How hard is life in St. John's without a car? One man's quest to find out

A man who's running for St. John's city council decided to park his car for a week and see what it was like trying to get around town by walking, biking and using public transport.

After spending that rainy, chilly week in April picking up his 16-month-old son and running other errands without a car, Ian Froude has a new perspective on the challenges.

"We have a city design that's set out for vehicular transportation," he told the St. John's Morning Show on Friday.

"The decisions we're making are exacerbating that and forcing people to purchase vehicles, and that has a significant cost effect on a household budget."

Metrobus

Froude lives near the Freshwater Road and Oxen Pond Road area of central St. John's, and said walking and riding the bus was a reasonable form of transportation as long as he was staying in that area, but was much more challenging if he wanted to go further.

"The bus worked well for short trips across the city," he said. "The challenge with the bus system, like a lot of people have been telling me, is getting in from the Goulds or the farther-flung parts of the city."

He said while the Metrobus smart phone app is helpful for planning trips, the frequency of bus arrivals and departures is still problematic — especially if a person is running a little late and has to wait another full hour before the next bus comes.

Walking

When it comes to hoofing it, Froude said there are definitely challenges there as well.

There are sections of roads, even in the central area of the city, where there are no sidewalks. He said it's manageable in the summer if you're an able-bodied person walking alone, but if you have a stroller or wheelchair then there's sometimes no other choice but to be out in the road with traffic.

As well, he said the ramps from the sidewalk to the street sometimes have utility poles right in the middle of them, which means anyone with a wheelchair or stroller would have to try to work their way around the obstacle.

Overall, Froude said it's harder to walk or use public transit in St. John's than in other places in Canada where he's lived.

He sees a lot of potential to improve the system — through car-share programs for example. He said lessening people's dependence on owning a vehicle could also save families thousands of dollars a year.

"I believe we should design our transportation system so that people can get around the city in a healthy and happy way, and an effective and cost-affordable way," he said.