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Will We Ever Get Out of Our Cars?

By Marco Gonzalez


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Note: Marco Gonzalez hosted the Café San Diego on Wednesday.

Saturday, June 16, 2007 | Traffic. It affects all of us, every day, either because we're wasting our lives away commuting on the concrete mausoleums we call freeways, or because our elected officials are squandering our precious "transportation" tax dollars on highway widening instead of investing more heavily in mass transit. What's it going to take to get us out of our cars?

My earlier entry was based upon a conversation I had a while back with my good friend, Duncan McFetridge of the environmental group Save Our Forests and Ranchlands (SOFAR). SOFAR is best known as a defender of San Diego's backcountry that is not afraid to use litigation and the ballot box to try to knock some sense into decision makers and developers.

After going quiet for a while following the 2004 failure of the Rural Lands Initiative, SOFAR reemerged to file a lawsuit against CCDC for failing to consider a transit-focused alternative in its Downtown Community Plan Update Environmental Impact Report (EIR). At first, a lot of people wondered what in the world SOFAR was doing meddling in downtown affairs. Then other environmentalists sought to convince SOFAR to add a host of additional issues to its challenge, especially CCDC's failure to provide sufficient park space for downtown's residents and tourists. Never one to bite his tongue, McFetridge denied these requests as preoccupations with "deck chairs on the Titanic," noting that while important components of effective city building, they were not on par with the criticality of an expanded downtown transit system.

Your initial reaction to this statement is probably much like mine was. But, before you fire off that response about the importance of habitat protection, beach access, immigration policy, or libraries, ask yourself, do these issues really measure up to the societal destructiveness caused by our obsession with the automobile? Or perhaps, are they related outgrowths of the car culture?

Consider these facts:

  • Auto based infrastructure takes up one quarter of our urban land area, including over 300 miles of freeways and 1,875 freeway lane miles (not to mention 7,150 miles of roads and streets).

  • 60 to 70 percent of all San Diego County highway expansions are filled within 2 years of completion.

  • Every driving San Diego resident on average loses about 53 hours per year due to auto congestion, at an aggregate cost in fuel, time, and productivity of about $1.8 billion.

  • Automobile accidents cost us roughly $3.24 billion per year in lost productivity, workers comp claims, insurance, etc. (294 auto-related deaths, 24,617 injuries in San Diego County in 2004)

  • The act of driving a vehicle is the average person's one regular activity that has the single largest impact on the Earth regarding climate change.

  • If Americans used transit for 10 percent of their transportation needs, the United States would reduce its dependence on foreign oil by more than 40 percent.

  • Freeway widening induces and subsidizes sprawl development.

    The aforementioned lawsuit was settled with CCDC, and in the next few months SOFAR's Transit-Oriented Alternative will be available to the City for consideration. Similarly, Sandag recently agreed to a settlement with SOFAR that will result in the inclusion of a "Transit Emphasis Urban Core Alternative" in its Regional Transportation Plan 2007 EIR.

    While these studies will provide us with a glimpse of "what could be," it'll all prove meaningless unless our regional representatives on Sandag and the city of San Diego have the vision and leadership to dump our historic freeway funding ways.

    Maybe its time a few more of us showed up at their meetings or gave them a call?

    Marco Gonzalez is an environmental lawyer. Send a letter to the editor.




    14 Comments so far on this story...

    To Marco Gonzalez: I carpool to work every day. I traded my van for a smaller, more economical sedan. I use the trolley to attend school, and combine my shopping trips to save gas. My children use bus passes to ride the bus home from school. What do you do personally to save gas, help the environment, and reduce traffic congestion? It's easy to make suggestions and offer solutions. It's quite another thing to lead by example and practice what you preach. Many people these days who are complaining about the traffic congestion and cost of gas are still driving gas-guzzling SUV's @ 80 mph on the freeway and wouldn't consider taking the bus, trolley, or even carpool.

    Posted by Cheeky | reply to this comment
    June 13, 2007 2:24 am

    Nothing....nothing will get most people out of their cars. Unfortunately transit is simply not competitive with automobile trips for the vast maajority of people's needs. It also never will be in San Diego given our region's population density. Some small, cost-effective investments could be made, such as BRT in the denser areas of town that might work for some. However, transit investing is usually driven by politicians who vote for the biggest, flashiest, most expensive items to get name recognition and votes (especially from the new transit-employee unions), thus most transit investment dollars are squandered on the least economical ideas (my SF experience is the 3rd St Light rail, Central Subway and BART to San Jose).

    Posted by El Cajonian | reply to this comment
    June 13, 2007 3:24 am

    To Cheeky.......I'd suggest you Google Marco Gonzalez's environmental leadership track record first before making yourself look like a complete donkey. It'd be difficult to find another individual that has "lead by example" and "practiced what he preached" regarding environmental stewardship in San Diego more than Marco. Ps. But good job on the steps you've personally taken. I've been biking to work and using the bus and Coaster for three weeks strait and I'm loving it!

    Posted by Inland Al | reply to this comment
    June 13, 2007 4:13 am

    We live in the heart of "Car Country" and our caste culture is stratified by the type of vehicle you drive -- yes this is your culture, your personal aspiration on four wheels, your life, your color choice, call it meaningful/ meaningless, it is the substance of what you spend your time doing: driving. We spent tens of thousands, even hundreds of thousands of years, not driving, and life was good. Just 100 years ago life was good. Now we can't get by an inch or a minute without oil, the fuel that makes tractors hoe, food grow, consumer distribution tick, capitalism tock, and cars, buses, trucks, ships, tanks and planes run every day for our benefit, our luxury, our American way of life. Our cars will run dry right about the same time the truck runs out of fuel making its delivery to you.

    Posted by Christopher Hall | reply to this comment
    June 13, 2007 5:11 am

    El Cajonian nails it. Transit CAN NOT work in a cost effective manner in communities that are at our densities (see (http://alain-bertau for information on urban densities). Now, over time, one can imagine slow and steady movements up that scale but if you want to achieve the kind of transit use seen in NYC, Paris or London we are talking about increasting densities EIGHT FOLD. And thus the challenge to Marco. Please identify the last three "suburban" infill projects you have advocated for, in the face of torch carrying nimbies? Until the SD enviro community is willing to advocate for dense infill on a project by project basis, I will continue to dismiss them as a bunch of elists that have "theirs" and tell the rest folks to "eat cake"

    Posted by CMR | reply to this comment
    June 13, 2007 5:12 am

    To Inland Al: You're the complete donkey. I specifically asked Marco what steps he has personally taken to help reduce traffic congestion. Reread my comment to Marco: "What do you do personally to save gas, help the environment, and reduce traffic congestion?" My question was an opportunity for him to walk the talk and explain his own personal contributions, which he didn't elaborate on in his commentary. It's important for others to know what he has done, and we don't all have time to spend hours on Google. P.S. Good job on the bike/bus/coaster efforts.

    Posted by Cheeky | reply to this comment
    June 13, 2007 5:13 am

    Here's something everyone can do....set aside one day a week NOT to use your car. There is a whole national and international movement to practice Car Free Days! Check out this website link and see what is up!

    Posted by LH | reply to this comment
    June 14, 2007 10:12 pm

    Sorry for the late post, but contrary to prejudices, robust market research shows that San Diegans can be split into six distinct groups when it comes to transit: 1/6 will never, ever use it. 1/6 prefer it or are dependent on it. The other 4 groups in between will use transit if it meets their needs. Those needs are - does it get them where they need to go and back in times competitive or close to using a car and is it a pleasant, reliable experience. Check out Move San Diego's propose FAST Plan at link It has been designed by the world's experts at transit with our land use patterns. You can build a system that works here, we haven't adopted it yet.

    Posted by Carolyn Chase | reply to this comment
    June 14, 2007 11:25 pm

    Let’s see here! I was asked by a MTA representative several years ago about my commuting habits—she told me that she could arrange a schedule that would get me off the road and into public transit! After 2 hours she admitted that public transit was NOT in my future and never would be—2.5 hours one-way to get to work, for a total of 5 hours in either a bus or trolley when I can get there in 35 to 45 minutes by car! The real issue is how most of the cities were/are developed in the West—anything west of the Mississippi, they just don’t fit the model for public transit and never will! We are, for the most part, stuck with cars as our major transportation vehicle! Public transit works for a few—it does not work for the majority and never will!

    Posted by Howiek | reply to this comment
    June 15, 2007 4:24 pm

    Yes, I long for the days when in places like NY City we had to kill 1000 horses per day and burn their bodies. The shit the other 20,000 left on the ground probably only killed 1000 or so people per year from the germs and disease but hey, at least they didn't die in cars! Your desire is fruitless so just give it up and let us live our lives how we want while you live your degraded, pointless, quasi-religious life the way you want. Savy? Oh, and remember this: 5000 Chinese bought a car for the first time TODAY and 5000 will buy another tomorrow. You accomplish NOTHING with your efforts expect to appear impotent and totalitarian.

    Posted by Eric | reply to this comment
    June 15, 2007 8:31 pm

    We could ask what transport is optimal. After 9/11, I decided to quit giving so much money to the Arabs and their Quisling-American oil company allies and now drive 4 cylinders instead of six. I got a scooter for short trips and use a bike or walk a lot. By choosing transport forms I save fuel and money, too. The trouble with mass transit in SD is that it is abominably bad and limited. You try riding a bus anywhere; slow, smelly, full of filthy, crazy people; or the trollies which are infested with similar lowlife and plagued by armed "conductors" to boot. It's right out of Soviet Russia. A quick fix may be to link light, motorized pedicabs to trolley stations with 24 hour trolley service. I'd scrap the buses or use them only for express service. You can walk as fast as they go for long hauls.

    Posted by Henry Ford | reply to this comment
    June 16, 2007 12:03 am

    This topic is important, but it’s I’d still like to know why Gonzalez won’t reply to a simple question regarding his posting about his personal financial ties to Bajagua. Several people have asked him a direct question and he wont reply. Is he willing to get paid off by polluters in exchange for repping for them in DC, under the guise of Surfrider? Or, if we are off base, he needs to tell us he, or Surfrider, paid for him to fly back to DC to testify in support of the private project. It’s way too easy to get taxpayer money from DC to pay for bad private projects- just ask Duke Cunningham and Duncan Hunter. We’ve asked Gonzalez a simple question, why the evasion?

    Posted by clean water NOW | reply to this comment
    June 16, 2007 12:13 am

    Create a public transit system that is actually viable, such as that in SF, NY or Portland, and I'd use it. Until then, I won't. I refuse to get up 2 1/2 hours before I have to be to work in order to travel 12 miles.

    Posted by Poppa | reply to this comment
    June 17, 2007 1:00 am

    I live in Spring Valley and work in Kearny Mesa. When it comes to mass transit, "YOU CAN'T GET THERE FROM HERE!!" Besides, Like most Americans, I like having my horse tied up at the hitching post so I can leave when I want to leave and go where I want to go. It is a fundamental freedom that we as Americans have earned. That being said, I wouldn't mind occasionally using a "mass" transit system that actually could be used by the "masses". But how would I get to my office, get a hamburger for lunch, visit my job sites, get my haircut and stop at the grocery store in the same day using buses and trolleys? Get real! Develop hydrogen fuel cells, but in the mean time, lay more concrete and drill more oil wells!

    Posted by Cowboy | reply to this comment
    June 18, 2007 2:33 am


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