AIBU to ask you to read this, and then think twice before you make any unnecessary journeys by car?

[ArcheryAnnie]

I'm not talking about those essential trips where you are transporting a wardrobe/tools of the trade/someone with mobility difficulties/fourteen tiny children/etc etc etc. I'm talking about all those local trips where it's just you, and you aren't going far, and walking might add on a bit of time to your chores, but walking or cycling would also avoid one more car on the road for that day.

(I so, so feel for the grieving mother in this story, below. I live on a main road and now that I've learned more about things like this, I really worry about the effect that it's had on my son's lung development when he was smaller.)

Court ruling about nine year old who died of an asthma attack.

"...lawyers for the family presented new evidence to the attorney general that directly linked Ella’s serious form of asthma and her death with the heavy traffic on the South Circular near her home. Her death coincided with one of the worst air pollution surges in her local area."

www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/dec/07/mother-asthma-death-girl-knew-nothing-toxic-air-ella-kissi-debrah-london?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_Other

I don’t unfortunately know much about air pollution as such but I don’t believe pp who say it’s not worth cutting journeys etc sure people reducing their car use is going to have some collective effect? So many ppl feel entitled to use their vehicles just because they can which is right to some extent but everyone could reduce their use in some way they just don’t want to and pretending it won’t make any difference is the perfect excuse

A lot of people choose where to live or take their kids to school with assumption that they will drive, rather than plan somewhere to live/get their kids educated within active travel distances. If you plan to rely on your car, then no wonder you are reliant on the car.

"The vast majority of journeys over a mile are made in a car or van—even for distances of 1–2 miles over 60% of journeys were made by motor vehicle."

My corner shop has heaps of visitors daily in their cars who live within 1/2 mile.

Working from home helps. Last filled up the car in October I think.

The reality is that I’ll get in my incredibly high polluting sports car tomorrow to drive to the supermarket because, let’s face it, I’m not that bothered about some child I don’t know. And of course, I’ll be flamed for saying that - but it’s how a huge number of people think, so sad stories about dead children isn’t going to deter them from owning a car.

Good lord - what a vile post.

Oh and tfl have cancelled our bakerloo extension to the area

@OnlyFoolsnMothers Are you sure about that? This article from a few days ago seems to suggest the exact opposite: www.newcivilengineer.com/latest/councils-delighted-by-latest-bakerloo-extension-commitment-01-12-2020/

That's awful. But you're going to get slammed - MNers are generally very protective over their right to cars, overseas holidays and daily meat meals.

This. The amount of hypocrisy and entitlement on MN over cars and long haul flights is staggering.

@theThreeofWeevils

And what about all the mumsnetters who post "Should I have a third [fourth/fifth] baby"? Adding to journeys, adding to landfill, accelerating climate change... Someone coming on to post "AIBU to ask you to think again about that next baby?" would get quite the kicking. ..

This, the carbon footprint from a large family vastly outweighs car use, transatlantic flights and meat eating.

But as well as making electric cars more affordable and putting the charging infrastructure in place, they need to do a lot more about public transport.

It's all very well telling people not to use cars but people have been forced to do so to try and make home, work and school/childcare drop off work in a world where people can't afford to live near work and can't get into a school near where they live.

Despite living in a city, it takes me longer to get the bus to work than it does for me to cycle, despite it being over 10 miles, having to get over two massive hills and me not being particularly fit.

I live in the largest city in western Europe without a mass transit system. They've spent millions, possibly billions on dithering about it for decades and the last plan I saw actually went from where I live to where I work, albeit in a rather Indirect manner and with maybe a mile walk either end.

So I thought, I can do that, until I noticed that, even if they started building it today, it wouldn't be up and running until after I retire, in about 15 years time.

And it's probably not going to happen anyway now because anything development wise is now stuck waiting for HS2 to also not happen.

Dongdingdong I hope it happens, but in October we were told the plans were being shelved due to funding (Covid bail out)- yet the mayor is adamant that he wants the silvertown link no one wants.
“A commitment to” is sadly very vague

We also need proper safe facilities for cycling, secure bike storage and an end to the cyclist hatred mindset of a large section of the population.

The two main supermarkets that we use are 2 miles away, and I'd quite happily cycle a few times a week with a rucksack for groceries but one is along a dangerous main road and neither have anywhere to lock a bike up properly.

a lot of people choose where to live or take their kids to school with assumption that they will drive, rather than plan somewhere to live/get their kids educated within active travel distances. If you plan to rely on your car, then no wonder you are reliant on the car ridiculous comment!!
Firstly that means everyone living in a city.
Second of all, our local authority can issue you a primary school up to 45mins away and a secondary school up to 75mins away. Parents have to work, we aren’t all sahm. If you have to drop you kid off at 8.45 and start work at 9, you don’t have time for a leisurely 45min walk!

The two main supermarkets that we use are 2 miles away, and I'd quite happily cycle a few times a week with a rucksack for groceries but one is along a dangerous main road and neither have anywhere to lock a bike up properly don’t most families do one large weekly shop?

Well we don't, never have. We don't get shopping delivered because it seems like more hassle than it's worth with substitutions and having to plan what you need days in advance, we don't buy the same things every week like most other people either.

But we could get shopping delivered if we had to in our car free utopia, but there would have to be a huge increase in that provision too, because as we all know, there's hardly an excess of capacity in that service is there?

Well the pollution is just about to get much worse around the South Circular because the Richmond park which was closed to traffic (because of ‘Covid’, natch) has exploited the opportunity to keep the restrictions as has always been their agenda and Covid was convenient. With Hammersmith bridge closed and the council too incompetent to work on re-opening it they are channelling pollution to one area.

Low Traffic Neighbourhoods in our area are pushing more traffic on to the S Circular.

I do agree that car use in London is a massive issue. It isn’t a city that was ever designed for an intensively housed population to have sizeable vehicles that take up road space and cause pollution. The streets are narrow, unlike bike-friendly cities like Amsterdam we have loads of hills.

I walk far more than I used to. I never had a car until I had a child, and that was as an older mother. The car has been a bit like the effect of electrical appliances had on households when they were first introduced: we just do more things rather than give ourselves more time.

It’s a whole lifestyle shift.

I live in the suburbs of a large city. We have multiple bus routes at the end of our street and I used to bus/walk to work. My colleagues thought I was mad as I own a car - people with cars rarely think about leaving them behind for environmental purposes.

Since March, I have wanted to avoid public transport but didn’t want to use the car more so started cycling. I used to be a fair weather cyclist who found the large hills home too daunting. I’ve now commuted a 16km round trip daily in all weathers (2degrees and torrential rain yesterday) and it’s honestly amazing what you can get used to. I feel so good, mentally and physically. I eat like a horse and I have an amazingly lean and healthy figure now. I get around the city much more quickly and easily too (whizz past all the traffic in the evenings).

I really wish I’d gotten into commuting by bike years ago.

As a couple of pp said though, life has evolved in the last 50 years assuming car use.. Out of town retail outlets, the distance between home / work / school / activities / post office collection (on an industrial estate) etc. Despite living within 3 miles of all those things, I couldnt make my life work if I didn't drive. There physically isn't time to get between them and I can't just start early as drop off times are fixed. There'd have to be massive investment in infrastructure and a very long term plan to change this. If more kids went to their local schools, which provided afterschool study space, food and those schools were used as hubs for sports clubs, Brownies, etc, with great facilities so they didn't have to get to the football ground on one side of town, swimming pool on another, tennis club elsewhere etc, it might be more feasible, but the change would be huge and involve a fundamental shift.

I can rely on public transport but I realise I'm incredibly lucky to rare to be able to do so. I do think a good public transport network (including around town not just spokes into the city centre) and affordability are essential of you want to reduce car use in both cities and rural areas. That and safe cycle routes. We have become reliant on cars for so much of our work/lives/lifestyles, and it's a very hard thing to move away from especially when it gives a lot of individual comfort and freedom. Very sad about Ella, I've been following that so thank you for the link. I hope things change, on a big scale and also in small efforts by everyone who can, they do add up.

Nothing worse you can do for the environment than having children. Just more people to drive cars and use resources in the future.

We live about 1.5 miles from city centre I almost always cycle. Last week a car drove into me on a roundabout- I was on the roundabout he just didn’t stop 🙄. Roads need to be safer for cyclists and the anti cyclist hate and resentment from car drivers needs to stop.

Can't help thinking that posters coming on to explain that they live in a remote corner of Scotland are rather missing the OPs point: she did make it very clear in her first post that she was thinking precisely of those journeys that can be avoided. And she is not wrong!

If we decide that we're going to keep using our cars as much as we like until we are punished out of it by pricing or other measures, then those measures will hit disabled people and people living in remote parts of Scotland disproportionately.

People like me, who live in a city and could take an umbrella, are the ones who need to make the changes. Individually, each of the small journeys made may not matter that much, but there are an awful lot of us, an awful lot more than disabled people living in remote parts of Scotland, so any changes we make will still have an impact.

MarchitectMum, I think it is unfair to blame people for "choosing" to live near polluted main roads. Often, these are not necessarily desirable residences, but just what people on a low income and few options are able to afford to rent.
I heard Ella's mum speak at a rally a couple of years ago. What a woman. It haunts me to this day, and I am so sorry for her loss.

It goes beyond individual decisions. I don't even like driving but once I became an adult it felt like something I had to do in order to fully participate in normal life.

Better town planning, not building estates in the arse end of nowhere with no amenities. Decent public transport that doesn't feel like the beggars who can't be choosers option. Safe, segregated cycle lanes. These are the things that could change people's behaviour, not whinging at individuals to take on inconvenience to benefit strangers.

Wood burning stoves in cities are also a major contributor to air pollution. And largely unnecessary, irrespective of how 'cosy' they may be. But add those to the list of carbon heavy things we collectively feel entitled to, along with our cars, flights, unchecked streaming, meat, out of season produce and large families.

Yes, I think the carbon footprint of all things digital is something that's overlooked. There's huge, energy intensive infrastructure behind 'the internet' in all its glory.

I read something the other day about how you could reduce your carbon footprint by a measurable amount by watching streamed content in a lower definition. Most of us probably can't tell the difference and/or don't have the necessary screen to show the content in the highest qualities anyway.

This is a terrible story but as I live in the sticks with no public transport, every single car journey I make is essential I'm afraid, however much I'd love to be able to walk to a corner shop.