The Conservative Case for Walking and Biking

Conservatives tend to believe that individuals should have as many choices as possible when it comes the decisions that affect their lives. This conviction is based on the belief that individuals know what is best for themselves and will ultimately make the right decisions, given all the options and information available.

Under our current transportation system, the majority of Nutmeggers and the majority of Americans for that matter, don’t have a whole lot of choice when comes to finding a way to get to work, shopping, school, etc. We have to drive.

We have to drive because our transportation policies have created a built environment that is downright hostile to pedestrians and cyclists, an environment that gives most of us little choice but to drive most of the time.

To a liberal concerned about the environment and our dependence on foreign oil this should be somewhat disturbing. To a conservative worried about big government dictating how we live our lives, this should be downright appalling.

The car is, and has been for some time now, an enduring symbol of the freedom and sense of possibility that is part of the American fabric. The car, coupled with the open road, boldly declares that anything is possible, that our destiny is ours to make. However, few things embody freedom, self-reliance, and self-sufficiency more than walking or biking to one’s destination. You are not on anyone else’s schedule. You leave when you decide to and travel by the route you choose – and you don’t pay anyone else a dime to do it. When walking or biking you are at once the driver and the engine. Even more so than the motorist, you are truly independent.

At some point in our history this was forgotten. Somewhere, somehow, walking and biking for transportation got pushed into the liberal column, where it has remained to this day. On local, state, and federal levels, we see liberals championing these causes, supporting funding for walking and biking infrastructure while conservatives like Rush Limbaugh, do their best to bitterly combat anything that doesn’t subsidize driving.

The obvious, but overlooked question here is: When did getting oneself from here to there using your own two feet become "liberal"? When did conservatives get the idea that providing you own transportation – that relying on your own muscle and sweat, as opposed to a gasoline engine – become something other than a virtue, something worthy of scorn and mockery, something to be discouraged? A true conservative would promote all forms of personal mobility.

Conservatives will often talk about how government should be as lean and efficient as possible. Spending taxpayer money is a serious issue and therefore, the government should utilize tax dollars in such a way as to provide the greatest level of service for the least expenditure.

The current auto-oriented transportation policy often championed by the conservative members of both the Connecticut General Assembly and the United States Congress is anything but cost-effective and efficient. Our state and federal gas taxes do not come close to paying for the highway system we all enjoy. This means that all citizens, no matter how much or how little they drive, end up subsidizing this costly system through their income taxes, property taxes, sales taxes, and all manner of other fees levied on them by local, state, and federal governments. Any conservative worth his or her salt knows that if you want to lower taxes, you have to have an equivalent reduction in government spending (unless of course you’re a Republican member of congress, in which case you believe in tax-cuts funded by money borrowed from the Chinese). One way to reduce government spending is to develop a transportation system that moves people around as inexpensively as possible.

Our current dependence on the automobile for virtually each and every trip we make is an irresponsible and expensive indulgence that costs us all. Promoting walking and biking may currently be issues associated with the left, but they shouldn’t remain that way. Conservatives should embrace walking and biking, even if they don’t like the liberals and moderates who currently support it.

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