We’re spending Christmas with my family in southern California. As is our custom, we stay at the home of my younger sister and brother-in-law near Thousand Oaks in Ventura County. It’s a great area with hills and mountains all around and lots of open space directly adjoining the neighborhood. Although I was born and raised in the Los Angeles area, I’ve been gone for over 25 years. As a result, I’m invariably struck by cultural differences between San Francisco and here whenever I visit. One of those differences has to do with walking.
It’s safe to say that this is an affluent area. Around here, walking is a form of exercise for people who have both the time and means to participate in “leisure activities”. In San Francisco, walking is a vital component of the transportation system. Here there are sidewalks everywhere, but apart from residential areas, you rarely see people using them. Due to the relative distance between “destinations” and the prevalence of large parking lots, the automobile is far and away the most important mode of transportation. This means that public transit is essentially an afterthought – used primarily by the hundreds of domestic workers who can be seen congregating at local bus stops in the late afternoon and evening. In general, the public transportation policy here reflects the relative lack of influence these people have on the political system. I’m not being critical of this area, just observant – after all, many of the suburbs around the Bay Area are similar.
In San Francisco, we always weigh the “drive or don’t drive” question in terms of how much traffic/congestion there will be, if any parking is available, and if it is – how far we have to walk from where we park to our destination. Certain destinations are no-brainer, “public transit” only – where walking is a large component of “getting there”. In San Francisco, many people with sufficient means to do so don’t even own cars – they use public transit. As such, public transportation is actively supported by people who have influence on the political system. This “tide” of support floats all boats, including those filled with the poor and working poor. I don’t kid myself that people’s motives in San Francisco are more altruistic than elsewhere, it’s just that there are sometimes unintended benefits to others that result from our personal actions.
We’re fortunate enough to have it both ways. We enjoy walking as a leisure activity (including walking on the golf course!), but understand from personal experience that it’s also an important component of the overall transportation system. Hopefully, this influences our choices and actions.
