I have a foot in both camps -- I have a wife and small children, and we own a car, but I use bicycle and public transit to get to work. There's really no safe

I have a foot in both camps -- I have a wife and small children, and we own a car, but I use bicycle and public transit to get to work. There's really no safe way to get the kids to preschool without a car. I had to do this last week, due to some car issues. The cars whooshing by my tiny children as we walked to the bus stop on the narrow shoulder were utterly terrifying. I won't be doing that again soon. There were no economical alternatives to our current housing situation, so like many other commenters, we have to use a personal vehicle even though we'd prefer to avoid it.