Going 'carless' in Seattle

Going 'carless' in Seattle

By John Sharify

SEATTLE - Can you imagine going without a car? Alan Durning can.

"So this is my garage!" points Alan Durning.

It's a garage without cars.

"We got six bikes in here today," he says -- one for every member of his family, and an extra bike.

And that's how Alan and his family get around, do errands, go to work, and see friends. It's either a bicycle, or take a bus. Or walk.

Alan prefers his bicycle.

He and his family have been doing this 'carless' experiment ever since Alan's oldest son totalled the family car 14 months ago. The family decided why not give it a try to live without what so many can't live without.

With gas prices jumping up again, Alan might just be the smartest guy in Ballard.

"We save a ton of money," says Alan.

He attaches a trailer to his bike and uses it like you use the trunk of your car. It's a necessity when he buys groceries.

So why did the Durning's go carless in Seattle? The simple answer: it's good for the environment.

Durning runs a downtown environmental think tank called Sightline. He's blogged about 'The year of living carlessly' on the Web site www.sightline.org Check it out.

And after that, Alan suggests: "You should try it!"
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