Week Without Driving Guided Reading

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Our class will join Sonoma County people and organizations who are participating in this year’s national Week Without Driving Links to an external site. event, a transportation justice initiative, the first week in October (Monday, Sept 30 - Sunday, Oct 6).  Started in 2021 by Disability Rights Washington Links to an external site., and now a national event coordinated by America Walks, Week Without Driving is an educational challenge described by founders as follows:

If you can drive or afford a car, you may not understand what it’s like to rely on walking, rolling, transit and asking for rides. But for nearly a third of people living in the United States – people with disabilities, young people, seniors and people who can’t afford cars or gas – this is our every day. 

We created the Week Without Driving challenge so that those who have the option to drive can learn firsthand about the barriers and challenges that nondrivers face and work with nondrivers to create more accessible communities for all.

This assignment is meant to help you deepen your understanding of how the current design of our transportation infrastructure is a barrier for many, and help you explore the types of benefits that could result from better public transit and active transportation investments.

Health and Safety Benefits

There is a large body of evidence connecting walkable, bikeable communities to health benefits. Obviously, the safer our streets are for pedestrians, bicyclists, wheelchairs, scooters, etc, the fewer traffic accidents and fatalities there will be. But the health benefits go beyond that. Our country is seeing rising rates of diabetes, obesity, high blood pressure, heart disease and other illnesses that are strongly related to lack of opportunities for daily exercise. Here are resources that outline these issues and the connection to getting out of our cars. 

 

Environmental  Benefits

It goes without saying that walking is good for the environment because  you don't produce greenhouse gases (other than a few puffs of CO2 as you exhale). Transportation is the largest contributor to GHG emissions in Sonoma County and while we don't have all the numbers, probably for SRJC as well. 
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Social Equity Benefits

Our society has created low-density suburbs that force people to get into cars or travel distances to get to work, school and even groceries. This affects people with low incomes and communities of color. 

Economic Benefits

It is expensive to own and operate a car, making transportation the second largest household expense in the United States. But it is hard to reduce that cost if there aren't alternatives to driving a car.  Zooming out to the larger economic picture, traffic congestion isn't just emotionally exhausting , but also costs money- lost time, fuel wasted. And building and maintaining wide roads is very expensive for governments.

Assignment