It was totally ideal. One day with weather shitty enough to eliminate any guilt you might feel for staying inside all day. One day for awesome activities.

Like I said, some people need cars. Many New Yorkers do not. This is simply a fact.

Years ago, we did need a car, due to the travel required by my residency (I was expected to be at multiple area hospitals, depending on the day). When I finished my residency, we no longer needed a car, so we got rid of it.

I am not envious of my friends’ second home. I believe no one needs a second home; it’s unnecessary excess in a world of finite resources. This includes my friends, who I overall like and respect greatly. They are extremely decent people, but I disagree with them on this aspect. That’s okay.

Yeah, you don’t generally need to fudge numbers to make cars look bad. It’s fairly obvious that they’re horrible in many, many ways.

Yes, they are a necessary evil for some people. But they are absolutely not necessary for a lot of New Yorkers. This includes many of my friends and peers. My friends drive their kid to swimming lessons. We make the 20-minute walk/scoot instead. Other friends use their car to drive to their upstate house on weekends. We…don’t have a second fucking house.

I mean, he could just as easily say that refusing to pay for a permit means you want “free perks.” I don’t have a car, so “free perks” are not a motivator for me. But traffic reduces quality of life for everyone, including non-drivers. I am totally fine seeing car owners pay more for the privilege of owning a car, though I wish the money generated would go to the schools, instead.

The source is Donald Shoup’s The High Cost of Free Parking. It is based on sixteen studies of multiple cities. However, Shoup is careful to note that the “30%” number describes “congested downtown traffic,” not “all traffic.”

In 2006, it was found that on Prince St., on certain afternoons, 28% of motorists were looking for parking. On Saturday, it was 41%. In 2007, it was found that in Park Slope, 45% of traffic was cruising for parking. (These reports are currently unavailable online, but you can email info@transalt.org for copies of them.)

Both Crate and Barrel Kids and Pottery Barn Kids have a lot of cute space-themed items!

This is my move, as well.

For real. It looks like this kid does need to practice third grade English skills. And he’s probably not the only one.