In San Francisco, I have come to realize, car love is a destructive kind of love. That's because automobile ownership is linked to pretty much every malaise suffered by this town. At the heart of these is car love. Neighborhood opposition has severely limited the construction of apartments, and car-spawning commercial space. So apartments are scarce, and residential rents have exploded.
Commercial space is unaffordable to all but the venture-capitalized.
To succeed as a vibrant city, it became clear to me, San Francisco had to break the link between increased housing and office space and added cars. So I had to enlist my intellect, and suppress my love. I got rid of my car. And, after three years of commuting to work by bicycle, time has helped heal the wounds of separation. I keep above my fireplace, and remember the pain.