Vive Le Canada - Cars, cars, cars in Calgary

What is it with Calgarians and their unhealthy love affair with their cars?

Honestly, you look at most Calgarians, and you'd think they were born with four wheels, instead of two legs.

Where I live, in a condo building, most residents I know would drive their cars upstairs if they could. Even taking two steps on their own two feet seems too much.

True, the city has been planned and built as a "car city". A lot of neighbourhoods are totally inappropriate for pedestrians.

Time to change, folks: with gas prices rising and oil reserves running out, the smart thing to do is walk and take public transit.

Ah, public transit. Here's that magic word that we don't hear often in Calgary. Our mayor, Dave Bronconnier, does support public transit and has poured a considerable amount of money into expanding the light-rail system, but it's not enough.

Calgary needs more bus routes (including express bus services) that also run around the clock. In most areas, you're stuck after 6pm or 7pm if you have not gotten on a bus by then.

More also needs to be done to make the city (all of the city, that is!) walkable and pedestrian-friendly. Note to the City: go after drivers who do not respect the right-of-way of pedestrians. A lot of drivers think that pedestrians are second or third class citizens. Such drivers should be punished severely, because they're not fit to be behind the wheel.

We also need more transit cops. In recent months, more and more Calgarians have come out and spoken up about the concerns they have for their personal safety on C-Train platforms as well as inside trains.

Any gas taxes or other gas or car-related charges, taxes, rates, etc. must be reinvested into public transit, and fast.

Calgary is growing at lightning speed, and our public transit system must not be allowed to lag behind by decades.