Walking, Bicycling, Public Transportation, Private Car

Ann Leach
2 min readApr 6, 2022

The New Hierarchy of Transportation

My set up for a trip to the grocery store. Photo by Ann Leach

Living in the midwest USA, my preferred means of transportation were car, and car. There really were no other options. All of the infrastructure is for cars. But a part of me craved the freedom I enjoyed as a young teen of hopping on my bicycle and riding into town and then all over town.

Now I live in a small rural town in Australia where the infrastructure is still car-centric but they aren’t quite as anti-everything else as the midwest US is.

I regularly walk to the train station to go into the city or out to other rural towns.

My daughter and I regularly walk or bicycle to friends’ houses, lessons, on small shopping trips, to park meet-ups, etc.

My preferred means of transportation now are walking, bicycling, public transportation, and finally private car.

City planners need to get on board with this new hierarchy because it is the way going forward — environmentally, socially, and economically.

For the humans, it is better for their mental and physical health.

#whynotwalk

Ann Leach

Walking, Home-based business, Homeschooling Mum, Living Simply and Minimally, Learning and Growing Every Day, Living Carless by Choice in Victoria, Australia