Travelling to exercise WWYD?

[LittleSnowman]

I live in London in a built up area with no green spaces, in a flat with no outside space and a new baby DD. We walk round the local roads every single day. The area in which we live is all new build blocks inside a very busy ring road / dual carriageway which is not nice or healthy to walk along and has very high emissions and poor air quality. Being in London we don't have a car and before Covid we usually just use public transport so hence choosing to live in this area where we can afford a decent starter flat. Due to being slightly vulnerable however, we've not used buses or tubes since March. We are therefore stuck in our immediate area for walks or anything.

I have found a good deal on an electric car which would make it affordable and green to drive in London. If I was to purchase this vehicle, how far could I morally and legally drive to walk with my DD, or could I drive any distance at all? One of the large royal London parks is 2 miles drive away from my flat (via the busy road).

I am a rule follower and would not want to do anything unreasonable. I can't find a clear answer other than the .gov website saying "stay local". Other than going to hospital to give birth, I have staying in my small area the whole year, and so this is not a pity me story about feeling stuck - we all have to make sacrifices. But I would very much like to walk my baby in some greenery - if it's ok to do so.

Would value others input on where you think I stand. Thanks.

Bear in mind that you’re likely to run into issues where all street parking surrounding the park is resident permits only, so driving there isn’t going to be feasible anyway.

Thanks @Elouera - she's a newborn so neither she or I are up for bike riding just yet! Also we would still have to go down the dreaded road! We are members of Zipcar but have stopped using it as there is no cleaning between hourly bookings. There's another car app where the cars are cleaned but it's v pricey.

Yes @ComtesseDeSpair you are right about possible parking at the destinations!

it's pretty clear the PM just got driven 7 miles to go for a bike ride around a park... I reckon in London you've got a comfy 7 mile radius to move around in, OP.

I didn't know he was driven. Do you have a link for that @IIjkk? I thought he cycled from Downing St to Stratford, which I'd have been fine doing a year ago!

just made that sucking in noise at the thought of newly delivered undercarriage on a bike seat.

tricky. in principle two miles seems fine. whether you will get to use the car... another matter. will you use it later for supermarket shopping?

I understand what you're saying. I'm not sure what I'd do, but I don't think I'd buy a car just for this. Plus, parking at the destination generally is so dire & it's a situation that's not improved when you have a screaming baby!!

How sure are you that there's not a sneaky footpath out of the estate? Lots are very hidden!

I wouldn't even consider the tube, but what are the busses like in the day, in the week. Have you looked? Rain cover over the buggy Or sling& a good quality face mask. Open the window?

Some reports saying he ride there, some saying he was driven. I don't have a problem with either as long as he got some exercise. He gets driven all over for meetings & for showing up at vaccination places to film an interview...

I wouldn't feel terribly safe on the roads in London right now if I was him, I'd probably ask to be driven somewhere to exercise.

But my undercarriage has just winced at the thought of a woman with a newborn on a bicycle (still not good if she was delivered through the sun hatch). I think only if she was adopted etc does a bike have any appeal & even then nowhere near a road with a newborn...

Yes go for it. Download the ringo app for parking. Not sure what part you live in but there are a fair few green spaces around and usually a lot of parking. Some parks have free parking.

Buy the car and go.

Is the car something that you would use anyway after the pandemic is over, as it would be an expensive purchase if not, aside from that driving to exercise sounds fine.

All good points raised, thank you. Obviously the car would be a considerable investment, but affordable. I suppose I saw it as an investment to make the next 3-4 months of our lives more enjoyable / help get us through the rest of winter / spring with some less dreary walks and more access to trees etc. (Maybe longer depending on how successful the vaccine roll out is). If things went back to "normal" and we could start using the tube again then I imagine we would use the car for day trips outside London at the weekend as the baby gets older. There's a car park as part of our block and plenty of charging points here and all over the area.

To the pp who asked...There's definitely no secret underground footpaths or a way out of the area without walking along the road. There are some great footpaths which start the other end of the road, and once we are on them we could walk all over the place, through central London, along the river etc.

Buses are medium busy but I still see plenty travelling without masks so I'm not keen on the risk. Many near us are routemasters which have no windows you can open 🤦🏼‍♀️

Ofc the alternative is I don't get the car, and we just stay put until such time as it's safe to get on the tube again. I think I could do that if I knew it was going to be a finite amount of time, eg 3 months, but I don't have faith in the gov and feel there's a high chance that the tube might not be safe until the Autumn at least. There might be a time eg Summer where we will be allowed to take trips out in the car but where public transport in London still isn't advisable. The thought of my baby and me being stuck in this estate her whole life for what would be a year of her life is unbelievably depressing!

When I bought the flat it seemed a great starter home with easy public transport to the areas I like to go to. Not a lovely area but that didn't matter as it was a good flat and so quick to get out and into town. I didn't foresee any reason why I would not be able to jump on the tube every day to get out and about.

When the Scottish gov say "exercise from your font door" I feel it's a rule that's been thought up by privileged people who expect everyone to live in areas with easy access to green space. I know lots of people in my position.

I think our eminent leader has demonstrated that 7 miles is an acceptable and reasonable distance to travel for exercise and does not break/flex/flout/bend rules (that don't even exist).

Can you use the Zipcar, but just clean it yourself when you get in? That would seem to be the obvious solution.

Wipe handles, open door, rest baby on seat, continue wiping, secure baby and go. Will only take a couple of minutes. Buying your own car as a short term solution seems a bit over the top if you have access to a car club.

When the Scottish gov say "exercise from your font door" I feel it's a rule that's been thought up by privileged people who expect everyone to live in areas with easy access to green space. I know lots of people in my position

In many areas of the country, access to green space is hardly 'a privilege'. I live on a council estate in a city in northern England but am also on the edge of green belt, many people are in a similar position.

To many, owning property in one of the world's most expensive cities is a privilege they could never dream of experiencing. Plus having access to a car club on your doorstep, functional public transport system.

Those of you worrying about other people exercising outdoors, please read this: twitter.com/mugecevik/status/1348771251758784517

@lazeeboy

I think our eminent leader has demonstrated that 7 miles is an acceptable and reasonable distance to travel for exercise and does not break/flex/flout/bend rules (that don't even exist).

Presumably a round trip though. Not a linear 7 miles

This might seem daft but is it worth putting a shout out on Facebook to see if anyone has a car you could use for a bit? DH and I are both both WFH now and have two cars we don’t use. IF you were my friend I’d lend you one!

A bike would still mean travelling alongside a busy dual carriageway.

OP - the electric car would be a good investment anyway esp as you have charging points in your block. I'd go for it.

Hope you manage to find an answer OP.

Just wondering though, where would you be buying the car from and how would you get there to collect it?

What about a suitable car seat for your baby?

Car Dealers are closed at the moment, other than click and collect:

www.carwow.co.uk/blog/buying-a-car-during-the-coronavirus-covid-19-outbreak#dealer

@InhabitantofPlagueIsland2021 it's a click and deliver service and they will even sanitise the car after it's dropped off! We do have a baby seat already luckily.

In many areas of the country, access to green space is hardly 'a privilege'. I live on a council estate in a city in northern England but am also on the edge of green belt, many people are in a similar position.

To many, owning property in one of the world's most expensive cities is a privilege they could never dream of experiencing. Plus having access to a car club on your doorstep, functional public transport system.

This seems like an unnecessarily unkind / bitchy comment. I always acknowledge my privilege in owning a flat in London. I've simply looked for solutions to access green space whilst public transport is unsafe so I don't know why the nit picking is needed. If I lived near green space I would indeed count that as a privilege.