Commuting with toddler to city: options?

gazket said :

Contrary to pedal power and Greens advice you are not a bad person if you use a car to do your daily traveling needs.

You at epic for free bus to civic

typo
You could park at epic

Contrary to pedal power and Greens advice you are not a bad person if you use a car to do your daily traveling needs.

You at epic for free bus to civic

Grail said :

Since you’re only taking your child to day care in Weston Creek, there’s nothing preventing you riding your bike with empty child trailer/seat the rest of the way in to work. Especially convenient if you get an electric-assist bike, and you’ll be teaching your child good transport &health habits (i.e.: get some damned exercise and don’t rely on pharmaceutical companies to save you from lifestyle disease such as type 2 diabetes).

no, suggest you re-read op – change of daycare is to city (from w/ck) but leccy bike is an excellent idea…

Children should be seen and not heard

Since you’re only taking your child to day care in Weston Creek, there’s nothing preventing you riding your bike with empty child trailer/seat the rest of the way in to work. Especially convenient if you get an electric-assist bike, and you’ll be teaching your child good transport &health habits (i.e.: get some damned exercise and don’t rely on pharmaceutical companies to save you from lifestyle disease such as type 2 diabetes).

JazzyJess said :

Genie said :

Still waiting to hear where this amazing $9 a day car park in the City exists !

They’re all $12+ where I work.

Lena Karmel Lodge on Marcus Clarke. Need to be in 9:30 though.

Hmmm.. Meh. Might stick to catching the bus… still cheaper and this carpark is nowhere near where I work.

miz said :

I think the bus could work for you – remember, your littlie will get used to sitting on the bus ‘like a big girl’ in a very short time, and will accept it as part of the morning routine. Kids love buses and love routine, and of course your daughter will be getting older and more settled every day. And of course, preschoolers travel free on buses.

There is always going to be a bit of a trade-off in relation to the length of the bus journey versus pay parking hassles. I agree that there is a gender issue here, as it is often the mothers who do the child care run and work the part time hours, and face a lack of commuter bus services and parking facilities. But if you can get a more or less direct bus with no changing, it is still probably cheaper and less of a hassle than the parking issues you are anticipating (lack of availability for part timers, needing coins, etc).

BTW, good on you for exploring this option.

this is more or less what i’d have said – she’ll learn to sit still and the stimulation of seeing that many new people up close each day will also contribute no end to her general socialisation skills. Buses are cheap and you could perhaps drive one of the days to give you both a break from the bus and provide some flexibility re getting other things done on the way home… and provide better music!

You need one of these: http://www.picturescolourlibrary.co.uk/loreswithlogo/3087044.jpg

Room for the whole family and free parking!

Genie said :

Still waiting to hear where this amazing $9 a day car park in the City exists !

They’re all $12+ where I work.

Lena Karmel Lodge on Marcus Clarke. Need to be in 9:30 though.

Still waiting to hear where this amazing $9 a day car park in the City exists !

They’re all $12+ where I work.

You can’t ride with a toddler when it’s cold or after dark? No one ever told me that…

I used to ride to daycare all the time in winter and summer. What do you think people in those countries where half of the population commutes by bike do? And it gets way colder in some in winter.

My daughter never particularly liked the trailer – except for when she was a tiny baby and I used to take her cross country and she would fall asleep after the first bump – so mostly used a bike seat. And I had front panniers for our gear. And used to hang stuff of the back of the childseat too. I even used to take a folding chair when we went to watch the fireworks.

I would have a problem with having to get the bike off the car and then load it and doing it in reverse on the way home. That could take loads of time with a toddler.

Nanouk said :

Cycling is a good option. You can pack everything in a backpack (or in additional carry bags), and you won’t lose time looking for a parking etc. Really, it is my favorite option and I am commuting with my boy to day care too… (9km each way, but I have got an electric bike :p)

I believe that they make a frontal panier style bicycle carrier bag for infants. It is a low slung holster design that mounts to the front fork so you do not lose any ability to corner hard if needed and it does not affect the centre of gravity as long as it is counter balanced with your lunch or a bag of flour or something (Like another baby). Due to the design of it, any damage to the infant in a crash is negligible as the wheel wraps around the child in a cage like shell.

I think that Onya bikes sells them.

Aeek said :

Many people spend that sort of money and time on Gyms. More productive to spend the time with your toddler.

Many people do. But not necessarily all people. And riding with a toddler budled up in a trailer is only ‘spending time’ with the toddler in roundabout way. Anyway, there are lots of people who wont or cant ride for various reasons, and as mentioned I say that as someone who rides to work every day and who makes his kids (both under 10) ride to school every day. Cycling is a bigger hassle than driving, can be unpleasant (cold, rain), can be dangerous and has issue such as changing at work and so forth.

There is plenty of $9 parking near Civic. It depends on how broadly you define Civic and how far you are willing to walk to save a few dollars.

I don’t get why you aren’t already driving if parking is 9.00 a day and you are already paying 10.30 to park in woden and bus it.

ACTION needs to be much cheaper to get more people onto it.

that said, i never heard of this 9.00 parking in the city, and you have to get in very early to get any of the cheaper city parking.

Inner city multstories are 30.00 a day.

dtc said :

Plus, of course, if the OP doesnt have a bike then you are up for quite a bit of money to set yourself up. Even second hand (which take a bit of time to find stuff) will be couple of hundred for the bike and trailer, then helmets, lights, gloves, winter clothing etc. Sure at $45 per week you break even in a few months, but you have to have the initial capital.

Many people spend that sort of money and time on Gyms. More productive to spend the time with your toddler.

Aeek said :

dtc said :

As someone who commutes by bike, no way would I ride with a toddler if any of your commute will be after sunset. In summer, perhaps. But that only works for 1/2 the year and assumes you are fit and healthy yourself.

I see a couple of toddler trailers most times I manage an early start.

Just because you see them doesnt mean its a good idea – those trailers I guess make you a bit more visible but a lot less able to avoid an accident. And after dark thats what you will be doing if you are riding on the roads / road side bike paths.

If you are on bike paths, however, then its doable. Of course we are assuming the OP is able to ride to work – Weston Creek to Civic is a fairly lengthy ride for anyone with any health problems or issues.

Plus, of course, if the OP doesnt have a bike then you are up for quite a bit of money to set yourself up. Even second hand (which take a bit of time to find stuff) will be couple of hundred for the bike and trailer, then helmets, lights, gloves, winter clothing etc. Sure at $45 per week you break even in a few months, but you have to have the initial capital.

AsparagusSyndrome said :

Cycling into the city on busy roads/bike lanes… with a 1.5yo toddler … at -3 degrees… and pulling bikes on and off cars / buses. Yes, that would work quite well, I can see that now.

You mean cycling the whole way into the city on dedicated bike paths or back roads, with a toddler and gear in seat and panniers – or enclosed in a trailer? With some warm clothes on. From personal experience, it works well.

I didn’t quite catch where star anise lives, but I’m assuming it’s Weston Creek .. you can get the whole way to Civic on bike paths.

Mind you, complaining about having to carry $9 in change makes me think OP is either princess – or troll.

dtc said :

As someone who commutes by bike, no way would I ride with a toddler if any of your commute will be after sunset. In summer, perhaps. But that only works for 1/2 the year and assumes you are fit and healthy yourself.

I see a couple of toddler trailers most times I manage an early start.

As someone who commutes by bike, no way would I ride with a toddler if any of your commute will be after sunset. In summer, perhaps. But that only works for 1/2 the year and assumes you are fit and healthy yourself.

Face it, with kids you just have to make lots of compromises. One is driving. Another can be having to buy a second car or having to walk out of meetings early to deal with having only one car. Been there myself – indeed, I still need a second car even though I dont drive to work, because I have two kids and they do different things in different locations at the same time.

I have to say, it is annoying to pay $9 for 4 hours parking when you know it will cost you the same for 10 hours parking.

This is why we drive cars in Canberra.

There is a morning express from Cooleman Court, through the northwest Weston Creek suburbs (Rivett upwards, not Fisher/Waramanga), to the city.

It’s only one bus, with a return in the early evening. Could help if you have the other trip leg organised.

Cycling is a good option. You can pack everything in a backpack (or in additional carry bags), and you won’t lose time looking for a parking etc. Really, it is my favorite option and I am commuting with my boy to day care too… (9km each way, but I have got an electric bike :p)

I think the bus could work for you – remember, your littlie will get used to sitting on the bus ‘like a big girl’ in a very short time, and will accept it as part of the morning routine. Kids love buses and love routine, and of course your daughter will be getting older and more settled every day. And of course, preschoolers travel free on buses.

There is always going to be a bit of a trade-off in relation to the length of the bus journey versus pay parking hassles. I agree that there is a gender issue here, as it is often the mothers who do the child care run and work the part time hours, and face a lack of commuter bus services and parking facilities. But if you can get a more or less direct bus with no changing, it is still probably cheaper and less of a hassle than the parking issues you are anticipating (lack of availability for part timers, needing coins, etc).

BTW, good on you for exploring this option.

With a 5% discount, your trips should be $2.51 each way.

>My 1.5 yo daughter is changing day care so she is next to my office in the city.

If it were me, I’d go by private car, yes.

I like buses, bikes, and prefer not to drive.

But traveling from Weston Creek to work (area) with 1.5YO child on a regular basis: I’d use a car. Preferably car pool, but not necessarily so.

The only *out of the box* alternative I can think of now, is an electric cargo bicycle via the cycleway past RSPCA and round the lake in either direction (probably clockwise). It’s a *huge* commitment though.

Sad to say but driving and paying for all day parking would be my recommendation. Makes it easier to do the drop off and if someone is not well gives you the option to pick them up quickly. You’ll also be able to make sure you do your hours at work easily without losing more time with your bundle of joy. Let’s not even get into all the stuff you won’t have to cart about.

Looks like you already have it pretty well sorted but TP3000’s suggestion looks good too.

Do you take your husband to work too (or need the car in Woden for his use also)? If not, another idea might be to go down Cotter Rd/Adelaide Avenue, find a free park and cycle the rest of the way. Weston Creek to Woden and then bus to the city is about 27 minutes (not counting for extra time spent parking and walking/waiting for the bus and walking to work). Weston Creek to Albert Hall (although parking there is pretty hard now) is about 11 minutes (at least when the roadworks are finished) and cycling is about 12 minutes. Just don’t park in front of Pitchka’s house…….

Cycling into the city on busy roads/bike lanes… with a 1.5yo toddler … at -3 degrees… and pulling bikes on and off cars / buses. Yes, that would work quite well, I can see that now.

Looks like you already have it pretty well sorted but TP3000’s suggestion looks good too.

Do you take your husband to work too (or need the car in Woden for his use also)? If not, another idea might be to go down Cotter Rd/Adelaide Avenue, find a free park and cycle the rest of the way. Weston Creek to Woden and then bus to the city is about 27 minutes (not counting for extra time spent parking and walking/waiting for the bus and walking to work). Weston Creek to Albert Hall (although parking there is pretty hard now) is about 11 minutes (at least when the roadworks are finished) and cycling is about 12 minutes. Just don’t park in front of Pitchka’s house…….

Cycling ? I think you might have missed the bit about having a toddler and lots to carry.

I’m sure your car doesn’t mind “clunking around with four days’ worth of change” – you don’t need to keep it in your pocket!

Cue anti children, anti working mums, anti car drivers.

We share a Pre-school run for our sins. I have to get to the city and I park for $11 a day behind the police station on my working/drop off days. The only other car parks are short term – 4 hours, which is no good for anyone working longer ours obviously. The multi storey park in city west will alleviate you of the buckets of change problem, but may be more expensive, not sure. There’s also parking under the new Ernst & Young I believe. May be the wrong side of town for you though.

Whilst the gov wants to change our driving habits for public transport habits, they don’t seem to want to take into account that many Canberrans don’t have stock standard 9-5 hours or the ability to drop your kids off by bus and then get into work on time.

My concern for next year when Master Cholet is at Kindy is if I can get a park on the days I will start work later. In the place I park, all the spots are gone early. And to boot, this car park is on the list for development. The fact that the fees have not gone up in two years leads me to believe that development is not too far away either.

Out of curiosity, have you tried applying for a Park & Ride permit (save $5 a day), you can enter & leave these car parks anytime of the day for the low cost of $0 (providing you qualify for a permit each month). One condition of Park & Ride permit is having $90 odd on your MyWay card, or Autoload (another saving of .14c/peak hour trip).

Where in the city can you park for $9 a day ?