Do you think we are becoming more car dependent?

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No matter how many efforts to get people out of their cars and walking/cycling, town planning, and especially many of the new build estates popping up without infrastructure seem to be pushing us in the other direction.

I quit driving due to a surgery 2 years ago and apart from the dreadful mess the trains are in at the moment, I haven't looked back. I didn't change my diet, but becoming a ton fitter and slimmer was a nice side effect. I planned to return to using a vehicle but am in two minds now.

Granted, I have no children at home who need driving around, and I live close to some decent walks, but I have this feeling the way the country is heading, we are becoming less and less able to reduce car use.

Visiting my family last week I noticed my home town has become chock with traffic, most shops are out on retail parks now and there are very few cycling paths or places to walk. With so little attention to improving public transport I can't see this getting any better. And once you atart walking everywhere, you realise that there are more roads than pedestrian spaces in a large, typical town. And it stinks, which I never noticed so much when I was driving myself.

People discuss processed foods and sedentary jobs when looking for reasons to explain rising obesity, yet few people look at increasing car use as a factor.

I can drive but we don't have a car. Lived in London for 13 years and never felt we needed one. It would have been more of a hindrance than a help.

We left London last year and moved to another big city. The main difference I have noticed is the car-dependency, and it's the thing I most dislike about the move. Obviously, public transport isn't as good here, but I find it amazing how poorly the local infrastructure is set up for pedestrians (cars parked on the pavements and lack of crossings including by schools, for example) and cyclists. Also, drivers here simply will not allow any time for pedestrians - I often feel like an SUV might happily mow me and my children down just to get 10m closer to the school gate, and nobody will ever allow down to let you cross a road, even if there's a jam just ahead and you're wrangling a couple of toddlers.

It's just over a mile each way to walk to my children's school, and I get frequent comments about the fact that we walk, despite traffic being so intense that it is about equivalent in terms of time taken. I suppose a lot of it is just what people get used to.

Where I live cycle routes have gradually increased over the last 10-15 years and it has made a difference. It's now quite usual to see children in trailers or cargo bikes so the increase in cycling is really visible in the areas with these routes. It's great for teens being able to travel independently. That said, new estates are still planned around cars and it does take political bravery from the Council to make road safety improvements as there's always complaints about new schemes.

What isn't discussed - and in my opinion really ought to be - is how we help people to travel who don't have a car (which is over a third of households where I live). We're lucky to have good public transport so it's easy to get into the centre, but travelling between residential areas is more difficult & expanding the cycle network would be really useful for this type of journey to help people get to schools & work.

I'd also like my Council to be more open with residents about what needs to happen to reduce both collisions and air pollution. Often when people object to the road safety schemes, there's an assumption that everything is fine as it is - but with air pollution above legal limits in places & too many collisions there are clearly problems with what we have at present.

There's a great book called The Miracle Pill which is about how walking is like a miracle cure for many of our modern diseases.

In it he discusses things that they do in other countries to get people walking - some really simple things can make such a big difference. If only our government would start addressing this - it would save the NHS millions.

I would like to use the train but for two of us to travel Devon to Surrey is coming in at way over 200 when we can drive for about 80 and with no danger of strikes on the day ruining the trip. Buses here are expensive so not used as much as they could be.

You're absolutely right – many areas are designed in a way that encourages car dependence, and as you mentioned, the lack of infrastructure for walking or cycling only makes things worse. It’s also interesting how your experience with walking has made you more aware of how car-centric towns are becoming. It’s a tough balance, especially with limited public transport options city tour dubai, but perhaps more attention to these issues could help shift things in the right direction.

I wish cycling was not pushed down everyone's throat, especially with young children. Not everyone is confident enough to take to the road, and that needs to be OK. Schools also need to stop demonising cars and teaching children if their parents don't risk their life on the road they're parents are bad and evil.

20 years I I had a choice of 2 practical ways of getting to work by public transport - either two buses which took 1hr 10; or a bus and a train, which could be done in under an hour, and the bus was timed to near trains from our nearest city (Leeds).

Now we have one bus an hour that goes all round the houses, and for does not meet the useful commuter trains. I work 18 miles away. It's about a 35 min drive, or about 2.5 hrs indirectly on public transport.

Our nearest town is actually in the next county - no buses.
Our next nearest town, also in the next county - 1 bus there, 1 bus back on Wed and Sat only.

So yes, my rural public transport is getting worse

My life would be much poorer without my car. I use it to get to rehearsals for 3 different music groups, none of which I could access by public transport. I also can’t carry a week’s shopping and delivery just pushed the driving to someone else. I did try to use public transport the other evening to go to the theatre but the trains were cancelled and the last bus back was before the show I was going to see started.

Personally, neither DH nor I have driven for decades. Living in the capital city of the silicon fen, it's getting harder to drive in the city anyway.