Car Free in Milwaukee!?

A couple of weeks ago I was riding the Metro and overheard an interesting interaction. A newbie rider got on, and a conversation ensued between her and a couple of other riders, who seemed to be regulars. She mentioned that she was from Milwaukee, and one of her interlocutors mentioned that he had gone to college there a decade or so ago. So, as people will, they chatted about various places they knew in common and were having quite a pleasant little talk. Then out of nowhere the gentleman who had gone to college there said, ". . .and it's easy to live there without a car."
What a surprise!--for a couple of reasons.

First, the whole idea of relating to a stranger that living without a car is an advantage in our car-culture society was quite unusual. And second, Milwaukee is not a city that immediately comes to mind when one thinks of places to live without owning cars.

So if they can do it in Milwaukee, then the Car-Free diet in Arlington should be even easier. Those of you who read Chris Balish's How to Live Well Without a Car may recall that the author started out in St. Louis, which is probably not that dissimilar from Milwaukee for living car-free.