A recent article in the Globe and Mail would seem to support the fact that people in North America are ending our love affair with the car. We at Green Action Centre found this particularly interesting not only because we believe strongly in reducing car use, but also because one of the featured families in the article was part of a project that we did back in 2010 called the Green Family Makeover. During this program we found “eco-curious” families who were interested in making environmental changes, and we helped them with the tools and information to make that happen. One aspect of this was of course trying to curb their transportation footprint.
So are we reaching “peak car?” While one may wonder if this holds true for Winnipeggers, statistics support that in the US the distance driven by Americans each year is on the decline. Canada does not gather data on individual driving habits, however an Australian researcher has found similar declines in our five largest cities. Cars are not going to disappear, however it is encouraging to see that people are making the decision to drive less and consider other alternatives like walking, cycling, carpooling, or transit.
