We live in a society that is dominated by motor
vehicles. From manufacturing to operation to
infrastructure, we devote staggering amounts of
natural resources and human time and energy on
them. It is what I call the "car culture".
In this car culture, alternative forms of
transportation are an afterthought. Pedestrians
are often left to feel like targets in an
automotive shooting gallery. Bicyclists are
shunted to the side of the road and forced to run
a gauntlet between sideswiping motorists and
opening doors. Buses schlep down the streets at
human running speed.
Time after time, we give cars and trucks
priority. We split neighborhoods with highways;
we limit pedestrian and bicycling access for the
sake of driving convenience; we devote huge
spaces to parking; and we build our public spaces
around car access. When was the last time you
heard about a highway being torn down to make
room for a park?
We seem to ignore the numerous costs of motor
vehicles -- such as climate change, natural
resource depletion, oil spills, foreign wars,
toxic air pollution, noise, stress, isolation,
injury, and crushing death. In fact -- with all
of the employment in hospitals, law firms, and
insurance companies -- auto accidents are viewed
as a positive contribution to "economic growth".
We also seem to ignore the benefits of
transportation alternatives -- such as physical
health, mental health, personal interaction with
neighbors, and greater environmental awareness.
It's as though the signs at our borders read,
"Welcome to Minneapolis -- a Subsidiary of
General Motors."
Have we gone mad?!
What does it say about our mindset when people
think nothing of driving to a gym so that they
can exercise on a stationary bicycle?
What does it say about our priorities when
families buy another vehicle to commute to a
second job, but they're forced to keep that job
in order to make payments on the extra vehicle?
What kind of community are we building when the
streets are bone dry, while the sidewalks are
packed with two inches of solid ice?
As the next Council Member from Ward 10, I intend
to approach transportation issues from an
entirely new perspective. I will bring my
thousands of miles of bicycling experience. I
will bring the values of the Green Party --
particularly ecological wisdom, community-based
economics, and a future focus.
So I am in complete agreement with voters like
Josh Kroll and John Akre. Cars are not going
away, and they do have benefits. But there needs
to be much more balance in the transportation
choices for Minneapolis. The citizens of Ward 10
deserve more than a representative for the car
culture status quo.
Mark Knapp
Minneapolis Green Party
City Council Candidate - Ward 10
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