On Driving Into Geneva and Walking

Today I had to go into Geneva to do something Initially my plan was to drive to the Parking St Antoine. As I got towards Secheron and the P&R parking I thought, "I have time, I’ll park here and walk the rest". I did park, and then I did walk.

I know that some people drive the car and park as close as they can to where they’re going, even in town. In my case I did things differently. The P&R parking is designed for people who take the train, or who stay for a while but want to pay less.

For three or four hours of parking I paid five francs rather than the usual cost, but, more importantly, by parking here I walked eight kilometres on foot, instead of being stuck in a car waiting for traffic lights to turn green. In the past, when I have driven into Geneva I have often found that the drive through town takes more time than the drive into town.

By parking where I did I minimised the time spent at traffic lights, the time the car polluted, and the time I spent driving. It gave me the opportunity for two four kilometre walks along the lake and into the old town.

That is the advantage of being healthy enough to walk from A to B. I could get my daily walk in, save money, and drive less. It also meant that I could return home sooner as I did not need to wait 15 minutes to half an hour for a train.

Ironically I’d walk four kilometres to catch the train, and a similar distance from the train station to the old town.

And Finally

More and more urbanisation models encourage people to drive to the city outskirts, before parking, and walking into the city. More than once, along the walk. I saw bikesharing stands. If I had chosen to I could have ridden a bike rather than walked. If I had had a helmet, and spent a few minutes creating an account and more.

It’s a shame that bike sharing costs more than public transport, and a lot more than walking.

Weather was nice today. Walking was pleasant. I had the flexibility of the car, and the healthy habit of walking.