92 lines
3.6 KiB
Markdown
92 lines
3.6 KiB
Markdown
# Movement & Transportation Freedom
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!!! quote "Traffic Wisdom"
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"Nothing says freedom like being stuck in traffic with 10,000 of our closest individually-liberated neighbors"
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[Call Devin Dreeshen, Minister of Transportation and Economic Corridors](tel:7804272080){ .md-button }
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[Email Minister of Transportation](https://button.freealberta.org/embed/transport-reform){ .md-button }
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[Call Ric McIver, Minister of Municipal Affairs](tel:7804273744){ .md-button }
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[Email Minister of Municipal Affairs](https://button.freealberta.org/embed/municipal-transit){ .md-button }
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## Why Should Transportation Be Free?
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Because somehow we decided that our right to move around should depend on our ability to afford a $70,000 pickup truck. Revolutionary concept: maybe getting to work shouldn't require a small mortgage on wheels?
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### Our Current "Freedom" System
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!!! example "The Alberta Transportation Experience"
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1. We buy expensive vehicles
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2. We pay expensive insurance
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3. We pay expensive gas
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4. We pay expensive parking
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5. We sit in expensive traffic
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6. We repeat until broke
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7. We question our life choices
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## What Real Transportation Freedom Looks Like
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- Frequent public transit (more often than leap years)
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- Reliable bus service (yes, even in our winters)
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- Light rail that actually goes places (not just downtown)
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- Protected bike lanes (without getting coal-rolled)
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- Walkable communities (shocking: we have legs for a reason)
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- Regional rail connections (Edmonton to Calgary in 2 hours, anyone?)
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### But What About Our Trucks?!
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!!! info "Plot Twist"
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Nobody's coming for our F-150s. We're just suggesting that maybe, just maybe, they shouldn't be our only way to get to Costco. Wild, we know.
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## The Economic Freedom Argument
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When our public transit is free and effective:
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- We save thousands on vehicle costs
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- Our cities spend less on road maintenance
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- Our air quality improves
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- Our parking lots can become actual useful spaces
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- Our downtown isn't just one giant parking garage
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### What We're Missing
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- 24/7 transit service
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- Transit priority lanes
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- High-speed rail between our cities
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- Winter-friendly pedestrian areas
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- Bike share programs that work in -30°C
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- Transportation planning that doesn't assume we all own monster trucks
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!!! tip "Pro Freedom Tip"
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If we think free public transit is communist, let's consider how much of our taxes go to maintaining roads for Amazon delivery trucks.
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## The Real Cost of Our Car Dependency
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Our "freedom machines" cost us:
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- $700/month in payments
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- $200/month in insurance
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- $400/month in gas
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- $300/month in maintenance
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- Our firstborn's college fund in parking
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- Our sanity in traffic
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### The Better Way
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Imagine if we had a world where:
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- We could read during our commute
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- We didn't have to be personal mechanics
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- Winter didn't mean bankruptcy via repairs
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- Our kids could get places without us being their chauffeurs
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- We could have a few drinks without needing a mortgage-sized Uber ride home
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!!! warning "Reality Check"
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Our freedom to choose between different colored trucks isn't actually freedom - it's just expensive isolation on wheels.
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## The Bottom Line
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Transportation freedom means having the ability to move around our community without sacrificing our financial future. It means understanding that a mobile population is a productive population (and a less angry one too).
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!!! note "Let's Get Moving"
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Ready to roll toward real freedom? Let's share this with our fellow Albertans - especially those who think adding another lane will finally fix our traffic (spoiler: it won't).
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