Urban Living in DTR

How three locals navigate living and working car-free

If you thought you couldn’t get away with living in Raleigh car-free, think again. Even in the ’90s, a dedicated Quail Hollow professional faithfully took the CAT bus to and from his DTR Progress Energy post for a solid decade. But that dedication to a wheels-free low-footprint life is definitely rare for North Raleighites—especially in the 1900s—and easily the exception.

As a large central city, Raleigh takes the wheel as the most car-dependent major metro in the U.S. with 38 vehicle miles traveled (VMT) daily—and a walk score dipping as low as 18 in some burbs and averaging 31 in the city. The city is so reliant on cars that parking is at a premium and road construction is ongoing—or planned—for most major streets. While it may not yet be possible to change the tide citywide, it’s rolling differently Downtown.

Despite Raleigh’s carcentric sprawl, Downtown core’s respective walk, bike and transit scores of 82, 88 and 71 are perhaps a sign the city is evolving. And thanks to major strides in bikeability and Bus Rapid Transit—not to mention the influx of e-scooters and e-bikes—it’s keeping pace with cities like NYC and San Fran.

In fact, several residents have ditched their cars—saving time, money and a whole lot of stress in the process. We chatted with three locals living the “urban life” in Raleigh.

Intentional Living
When local Ashton Mae Smith’s auto lease ended in 2019, it was a no-brainer not to renew. Having spent the last decade living within walking distance of her DTR office, she’s been in a one-car household with her husband and toddler ever since, spending the last six years walking, biking, scooting, bussing and ridesharing. 

“I’m very intentional about choosing my doctors, exercise, son’s daycare and hobbies to be within walking distance,” says Smith, who adds she didn’t drive that much even before getting rid of her car. “That’s my preferred way to get around.”

After tracking her expenses over the years, she’s pocketed $5K a year just by skipping car ownership—savings that are reflected in her mental health as well. “Not having to think about a car is incredible,” she emphasizes. “There’s a lot of thinking about parking and is it gonna be safe and if you have something to drink do you leave it there overnight… all these things.” 

Her toddler’s a fan too: “Half the adventure is riding the bus,” she says. It helps that kids ride free, tap-to-pay is seamless and their high-frequency line runs every 15 minutes.

Carless Confidence
“It’s really not as hard as people think,” maintains Fayetteville Street resident Meg Crawford of her carless lifestyle. She ditched her car in San Francisco, and four-ish years after moving back to Raleigh, she’s still living that key-free life—thanks to remote work and easy access. “What’s great about Downtown,” she adds, “is it’s compact enough where you really have everything you need in a quick, easily walkable diameter. And public transportation obviously plays a role in that.”

Tapping into the tools at her fingertips, when walking won’t cut it, Crawford opts for her old triathlon bike, rideshare or even Turo—aka Airbnb for cars—which she’ll use for a jaunt to the beach or mountains. For her, the upside’s huge: She saves ~$1K a month while hitting up DTR events, cafes and restaurants on the regular—minus the hassle of traffic and parking headaches. To boot, she credits the walkable lifestyle with boosting her social life. “For me, it’s just pluses across the board,” she says. “I’m not sure I’ll ever fully own a vehicle again.”

Life Simplified
For Raleigh Chamber VP of Leadership Development Shana Overdorf, the draw of DTR was about the strong community she expected to find. “But coming back Downtown meant sacrifice,” she admits—“and so when weighing my budget, the car was the first thing that could go.”

After making the move to Mira Raleigh in August 2024, she hung up her keys in January—a move she calls “freeing” and relatively easy, given her quick 471-step walk to work. While walking is her main mode, Overdorf taps into Raleigh’s full menu of options: scooters (her apartment has a few on hand), e-bikes, rideshares, carpools, the train—she’s even lined up for Raleigh’s E-Bike Rebate Program.

“I think the accessibility to different modes of transportation here—we’re really, very lucky,” emphasizes Overdorf. “It’s not that hard to figure out ways to have access to transit and transportation—but they’re also just easy to get to.” Doubling down on the community vibe, the Chamber VP reinvests her car-free savings by stacking up steps to faves like Sir Walter Coffee, The Bend, lucettegrace and A Place at the Table.

Walk Wins
It’s all a sign of a city upping its urban appeal. While a current Village District dweller tells us she barely touches her keys more than once a week, another remembers feeling totally carbound just a decade ago.

Of course, it’s “not all rainbows and butterflies,” admits Crawford. Getting caught in the rain a mile walk from a destination is less than ideal, and it can take a lot of planning to get somewhere sans car. “There are definitely times where I’d really love to just jump in my car and do something that has arisen out of the blue very quickly,” she adds, “but there’s never so much of a hindrance that I can’t accomplish what I need to. The benefits definitely outweigh the negatives.”