I am 28 years previous and nonetheless do not have my driver’s license. Frankly, automobiles scare me, and getting behind the wheel is a duty I nonetheless cannot confidently settle for.
Fortunately, I stay in NYC, the place a car-free way of life is attainable. There are many methods to get round and not using a license, from environment friendly public transportation programs to walkable neighborhoods and ride-share apps.
However I do not wish to stay within the Massive Apple perpetually. For years, I’ve dreaded studying to drive earlier than finally transferring elsewhere within the US.
The anxiousness ate away at me till a latest journey to Arizona, the place I visited a car-free neighborhood in Tempe known as Culdesac.
A walkable neighborhood in a metropolis suburb
Joey Hadden/Enterprise Insider
Culdesac opened in 2023 and presently has 172 models and 200 residents, an organization consultant informed Enterprise Insider.
The 17-acre block 10 miles from Phoenix has shaded courtyards, residences, a restaurant, and facilities, together with a two-story health middle, oversize video games, and a weekly night time market with distributors.
Culdesac additionally has 11 micro-retailers on-site, together with a market, a laundromat, a medical spa, an artwork studio, a plant store, and a thrift retailer.
Joey Hadden/Enterprise Insider
Getting round and not using a automotive
Culdesac has customer parking, however residents should not allowed to park a automotive inside 0.25 miles of the block.
Some residents, like Culdesac CEO and cofounder Ryan Johnson, do not even personal a automotive.
Others, like 24-year-old Brad Biehl, who moved in earlier this 12 months, park their automobiles elsewhere in Tempe.
“It is a street journey machine as a result of I by no means use it to get round city,” Biehl stated of his automotive. “Strolling is just about my main mode of transportation, biking is a secondary mode, and public transit is the third mode.”
Joey Hadden/Enterprise Insider
Biehl expressed that whereas the block is walkable, surrounding streets should not. One other Culdesac resident beforehand informed BI that this will make residing and not using a automotive troublesome.
However Culdesac makes navigating streets constructed for automobiles just a little simpler. Residents get a mobility package deal value nearly $3,000 a 12 months, together with a Valley Metro go for public transportation and discounted rides with apps like Lyft and the self-driving taxi service Waymo, in keeping with the corporate’s web site.
Culdesac has a cease on the Valley Metro’s light-rail system that connects Phoenix, Mesa, and Tempe. The block additionally has on-site Fowl Scooters, 1,000 bike parking spots, and automotive rental providers by day.
Courtesy of Culdesac.
Biehl stated weekly errands like grocery procuring are straightforward to do with the mobility package deal.
“Each different week, I am going to a giant grocery retailer, both by a experience share or, if I’ve the time, I stroll,” Biehl stated. “Then I stroll or bike to Dealer Joe’s for smaller issues every week.”
Biehl stated shops like Sprouts, Fry’s, Safeway, Dealer Joe’s, and Goal are simply accessible by bike, mild rail, or a roughly 30-minute stroll.
Joey Hadden/Enterprise Insider
A car-free future
With plans to finally have 1,000 residents, 760 models, and extra native outlets, Culdesac continues to be rising — and so is the world’s public transportation system.
BI beforehand reported that Phoenix plans to increase the light-rail system, bus providers, bike lanes, and crosswalks by 2050, making it simpler for Culdesac residents to get to and across the state capital.
Courtesy of Brad Biehl
Visiting Culdesac and studying in regards to the space’s public transportation programs made me understand {that a} car-free way of life within the US is feasible exterior mega-cities like New York.
Maybe if I transfer to this Arizona neighborhood, I could by no means should get my driver’s license.
