The car-light life: How Philadelphians are rethinking their rides
Car-free living isn’t for everyone. Here’s why some Philadelphians are opting for a “car-light” approach without completely giving up their vehicles – and how other drivers can do the same.
A growing number of Americans are opting out of driving, embracing a car-free lifestyle. Approximately 10% of US adults rarely or never drive a vehicle, including 6% who report not driving at all, according to the Pew Research Center. Some adults cannot afford the many expenses of car ownership, including car payments, insurance, and routine maintenance. Others intentionally choose to embrace this lifestyle because it’s easier, cheaper, and more sustainable.
However, a car-free lifestyle isn’t realistic for everyone. Factors like lack of public transit options (especially as SEPTA is expected to make cuts), job requirements, and commute times make it difficult for many Americans to live without a car.
But it doesn’t have to be all or nothing. In Philadelphia, a number of residents are embracing a car-light lifestyle that allows them to use their car without relying on it for everything.
A mecca for Car-light living
As a major city with numerous public transit options and walkable streets, Philly is the perfect testing ground for what a car-light lifestyle could look like.
USA Today recently ranked Philadelphia first place as the most walkable city for the second year-in-a row, beating out East Coast neighbors like New York, Boston, and Washington, D.C.
Margaret Mahoney, a Pennsport resident who owns a car but primarily gets around by bike and on foot, says she only drives when absolutely necessary.
“If you drive your car a couple of times a week for important trips, then leave it when you’re going less than a mile, you feel better,” she said. “Traffic brings out the worst in people. There’s no better feeling than seeing a street backed up with car traffic, and you’re just zipping by on your bike.”
Mahoney notes that owning a car is useful for grocery shopping, picking up items in bulk for her partner who owns a small business, and getting to neighborhoods that are less accessible from her home. “I recently drove to Manayunk to pick up a bike and drove it back to my house,” she explained.
On the other side of Broad Street, Calvin Temoshok of Point Breeze is reaping the rewards of living car-light. He commutes from his house to Jefferson and Penn hospitals for work, and just about everything he needs is within that radius.
“My whole life is contained in this triangle. I can bike, walk, or take the bus to wherever I need to go,” he said. “I’ve been really leaning into that lifestyle.”
Temoshok takes advantage of buses and has recently bought a bike, but he prefers to walk whenever possible.
“Walking around South Philly, you see all the evidence of decades of human activity,” he said. “The row houses look pretty similar at first glance, but when you look closely, you see how different they are. That’s something you don’t notice until you walk through it. When I walk, I am way happier. I feel more connected to my city and my neighbors.”
Car-light living also saves a lot of time, Temoshok said. “Biking is almost always the fastest mode of transportation, which was surprising to me when I first started bike commuting.”
He used to spend an entire weekend day doing errands, but now he does everything on his way home from work. That is, unless he’s making Korean food for dinner. “I use my car to drive out to the Asian supermarkets in New Jersey,” he said. “That’s where the best Kimchi is.”
Benefits of a “car-light” lifestyle
Car-free and car-light lifestyles aren’t just cheaper and more pleasant – they can improve the health of our community. The World Health Organization estimates that approximately 1.19 million people die each year as a result of traffic crashes (not to mention hundreds of thousands of non-fatal injuries).
Car-reliance also impacts the air we breathe. In Philly, motor vehicles account for 60% of total air pollution, which is more deadly than secondhand smoke.
How can more Philadelphians become less reliant on their cars? Temoshok said banning cars on certain streets would be a good start.
Philadelphia already has the foundation to make carless streets a reality. Center City District’s Open Streets series, which closed Walnut Street to cars for four Sundays in the fall, resulted in an increase in foot traffic to local businesses in the area, The Philadelphia Citizen reported. This summer, the program expanded into the Midtown Village neighborhood, closing six blocks to cars on Sundays between 11 a.m. and 5 p.m.
Given the success of these pilot programs, it’s easy to see a future where some of Philadelphia’s streets are closed to cars year-round.
Elizabeth Crisswell, who moved to Philadelphia from Portland, Oregon, and leads a car-light lifestyle, says that increasing driver education is key to building a city that encourages people to walk or bike.
“In Portland, a driver’s first instinct is to check the bike lane before turning, but many people don’t do that here,” she said. “I want to feel safe biking, but that starts with drivers following the rules of the road.”
When it comes to alternative transit, not all neighborhoods are created equal
Car-light living is more realistic for some residents. There’s a correlation between neighborhoods with the best infrastructure and those where the wealthiest people reside.
Neighborhoods like Center City and Old City are public transit hubs, connecting major bus lines and underground transit. Rittenhouse and Fairmount offer residents access to car-free bike trails and protected bike lanes. The Schuylkill River Trail connects Fitler Square with Northwest Philly neighborhoods like East Falls and Manayunk, and extends outside the city into Valley Forge and Phoenixville.
Philadelphia residents outside of these areas were previously unable to easily access the trail. The unveiling of the Christian to Crescent section of the Schuylkill River Trail on May 19th connects the neighborhood of Greys Ferry to the trail for the first time.
Mahoney recently noticed that when she takes the bus in more highly trafficked areas of the city, the automated conductor announces each stop. “Once you get North past Callowhill, and once you go South of Washington, some buses stop telling you where you are,” she said.
SEPTA’s plans to cut services and increase fares across the region are likely to exacerbate the problem.
Options in neighborhoods with a higher percentage of low-income residents are limited. Residents like Mahoney think it should be the other way around, considering these are areas where many residents are car-free by necessity, not by choice.
“We need better options outside of Center City,” Mahoney said. “Once you get past the ‘ritzier’ areas, there’s not as much investment. If we’re going to talk about the benefits of car-free and car-light living, it has to be possible for everyone.”
Cover photo: Claudia Salvato Photography
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