Lessons on Mobility Privilege from a Week Without Driving

From Sept. 19 to 25, Cascade participated in the 2nd Annual #WeekWithoutDriving through Disability Rights WA’s “Disability Mobility Initiative.”

This blog post contains an excerpt of the lessons of Communications and Marketing Director Sara Kiesler’s journey as well as several Cascade Bicycle Club staff members. We hope it provides some lessons for you too.

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One week without driving. How hard can it be, I wondered? 

When Cascade Bicycle Club joined the Disability Mobility Initiative's 2nd Annual #WeekWithoutDriving from Sept. 19 to 25, I signed up. I knew there might be challenges getting from my home in South Tacoma to Seattle where I work and attend grad school. 

Still, when a quarter of the state population relies on walking, rolling, transit, and asking for rides, the challenge was worth it to understand the barriers non-drivers face. 

I wasn’t prepared for just how time-consuming, exhausting, and frustrating those barriers could be.

After a decade in Seattle, my spouse and I moved to South Tacoma in early 2021. We needed more space for our remote work lives, but we couldn’t afford any homes we liked in Seattle. It was worth sacrificing our nine-minute walk from our one-bedroom apartment to the light rail in Beacon Hill for a three-bedroom house with fewer transit options.

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In Seattle, we owned just one car, as my spouse was able to bike or take transit everywhere they needed to go. But not long after moving to South Tacoma and attempting to get around by foot and bike, my spouse bought their first car in more than 20 years. 

Here, we lack active transportation infrastructure. There are no curb cuts on South 54th St, the nearest bus only runs every half hour, and the commuter train stops running to Seattle at 6:50 a.m. (The good news: the city is very responsive to feedback, and I have emailed the ADA compliance person directly about S 54th St. Also, Tacoma has a climate action plan that calls for building a "complete citywide network of sidewalks, ADA intersections, bike connections, and Safe Routes to School" by 2050).

Without safe walking and biking infrastructure on main roads we use regularly, including  Tacoma’s South 38th St, it became impossible to get essential supplies like pet food and groceries without a car. 

There’s no secret how South Tacoma got this way. Just as South Seattle has been historically left out of many updates to safe, protected infrastructure, the same is true here. 

Data shows that accidental death from traffic crashes is strictly divided along race and class lines, especially with crashes where policy and infrastructure make the difference between life and death. According to the U.S. Census, Hispanic people and Black people make up a larger percentage of the population in South Tacoma than in the city overall. In comparison, a smaller percentage of White people live here than in the rest of Tacoma.

So here we are, at the start of the #WeekWithoutDriving. For me, the first two days were no problem. My only significant trip was to walk to drop off a Discovery Pass at the South Tacoma Library, and then visit the Grocery Outlet across 56th St for some coffee beans. Both were easy because they were within a half mile and I don’t rely on a wheelchair or crutches while navigating the non-ADA-compliant sidewalks by my home.

Day 3 was a little more challenging. The biggest barrier for me to take transit more regularly is that I can’t access it door to door without significant planning and time. For example, while it takes about 45 minutes to drive to Seattle University’s campus, it takes more than two hours by transit. That means on Wednesday, I left work at 3 p.m. to ensure I could make it to class by 6 p.m. and get a bite to eat. If I worked in retail or food services, it’s unlikely my job would have given me that kind of flexibility. 

I had some concerns for my safety being on 3rd Avenue in Seattle late at night after class, but thankfully we got out early and it was relatively light out around 8:30 p.m. while I waited for a bus. 

Day 5 was the most challenging. Normally, when I need to go into Cascade’s office for work, I bike to the 6:50 a.m. Sound Transit Sounder train in South Tacoma, load my bike on the train, then transfer it to the International District light rail, before biking to the Magnuson Park office on the Burke-Gilman Trail. That route takes roughly 100 minutes – fairly equivalent to driving and way less stressful. 

However, on the Friday of the #WeekWithoutDriving, I had to be at my physical therapist’s office in Lakewood at 7:45 a.m. and could not take the Sounder once I got out around 8: 45 a.m. That left me with a four-transfer bus route and three-hour journey, culminating in an exhausted arrival at work around 11:45 a.m. 

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Friday’s exhausting and time-consuming journey helped me realize what burdens are faced by folks who cannot drive. So much of my life would be spent in transit if I lived where I do and had no car – which means less time for work, play, and family. 

On my mind the entire week was the recent death of 13-year-old Michael Weilert and Pierce County’s subsequent Vision Zero resolution. Kids like Michael who aren’t old enough to drive are facing these streets every day without any other option.

It left me with more resolution to call on our leaders for a strong commitment to Vision Zero in Pierce County – one that has teeth and delivers real progress. We can and must do better. We all deserve safe streets.

The county’s Vision Zero policy states that our goal is to lose not even one person to traffic violence. We have to hold the county's funding, transit, and road design decisions accountable for this important goal and vision. We also need to enforce the state’s Vulnerable User Law, which carries stronger penalties for people who injure or kill people biking and walking. 

And we need everyone to participate in the #WeekWithoutDriving – especially elected leaders – to experience the barriers facing people who can’t or won’t drive.

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Additional Cascade staff members participated in the #WeekWithoutDriving. Here are their thoughts and reflections: 

Tamar Shuhendler, Seattle

Question: What were the biggest barriers and gaps you experienced? Were there any activities you gave up because it was too difficult or complicated? During the week did you find yourself concerned for safety or wellbeing as a result of infrastructure, weather, or other factors?
 
Answer: Honestly, I didn't experience many barriers or gaps during this week, and the experience really highlighted the multiple and overlapping privileges I have. I'm an able-bodied, young, white person living in a dense urban area and I'm not responsible for anyone outside of myself. Those factors made it relatively simple for me to structure a week that relied on walking, biking, and transit. The biggest barriers or challenges came in the form of smoke from the Bolt Creek fire as well as the general wariness that comes from being a woman in public. Those barriers led me to drive once and to accept an offer for a ride home from a friend instead of walking home in the dark.
 
Question: If you ended up driving, what did that choice help you understand? 
 
Answer: I did drive once, on a trip that would have taken over two hours via transit, and only 20 minutes by car. That trip was a stark reminder of the transportation disparities across Seattle, as well as the way in which time is a priceless resource and privilege, and how having access to quick and reliable transportation creates space for people to do more, see more, and experience more outside of figuring out how to get to and from their needs. 
 
Question: If you didn’t experience many barriers, why? How have you thought about your own mobility privilege? Even without driving yourself, have you had access that others lack because of your proximity to transit, sidewalks, services? Because of your ability to bike? Because of your race?
 
Answer: I didn't experience many barriers, definitely due in part to my mobility, race, income, and access to support systems. I live near transit systems (bikes, light rail, sidewalks, bike lanes), I own a bike and walking shoes, I can easily access food and other resources, and I have a system of friends and family that can serve as a form of transportation support.
 
Question: What do you hope to carry forward from this experience in your work, your advocacy or your support for mobility justice?
 
Answer: I don't fully understand the experience of a person who can't drive, but I hope that the lessons of this week will stick with me and help me advocate alongside communities that can't drive every day. It's crucial to center people with lived experience as we develop our transportation systems, and to recognize that we have to build systems that make life easier, more accessible, and more joyful for people who do not use a car.

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Wendy Clark, Lake Stevens

Question: What were the biggest barriers and gaps you experienced? Were there any activities you gave up because it was too difficult or complicated? During the week did you find yourself concerned for safety or wellbeing as a result of infrastructure, weather, or other factors?

Answer: I realized at the start of this week that the #WeekWithoutDriving was not possible for me because of the lack of active transportation infrastructure around me.  I became very aware of the barriers I would face if I were to be car-free even just within Lake Stevens, where I do the majority of my errands for pet food, groceries, banking, etc. There are no bike lanes, many roads are under construction, and most stores have no bike racks. Even if I was comfortable enough to bike to a store on roads where people drive 45 mph, I would have nowhere to secure my bike. Taking the bus would be just as bad. I would also need a significant amount of time to get to the grocery store via bus due to infrequent service and the proximity of the bus stop to the grocery store, which would include a significant walk or bike ride on unsafe streets with my groceries in hand.

Question: If you ended up driving, what did that choice help you understand? 

Answer: I realized very quickly how much planning is needed to get around without a car, and how that makes a spontaneous or emergency trip (such as a trip to the vet) very difficult. I would very quickly be dependent on others to give me a ride or do an errand for me. I realized in some cases I would need to choose between my work and doing the errand due to the amount of time it would take to get to and from a doctor's appointment. Without driving, I would likely not be able to maintain my current job/income.

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Rachel Schaeffer, Seattle

Question: If you didn’t experience many barriers, why? How have you thought about your own mobility privilege? Even without driving yourself, have you had access that others lack because of your proximity to transit, sidewalks, services? Because of your ability to bike? Because of your race?
 
Answer: I have the incredible privilege of being able to choose where to rent an apartment based on where it's easiest to get around without a car. I got lucky in 2019 and found a studio apartment I could afford on a nonprofit salary in the heart of Wallingford, and that made the transition to a car-free life much more achievable. Then when my partner and I decided to move in together last year, we looked for a place equidistant between our two workplaces so that we'd have similar bike commutes to work. We found a place in Capitol Hill where we're pretty sure the rent is only "affordable" because there's a huge noisy bar right behind us. But it means everything we need is right at our fingertips, and often our only transportation choices involve whether we want to carry bike locks with us or take the bus/light rail to travel lighter. My privilege extends to being able to navigate constant construction in my neighborhood, uneven sidewalks, and change to different bus lines at a moment's notice thanks to the many Metro lines that run through Capitol Hill. 
 
Question: During the week did you find yourself concerned for safety or wellbeing as a result of infrastructure, weather, or other factors?
 
Answer: Even though I can get around easily, I'm keenly aware of the possibility of getting hit by a car while I walk and bike everywhere -- it's a side effect of working in advocacy. I send my partner "ride safe!" texts daily, as if his safety is at all in his control (hint: it's not). I know what can happen in an instant. 
 
Question: What do you hope to carry forward from this experience in your work, your advocacy, or your support for mobility justice?
 
Answer: Recognizing my mobility privilege makes me even more determined to make our streets safer for those who are less mobile, or live on far more dangerous streets. 

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Have your own story to share about the #WeekWithoutDriving or what it is like to get around without a car in your community? Contact our friends at Disability Rights Washington to include it in their story map: https://www.disabilityrightswa.org/contact-us/