestyle, to put in my perception. For those with a low
tolerance for personal trivia, please skip this message. For those who are
interested in a pretty typical mom's transportation schedule -
read on.
We live in the city and plan on staying here. My husband works on University
Ave. and drives because he goes to see clients, other business locations
etc. I am now a stay-at-home mom.
Our last week's schedule (which was typical) ran as follows:
Sat. - husband to office, me to kid's ballet class in Hopkins, then to
Target and Cub. Evening - Pick up babysitter in St. Louis Park, attend a
viewing in Bloomington and then go to dinner downtown. Take babysitter home.
Sunday - church and Sunday school. Afternoon, elementary school open house
in Hopkins, then child to birthday party.
Monday - husband to office St. Paul and to Eagan. Mom and child to
Ridgedale, library, Land's End Outlet and Toys R' Us. Evening - kid swim
class at Knollwood.
Tues. - husband to St. Cloud. Child to preschool. Mom downtown to doctor -
then to Uptown for haircut. Pick up kid, take kid to doctor near
Children's. Stop at drugstore on the way home for prescriptions. Evening -
meeting at prospective grade school for prospective families in north
Minneapolis.
Weds. - husband to office and downtown St. Paul for meeting. Child to
preschool. Mom to grocery store to pick up stuff Cub didn't have and to
post office Pick up child - home for lunch and then downtown to MacPhail
for music class. While child at class, run to Costco. Pick child
up, go to Calhoun Village to pay for piece of furniture. Evening - volunteer
meeting.
Thurs. - husband to office and then to Red Wing. Child to preschool. Mom
to Roseville to pick up piece of furniture. Pick up child - home for lunch,
then to South Minneapolis for playdate. Drop donation at Arc. Evening -
client dinner in Uptown, pick people up at Radisson Metrodome and return
them.
Fri. - husband to office, Mom and kid to North Minneapolis to drop off item
for repair. Cat to vet for shots, stop at florist and liquor store for Sat.
dinner party. Stop at market for food for party. Stop at Hallmark.
Evening - home.
OK - now I admit there are some trips that weren't necessary and some could
have been doubled up - but overall - where would LRT and busing have fit in
here? And it is too easy to sneer that the above looks like a privileged
life style so not applicable to some. Of course it's not - but there are
alot of parents out there like me - frantically running errands while our
kids
are in school and shuttling them around or frantically running as many
errands as we can stuff in after work or on our lunch hour. Trying to run a
household while our significant others travel, travel, travel. How does
this fit into the transportation equation?
When I worked downtown (for almost 20 years) - I took the bus when I could -
but usually didn't. Why? Because I could often be in the office until 7, 8
or 9 at night, I might go out after work, I might have errands to run on the
way
home, I might not go in until late the next day if I had finished a trial
and was exhausted. Also - my bus stop was six blocks away, and after
"peak", it only ran every hour. And - I'd often be carrying a briefcase or
two, files, maybe dry cleaning and traveling at night. Or I'd be in NY for a
day. Circumstances constantly changed. Carpooling was impossible. Which is
how it has continued for my husband. The people for whom mass transit works
best are those with stable, steady schedules, going to the same place
everyday, or for runs out to the airport. For the rest, it doesn't work as
well, particularly in a city so much less dense than (as someone has
suggested) Paris. Even if growth stopped today - we still have 100 or so
square mile of city(ies) to transverse (I just made that up - I have no idea
how big the metro area is). I don't see it shrinking either. Our jobs and
shopping and errands are not like in a population dense city like Manhattan,
where you can literally do everything entirely in your neighborhood or take
the subway anywhere. I have lived in NY - and the transit was great. I
have lived all over the Midwest, and it is not great anywhere you don't have
population density.
Please give people the benefit of the doubt that we do want to see great
transportation available for everyone and we don't just all want to be part
of the problem, racing our SUVs through freeway compromised neighborhoods.
Clearly - there are alot of options needed for differing circumstances -
some involving LRT, some busing, some street and highway travel. There are
obviously so many smart people reading this site, and so many knowledgeable
about policy issues. So what's the solution? And, no - sorry - I don't
accept slashing our mobility OR leaving that mobility only to "the
privileged" (whoever they are).
D. Klein
Kenwood
Ward 7
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