Dear People of the Lowcountry,
I love my adopted state of SC, but you learn quickly that those marsh views you love are brought to you from the vantage point of bridges. There are not back ways when you live in the land of the creeks. When a bridge is closed everyone is screwed.
When I lived in Chicago I’d no sooner expect to drive from my doorstep, downtown on Mohawk Street, to my place of employment but at least there was mass transit as an option.
My family lived in Westfield, NJ during the oil embargo and “shortage” of gasoline in the 1970s. My dad commuted to Manhattan then, and they made a rule (passed a law?) that no vehicle could enter Manhattan with fewer than 3 passengers. My dad was forced to carpool and it cut substantially the number of cars traveling into and out of NYC at the time. How ballsy would it be if they imposed this for the Ravenel Bridge right now? Or what about a toll?
Carpooling is not convenient, but we have the opportunity to reduce the number of cars on the roads. If there is a bus that will take your kids to school put them on it. If the bus is not an option please try to squeeze as many people as possible into the same vehicle going the same direction and adjust your schedule. How many people who live in Mt Pleasant commute to Blackbaud or Boeing or MUSC alone? Buses or vans or anything would help. Not even talking about the reduction of pollution here.
I know, easy for me to say as I work 2 miles from home and can even work from home if necessary. But let’s not waste a crisis (which we are in the midst of) and go back to our old, lazy ways when the crisis is over.
By the way, my dad and his carpool of the 1970s continued on after the restrictions were lifted back 40+ years ago. Is the Lowcountry going to emerge from this crisis for the better?
Yeah, I don’t think so either. But I really love that Long Point Road is back to having 2001 numbers of cars on it, even if just for a few weeks. If you are “from off” and can’t muster a good attitude right now then perhaps you aren’t a good fit in the Lowcountry.
Bless your hearts.
quicksdontquit 