Uneasy Rhetoric

Given my recent discussion of commuting and transportation options, I thought I’d take a look at my commuting habits through history, starting with college. I should preface it by saying that I often walked home from school in junior high and high school. Even when I had a car.

• 1988-1992. I lived on campus during my entire college career, so I tended to walk everywhere. Except for the 1,200 mile round trips to and from Sacramento in the summer. I worked on campus for two summers but managed to live close enough to walk to and from work, even when it was raining.
• 1992. The dark ages. I drove my rapidly deteriorating pickup about 80 percent of the time the four miles to work. I walked or biked the rest of the time.
• 1993, 1995, 1997. I lived in Portland and, until August, June, and July respectively, worked in Salem, Oregon. I carpooled with at least one and often two or three others. I probably drove alone twice a month during those times which, in 1993, was especially funny. I still had California plates on my pickup. During the rest of the time (1994, 1996), I walked between the two legislative offices I staffed in Portland. I would drive only when I needed to go other places during the day, and only when transit wouldn’t get me there in a timely manner.
• 1997-1998. Paradise. I lived on one side of the Hawthorne Bridge and worked on the other. Even when the Hawthorne Bridge was closed for repairs I was able to walk to work in just over half an hour by taking the Morrison bridge. Even in the rain. I took the bus about 30 percent of the time, mostly because work provided me with a bus pass. Drive? When I had to carry stuff to a conference, maybe three times, and on my last day of work.
• 1998-2003. Enlightenment. My job was 45 miles away. An hour, most days. I drove myself every day until we hired someone else from Portland, and then we carpooled every day. Then we hired another person from Portland and the three of us carpooled. Then we all started telecommuting two days a week, but we still carpooled. Even while I was in grad school, we frequently managed to keep the carpool together. Either I would drop them off, or I would get dropped off and take the bus home.
• 2003-present. Until I moved from East Sac to Land Park, I would walk to work every day. Now, I usually take light rail in to work, because I just can’t seem to force myself out the door early enough to walk. And the weather sucks anyway. I do try to walk home from work though, and I do intend to use my bicycle in may for Bicycle Commute Month.

So there you have it. I’ve been everything from a pavement pounder to a single-occupancy-vehicle driver. I managed to avoid the Portland traffic nightmare that was the Sunset for all but two days of my entire career. I had a temp job out in Beaverton.