November 6, 2008
The silver lining of lost parking privileges
By Brian Donohue
News & Community Relations
This past springtime I was cheerfully anticipating new work digs. The four of us on UW Medicine’s marketing team were joining the news and community relations groups from UW and Harborview medical centers. Our collective was headed for a shiny, abundantly lit space in South Lake Union, where tower cranes pivot above erupting condos, clots of earbud-wearing hipsters and a poorly acronymed streetcar. We rejoiced at our good fortune.
Then, for me, an e-mail raised my eyebrows with this declaration of reality: Not every one of the thousand-plus UW employees at the SLU site would have a parking spot in the 300-space garage.
OK, that’s logical enough. But it was just the setup; not long after came an e-mail whose jab left me breathless: I didn’t rate an invitation to park at the new space.
My cheesy grin curled into a harrumph of dissatisfaction. Where our little marketing team worked, off-campus, I parked daily and freely. (Yes, as a UW employee I knew that was an unusually good deal, but that’s what I started with.) Now I pitied my car-driving self. A space at SLU would cost $85 a month — essentially a $1,000/year pay cut. Sheesh.
While driving to work one day, an audacious idea perked me up: I could buy a Vespa! Spend $30 a month less on gas! Maybe regain a bit of cool with my 15-year-old son. (Hey, a dad can dream.) And since a scooter takes up so little space, surely the SLU garage would have plenty of nooks where scooter drivers could park for free, I figured.
Not so fast. Space existed, but a scooter parking permit would cost about $30 a month, negating the gas savings. And who knew that a scooter with enough throttle to get me and a rider up Capitol Hill would run $3,700, not including helmets or insurance? As a money-saver, the scooter’s beguiling shine dulled fast.
Moving day drew near and I was still fretting about my last two options: riding the bus and riding my bike. The bus would keep me drier and safer, but cost more and afford less flexibility to my schedule. It dawned on me that I could dust off my mountain bike, whose knobby tires hadn’t seen 50 miles in 10 years of ownership.
Could that really work? Was I kidding my 46-year-old self?
Stories of bikers dodging rush-hour traffic didn’t inspire confidence. (Where did I put my helmet? Do I need a headlight?) On my route, it’d be downhill all the way, so I wouldn’t arrive at work sweaty. (How much do bike pants cost on Amazon? What’s a pannier?) But my legs and lungs burned at the thought of a long uphill slog at the end of the day. (I sought comfort in the thought that beer would taste better when I got home.)
Confident only of my route, I pedaled off one day, reacquainting myself with handbrakes and prayerfully avoiding car doors being flung open.
To my surprise, I have found the daily bike ride to work to be doable — and enjoyable. I go only six miles a day, and I’ve been riding only since late May, but my stamina is greater. I feel energized. And huzzah! Beer does taste better.
Other lessons: Despite my uncertainty about biking in rain, it hardly bothers me, and cars usually go slower in the rain. I did invest in a rain jacket and fenders, though. Mostly I feel in control of my destiny on the road. The one time I wrecked, it was my fault. I’ve had a couple near-collisions with cars that left me tasting adrenalin, but that’s made me a better driver on two wheels and four. I see more people and scenery and architecture at a bike’s pace. It’s a great way to check out neighborhoods. And no doubt, I’m saving gas money.
For all that, maybe the biggest blessing is that I’m looking for more silver linings. Isn’t it remarkable when clouds break to reveal them?
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More people than ever are using mass transit and bikes to get to, from and around the UW.
From fall 2007 through summer 2008, the U-PASS commuter program’s raw numbers grew slightly though the percentage of students, faculty, and staff who participate has remained near-constant, said Celeste Gilman, Transportation Systems Manager for UW Commuter Services. Data for fall 2008 are still being gathered.
Bicycle rides composed about 8 percent of all campus trips in 2006, when UW last completed its biennial transportation survey. The survey is underway again now, and although data are incomplete, anecdotally, “we’ve had a significant increase in the use of bike racks on campus this fall,” Gilman said. “We’re in the process of purchasing more racks.” Permits for motorcycles and scooters this school year are selling at about the same pace as they were at this point during the 2005-2006 and 2006-2007 school years, she said.
