Dear Readers,

This Community Wheel focuses on the relationship between the economy and our transportation system. I certainly found plenty to talk about on this topic with economist Steve Hackett (p. 8).

Yes our economy is doing poorly. We experienced a huge gas price spike last summer, and gave a lot of our money to OPEC nations for a few more miles of driving. We are now indebted to them – literally, and it’s time to stop spending frivolously and start paying it back.

A bad economy is not bad all the way around. There have been a few bright spots, at least during the gas price spike, when bike shops got a little boost (Gas Boom, p. 10), new business ideas developed (Budding Bike Biz, p. 11) and transit ridership increased. By the way, if you are thinking of riding transit or already do, Victor has some tips on what not to do (Rants, p. 14).

A recession is a great time to reassess our values and priorities. As a community, we have to make sure no one is cut out of life’s basic needs like food and shelter basic transportation. It turns out the policies to meet these basic needs are the same (Smart and Affordable, p. 6).

This is a good time to take stock of how we spend money. Does it make sense to hang on to that car, or can you enjoy a similar lifestyle car-free and save money? (Follow the Money, p. 6)

For my part, I sold Jenny a few months ago. Jenny was my pickup truck for 14 years. When she started to grow moss on her north side, I knew it was time to clean her up and sell her. My family of four has one car now. It has no name and frequently grows cobwebs. I guess if we can get a car-sharing program here like they have in Ashland (Ashland Shares its Wheels, p. 12), we might be able to make that final step to freedom.

In the meantime, thanks for reading and see you out there.

Chris Rall – Executive Director