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My sibling's after school job was not walking distance, she couldn't borrow my car (with me on campus 40 miles east of home) Mom's was at work with her 8 miles west of home, and Dad's either at work or needed for a shift a little later.
4 people, 4 cars in a south shore development community in Nassau. One car in the driveway, 3 on the street. One thing I have noticed is that a lot of people in my old neighborhood converted their garages into living space (which was done to the house I grew up in before we moved there.) I see more and more of this as people expand their homes.
One way to keep more cars off the street is to ban garage conversions if it leaves a house with no functioning garage.
Yeah it's one thing to carpool when you only have 1 kid, but I'm home right now with my 2 month old and we have a 2 year old, and trust me I'm not getting into anyone else's car. I can barely get both kids in and out of our own car! It's a nice idea to take both kids to run errands with someone else, but with 3 carseats, 2 adults and 2 strollers in the trunk, you'd need a full size cargo van to fit the groceries!
We only have 1 car right now because we moved from Queens where we were lucky to have 1 space. We have to figure out something in the next month. My husband takes the train to the city and I have been dropping him at the station, but if he works late and my toddler is in bed he has to take a cab. It's not ideal. He was riding his bike in the fall but it's way too cold now. LI is so car-centric though. My husband used to bike commute to midtown from Queens and loved it. If he mentions riding his bike now people look at him like he is either too poor to afford a car or insane!
Redrunner,
How far from the station are you? Is it within a mile? If I work late and have to go to a station that is farther away, my wife puts the baby in the carseat and comes anyway. Not ideal, but it will be better than having a second car.
If public transportation was so inadequate, then why are many of the buses half empty or more? The truth is that people here are embarassed to take the bus. It's all about image. "I'm not taking the bus...do you know who rides that?"
It's funny...because whenever I go to Europe...everyone takes buses...even in smaller cities. They don't think anything of it. Bankers, Oxford professors, you name it...they all take the bus. So, stigma is part of our problem here too.
I believe more people would ride the buses if they were more reliable, clean, and (out in this area) ran more frequently. I don't completely dismiss your sentiment about image/stigma -- there are people who are that shallow out here.
How far from the station are you? Is it within a mile? If I work late and have to go to a station that is farther away, my wife puts the baby in the carseat and comes anyway. Not ideal, but it will be better than having a second car.
I think we all agree with much of what you are saying. We would all like less cars on the street and on the roads. Most people dont live within a mile of their train station (I live over 2 miles away from mine and I am on the Babylon Line which is one of the larger ones.
Once my 2 year old is either in his nap or asleep for the night it really isnt an option to wake him up. My daughter has activities like Dance, T-ball, Lacrosse and more which make it difficult in many of these situations and we also like to get her to sleep on a decent schedule during the week with school and so much going on. I believe you will see this one day...
I believe more people would ride the buses if they were more reliable, clean, and (out in this area) ran more frequently. I don't completely dismiss your sentiment about image/stigma -- there are people who are that shallow out here.
I agree, if the bus system was more convenient/reliable and you could actually take one bus (instead of 3) to get close to where you needed to go more people would use it. When I lived in Long Beach I always used their bus service to get to and from the train station. What we have in Nassau at least is a joke - unless you are going to a mall it seems.
Ok, so it seems people on here are not willing to give up their cars or the convenience of multiple cars here on LI. I understand this is a luxury that people are passionate about.
So, what are the solutions for the horrendous volume of cars we have on the road and littering the streets?
I believe more people would ride the buses if they were more reliable, clean, and (out in this area) ran more frequently. I don't completely dismiss your sentiment about image/stigma -- there are people who are that shallow out here.
call me shallow then, but I would never be caught dead on a bus...even if you were paying me millions of dollars. I hate to say it, but people who ride the bus are generally stereotyped as being "low-class"...I'm not saying they all are, but people certainly think that...and I don't want to be thought of that way.
I agree, if the bus system was more convenient/reliable and you could actually take one bus (instead of 3) to get close to where you needed to go more people would use it. When I lived in Long Beach I always used their bus service to get to and from the train station. What we have in Nassau at least is a joke - unless you are going to a mall it seems.
It's reliable and very frequent, I'll give it that...but those buses are so freakin' dirty beyond belief. I walk to train station 2.5 miles every day...much rather do that then sit on a dirty germy bus.
Ok, so it seems people on here are not willing to give up their cars or the convenience of multiple cars here on LI. I understand this is a luxury that people are passionate about.
So, what are the solutions for the horrendous volume of cars we have on the road and littering the streets?
I believe in many cases, multiple cars are a necessity, not a luxury.
As for solutions:
Crack down on illegal apartments.
Develop transportation hubs to create a more efficient public trans system.
Develop high density housing near transportation or along main roadways.
Restrict garage conversions.
Build sidewalks along main roads to provide a safe place to walk. (My friend was hit and killed by a car while walking to the bank 2 years ago this month. Many areas in Suffolk are without sidewalks.)
i'd support it just for the added police on the streets during these hours looking for violators. something safe-feeling about that for me.
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