Transition to a carless lifestyle in midtown Tulsa – Venus’ excellent adventure
My friend Venus’ car died — the needed repairs are not affordable or feasible, so she’s decided to go ‘carless.’ CARLESS? What does that mean?
Venus found a blog about a Tulsa couple, Nathan and Kristen Pickard, who decided to go ‘carless’ for thirty days in January 2010. Nate and Kristen’s blog takes you through their adventures, obstacles and discoveries. They rode their bicycles to work, to the grocery, to events — helping the environment, getting exercise and seeing Tulsa from an entirely new prospective.
Tulsa home buyers moving in from other states are asking Realtors more and more about walkability – how walkable a neighborhood is. So, I went to the walkability web site and entered Venus’ address to see how close her home is to places she would need to go. It will tell you what groceries, coffee shops, restaurants, parks, schools, banks, hospitals and churches are nearby. Her address earned a walkability score of 75, which is very walkable; the average in Tulsa is 53. We are pretty fortunate in the Tulsa downtown/midtown area that we have many small, locally-owned businesses that are accessible. Venus literally has THREE post offices within two miles of her home.
Venus spent hours reading over Nate and Kristen’s blog and made some discoveries of her own. She discovered a local business called “You Buy, We Fly,” Green Country’s only personal delivery service. Venus decided that although she thought she could make it on bicycle to the majority of places she needs to go, she would need a contingency plan should the weather be too harsh or if she were ill — and here you have it. This business will run almost any errand for you for a nominal charge – seriously, they’re cheap, but I’ll let you check out their prices on their web site. Venus may want to use them, for example, to take her pups to the groomers and return them home. How cool is that?
Transition to a carless lifestyle in midtown Tulsa – Venus’ excellent adventure
Nate blogged about a bicycle repairman who will come to your home – Tulsa’s only mobile bike mechanic: On The Go, Human-Powered Mobile Bicycle Repair, 206-403,5134; onthegobikerepair@gmail.com. If your bicycle is your ONLY form of transportation, HOW would you get it to the repair shop? Answer solved, crisis diverted.
Now, Venus is pretty excited about this transition from automobile dependency to bicycling and walking. What started as “Oh crap, I can’t afford to fix my car” has turned into an exciting adventure into a more healthy and environmentally-friendly alternative.
It’s a good reminder that necessity IS the mother of invention AND it’s a good reminder that with the right attitude, you can turn lemons into lemonade. I’m pretty excited about Venus’ transition and will be posting updates for those of you who choose to follow – on foot or on bike.
A side benefit for me, in addition to cycling with Venus when I am able, is to learn more about walkability and cycling as an alternative to driving for Tulsa home buyers who choose to live a more ‘carless’ lifestyle. Come with us, and enjoy the ride!
