Cars and the People Who Love Them

The northern beaches area of Sydney is a great stretch of suburbia that many Americans would find familiar. However, there is one similarity that is certainly not serving these people well: the obsession with the automobile. Although there is likely ample room for more population growth around here, there is no room for more cars. Just like Americans, Aussies feel that individual mobility with an automobile is a birthright, and the infrastructure to support that attitude is simply not here. The result is a nightmare of traffic consisting primarily of vehicles with only one person in them, all snaking slowly along roads designed to handle a fraction of the present number. We have not taken the wheel on any of our trips down here, and I am heartily glad of it. Even if I could reconcile my driving skills to adjust to piloting down the left lane, I would go mad having to deal with the worst gridlock I have ever seen.

The answer is, of course, more public transport for both Australia and America. We just returned from an outing to go to Manly Beach, about six and a half miles. We rode the bus and the trip took about thirty minutes. I doubt seriously if one could have driven that distance any faster, and even if you could, it would probably take the same amount of time looking for a place to park. While seating on the bus one gains an appreciation for the steely nerves of the driver, and the incredible close shaves they must make to maneuver in the steady stream of cars.

We went to Manly to visit an open air flea market and watch the surfers from the beach, all on a lovely day with variable clouds and cool temperatures. Today’s picture shows Jayne checking out the bargains at the market, right before I adjourned to a nearby bar where I enjoyed a cold beer and tried desperately to understand the fellow sitting next to me who wanted to talk. Up until now I thought I could do pretty well speaking and understanding Australian, but this fellow was too much for me. He sounded like Bazza Mackenzie on steroids.