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Turismo
York Guardian Newspaper, September 15, 2006.

On May 20, 2000, my 39th birthday, I made a drastic lifestyle change: I drove my 17-year-old-car – the red Turismo I purchased for $9999.01 and drove 100,000 km – to a school for mechanics. I gave them the keys, snapped a few final photos, and walked away.

I'm still walking, about 20 km a week. No one thought I'd last this long without a car, and frankly, neither did I.

I've adapted to not owning a car, and have never been healthier or less stressed. People have also noticed my punctuality – I know exactly how long it will take me to walk a certain distance, or how long a bus ride will take.

I shop with a bundle buggy, take the bus to my tennis club during the winter, and I once carried my clubs on the subway to a golf game.

I soon discovered the joy of saying, “Sorry, if I had a car I would gladly drive you to visit your sister, to the funeral home, the airport, help you move etc…”

Another bonus was shedding the designated driver role. I especially disliked being the person stuck looking and paying for parking after courteously dropping my passengers in front of the cinema or restaurant.

The rare time I need to transport heavy, bulk items such as a new lawn mower, patio chairs, cement planters, 40 kg of top soil/manure and a few patio tiles, I rely on my Autoshare membership, which allows me use of a car on an hourly basis. Given that both the Canadian Tire and Home Depot are only a one-minute drive from my house, the cost of the car is typically under $7.

As for late night travel, I got used to taking public transit when I worked the evening shift at the CBC, and I still have no trouble taking the TTC past midnight. The bus driver always drops me off at the top of my road – 400 feet from my house.

If I'm out past 1:00 a.m. I'll take a taxi - $20 from downtown Toronto.

The one significant drawback to being car-less is not being invited to social engagements outside the GTA. My suburban friends hesitate asking me to visit because they either think they're imposing on me - given that I can't drive to their home, or they wrongly believe they are obligated to drive me home, if I stay past a certain hour.

I've also found it difficult to find walking partners because most people in my neighbourhood don't want to walk for the sake of walking. So most often, I go solo.

My silent walks have allowed me to rediscover interesting pockets of Toronto and reconnect with parts of the city that were so familiar to me as a child, such as Bloor Street, east of Dufferin.

One sunny Sunday, my walk took me past the old buildings that once housed my favourite sixties department stores - Woolworths, the Metropolitan and Jupiter. I continued walking east on Bloor until I hit Concord Avenue. I ventured up the street and stopped briefly in front of our first family home. I walked by my elementary school, and by the towering St. Mary's Ukrainian Catholic Church – which often helped guide me home when I strayed far as a child. I then I parked myself at Christie Pits, remembering fondly the many summers spent playing there with long-forgotten friends. I then got on the subway and went home.

In the past six years I've only missed not owning a car twice – not enough to change my lifestyle choice. I don't miss washing my car, insuring it, parking it, driving it or fixing it. Don't miss sitting in my un-air-conditioned car on the hottest day of summer. Don't miss being lazy and driving two blocks to buy one bag of groceries. Don't miss paying 60 cents a litre – (is that what gas cost in 2000?) to fill my car. And, I most definitely don't miss clearing the heavy snow from my car upon leaving a dinner party, dressed in evening wear and high heels.

Now this is not to say that I will never own a car again, but if I do cave it, the car will have to be a triple E: electric, economical and environmentally sound, unlike 1983, when the major draw was the Turismo's sporty hood scoop, dazzling side stripes and its vibrant red interior.

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