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Can't drive? Try public transportation, or let your mouse do the walking for you By
Whitney Wilkinson
Since high school I have had a car to get me around. I would just zip here and there. I would drive to the mall to pick up a new lipstick, or drive to the grocery store to get a gallon of milk, or when I was stressed I would just go for a drive to calm me down. I really took for granted how convenient it is to have a car. That is, until last spring when because of a medical condition, I was involved in an accident where I swerved off the road and straight into a telephone pole. My car was totaled, but luckily I was OK. Since the accident, I haven't been able to drive for medical reasons. As a consequence of the accident, I have gained a whole new perspective on the world of transportation. Living in Sandy, a suburb of Salt Lake City, I realized how dependent we as a state are on private vehicles for transportation. It seemed impossible at first to get around without a car. I quickly realized that I had to find alternative ways of accomplishing tasks so that I could maintain my independent lifestyle. I think that was one of the hardest and most frustrating parts of this whole experience. In a lot of ways I found that losing the privilege of driving was equal to losing my independence. Learning to ask others for help has also been one of the important lessons that I hope to learn from this. Another lesson that I think I have learned is the ability to think "outside the box" and to find new solutions for tasks that were once so simple and were now so difficult. I had to learn new skills and think of alternatives to get me where I needed to go. This summer I worked for Snowbird Ski Resort. I chose this job primarily for the transportation benefits that it had. There are UTA buses that run up and down Little Cottonwood Canyon. The bus stops at a parking lot that is near my parents' home. My sister also worked with me so I was often able to catch a ride up the canyon with her. This situation worked well for the summer. Having friends and family around to help drive me around was also a great convenience. One aspect of the summer that I found interesting was using the TRAX light rail system. When I needed to go to the mall it was easier to have someone take me to the TRAX station that was about 10 minutes away by car so I could ride TRAX into downtown Salt Lake City than to the mall in Sandy that was 20 minutes away by car. To find information on TRAX schedules and UTA buses I went to the UTA website. When I came up to Logan for school in the fall, I faced a new set of challenges and also a lot more practical options. In Logan I couldn't rely on my family any more and my friends had lives of there own, so I have come up with a lot of good solutions for getting things done and getting around in Logan. I was able to get an on campus job with the help of the Disability Resource Center and that eliminated having to get a ride to work. The LTD bus system has been very helpful. I found information about schedules and policies on the Logan City website. The LTD is free and the buses run frequently. The system is also simple and you can't get too lost. The Greyhound Bus company has also been a good way for me to get back and forth from Logan to Salt Lake. When I get off the bus in Salt Lake I can just get on TRAX which is right across the street and it takes me out to Sandy. A one-way bus ticket from Logan to Salt Lake is about $18 and a round trip ticket is cheaper. Information about Greyhound is available at http://www.greyhound.com. Another interesting problem that I have encountered since being in Logan without a car is that while I can get to Salt Lake, it is still a hassle and can be costly for quick trips. Logan's lack of big-name department stores makes it difficult to get clothes and cosmetics that I want. This is where the Internet has come in handy. I recently needed some shampoo and lipstick that isn't sold in Logan. I looked up Aveda Cosmetics on the Internet at www.aveda.com, and while they do have a website, I found it interesting that they do not actually sell products at the site. I think they do this to keep the reputation of the product very exclusive. But, I found it not to be exclusive but annoying. Along the same lines I wasn't able to buy that lipstick on the Internet, but I was able to use the online yellow pages to find the phone number where I ordered it over the phone. Other resources for transportation in Logan are the Logan Cab Company and the Cache Valley Cab Company. Both of these cab services charge $5 one-way. This can be expensive but a valuable tool as well. I have learned a lot about how to survive with out a car and how to use resources I hadn't thought about before and also to appreciate the things and skills I do have. I hope that some of the things I have learned might make it easier for someone in a similar situation.
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