One mile is a lot longer than it looks.
Drive time was always a factor when I made plans in my hometown; 10 minutes or 30 minutes, it was all the same to me. All I had to do was plug in directions and sing along to my music while I drove. Walking time is totally different; if it’s raining and windy I have to add 10 minutes. Is there a hill? I better give myself an extra five. Also, the idea that something is only a mile away can be quite deceiving. Just a mile seems small, coming from a place where I would drive it in less than a minute or two. However, actually walking the mile makes for a real workout, especially if I’m running late. Though many of my daily commuting habits have changed, there are five main things I’ve noticed in the change from relying on a car to my own two legs to get me places.
1. I pay a lot more attention to the weather.
Now, the first thing I do in the mornings after turning off my alarms is check the weather. I need to know how to dress, if I will have to try to get the bus, and when to bring extra socks (the edges of the roads become like little rivers, I swear). When I was living at home I would look at the weather, but mostly just at the general trends, not the specific time the rain would start and how long it would last. Maybe so many adults instinctively talk about the weather because it can literally ruin your day if you forget your umbrella.
I have noticed that my mood, and motivation especially, are heavily affected by the weather. Rainy? I want nothing more than to stay in my bed with a warm drink. Sunny? Let’s go sit by the lake and study. When driving a car to school the only effect the weather had on me was deciding how fast was too fast for my windshield wipers (I know people are judging me when they’re moving so aggressively). Now I think I could tell you the average temperature for the month of September.
2. I always have the right away.
In the town where I grew up, cars would not wait for pedestrians—you had to wait for them to pass before crossing the street, even if you were downtown. In such a big college town, however, where most of the traffic is on the sidewalks, the cars are always waiting to go. It doesn’t matter how long the bus is waiting, people walking will just cross as soon as they get to the intersection. I’ve seen people not even bother looking both ways before waking across a four-way stop. I’m not quite at that confidence level but I have definitely picked up some bad habits which include choosing not to wait for hesitant cars. I mean hey, if you’re not going to go, then I will. I’ve got places to be, people!
3. There are way more hills than you think.
I recently learned that when you look for directions on Apple Maps, it can tell you how much of a hill there is, if you have to climb stairs, or where there’s less traffic. This is a great feature until I realized that a “gradual hill” will kill my calves. This is probably due to the fact that I have an 18-minute walk to get to my next class which starts 10 minutes after my previous one ends. That wasn’t great scheduling on my part, but my ego won’t let me drop either class, so I’ve been relying on my speed-walking to get me to class at a reasonable time. I didn’t think this would be a big deal until I got to my class out of breath and was barely able to get to the door because my legs felt like jello. When you’re driving you don’t really notice gradual slopes or small hills. When you’re walking you definitely feel it, particularly if you’re basically running.
4. Elevators are a blessing.
I don’t care who’s mad when people use the elevator to get to the second or third floor; I will gladly avoid the stairs, especially if I just walked 0.7 miles to get to my class and am already five minutes late. There’s nothing like walking into a lecture of 30 people and trying to pretend you aren’t wheezing like you’ve never walked more than 10 feet in your life. In my hometown, I didn’t really use the elevators or notice which buildings didn’t have them. Now that I have to walk to every class I will take every opportunity to stand still and not be responsible for moving as quickly as I can. I can safely say that I would not complain if the Chemistry building elevator got stuck before my lecture.
5. Bikes and buses have their own rules.
So even though cars will wait for pedestrians, the city buses do not care. They are turning and they are turning now. Same with most of the bikers, who do not bother to stop or even ride on the road. I’m not a legal expert, but I’m pretty sure that bikes are supposed to act like cars at four-way stops. I’ve had way too many close calls where their bike wheel gets pretty darn close to my toes. Same with the buses. It doesn’t matter whose turn it is or how many people are crossing – the bus will just keep moving (slowly of course, but still moving).
When I drive around my hometown I will maybe pass one biker and they’re probably in a neighborhood. We also don’t have a very large bus system so I probably won’t see one of those either. I’m all for more sustainable transportation, but it seems like they are trying to be a little too efficient with their timing, though this doesn’t blend well with the horrible pedestrian habits I mentioned earlier.
Walking everywhere can be more convenient, although arguably more dangerous. Driving a car isn’t that much safer but in a suburban town, you have a lot fewer lawless bikers, buses and walkers to worry about. I really enjoy not having to pay for a full tank of gas every other week. I also don’t have to worry about my brakes making a weird noise or a warning light on my dashboard. I do, however, have to deal with calluses and soaking-wet backpacks (my umbrella isn’t quite big enough). So I guess so far it’s a draw for me, between walkable and car-dependent cities. We’ll see if the Wisconsin winter changes my mind.